Hollow Knight
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Getting rid of the Gabba cricket pitch
- Thread starter lion@hamilton
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John, no offence cause I grew up in Qld and moved down here so am well aware of the fact cricket is higher in standing than AFL. I have no evidence apart from the Lions yearly appeals.
However, the change will happen as the Lions and a few Suns games create more attendence than cricket. The contract is signed but can be amended. The AFL have a duty of care as does the Gabba Trust. The AFLPA need to start creating some noise and the Lions need to get opposition coaches to formally complain about the ground.
However, as John states it will take time!
Haha - nice theory. Actually, I'm here because technically it's our home ground as well (until next May at least), and I have a genuine concern for the health and wellbeing of both the Suns and Lions players. Anyway, can't see it changing in the near future, unless a worst case scenario eventuated where both JB and GA Jr go down in the same match. Then the AFL heavyweights might decide to put some real pressure on the Gabba Trust.
Not even the ones that can be authorised in perpetuity....they can only be around until the Sun becomes a Red Giant and swallows the Earth in a few billion years or so.
Football Pope
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Not even the ones that can be authorised in perpetuity....they can only be around until the Sun becomes a Red Giant and swallows the Earth in a few billion years or so.
GWS & GC to merge?...
Which part is wrong? Sounded like a first-person anecdote to me?
That is wrong. It more than caters for the needs of all members of all persuasions. I would imagine that a tour of the ground would have little to say about The Lions. What is there to say anyway? The Lions once had a club house here at the ground but no one turned up to make it a genuine home. The ground has a Cricket history of world standing and from what I have been told the vast majority visitors are cricket oriented and from overseas.
Just remember that it is "The Brisbane Cricket Ground". There may be a change one day but the Lions are not the be all and end all when the ground is concerned. It has been a cricket ground for a long long time and the Lions are very much a recent addition. Yes there are commercial considerations but Cricket is not that dead yet and The Lions are "only" tenants. If the Lions are that keen to have their own ground perhaps they along with the AFL can make an offer for the ground that the state cannot refuse.
Ultimately though I am opposed to a drop in, as are all my Cricket attending AND footy attending cronies. We on here can bring this up as much as we like but it is chat for the sake of it as I do not think that the authorities will making a move in this direction for a long long time and for that I praise Allah, Bacchus and any other god anyone wants to beleive in.
lionbear
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I'm sorry John if you don't agree with me, but I think you missed my point.
I was trying to point out that when I did the tour, the way the tour guide talked was that AFL gets in the way of the ground, the Monday after the final game is a day of celebration, and it is bad when the Lions make the finals as it means they have to wait an extra 1 to 3 weeks to turn it back into a cricket ground.
Pitch no Pitch I am not discussing that debate. The fact is I spoke to a representative of the Gabba trust and he was so anti footy it wasn't funny. He spoke as a representative of the Trust and thus why I have the opinion that the Trust is Anti AFL.
I was trying to point out that when I did the tour, the way the tour guide talked was that AFL gets in the way of the ground, the Monday after the final game is a day of celebration, and it is bad when the Lions make the finals as it means they have to wait an extra 1 to 3 weeks to turn it back into a cricket ground.
Pitch no Pitch I am not discussing that debate. The fact is I spoke to a representative of the Gabba trust and he was so anti footy it wasn't funny. He spoke as a representative of the Trust and thus why I have the opinion that the Trust is Anti AFL.
I don't see how anyone can really debate this point- just hark back to Kevin Mitchell's words the other day when he made it perfectly clear that it hurt him badly to see for the first time these AFL oafs cutting up his precious centre square. It also expained to me why it is the centre square is so obviously cut and rolled right through winter- ie, to protect it for cricket.
On a directly related point, Mitchell should be roasted for producing a road for his one big game of the year. All that trouble for what- 1 for 596? Just what cricket needed.
Personally, I accept the point made above that we are still very much a minority sport in Queensland, although we've come a long way baby since those dim dark days of getting the weekly footy fix at Chelmer oval. We now have wall-to-wall TV coverage, 2 local teams, 3 premierships, etc etc. A long, long way. Even so, Lllleeeaauge is still way ahead, let's face it, at least in this State and the half of NSW where it predominates.
Product wise, AFL is streets ahead as we all know. And as crowd numbers prove. In every State. And just look at how successful the NRL has been in establishing interstate club outposts- NOT. The Melbourne Storm has how many Victorians playing for it?? Would that be none?
On the Gabba name- can I be so bold as to point out that MCG stands for MELBOURNE CRICKET GROUND. That doesn't mean that AFL is in any way subservient to cricket- it's JUST A NAME.
A statement that proves that you have never had to prepare a wicket under difficult conditions. It has been wettest lead up since 1974 with fewer warm to hot sunny days than normal. Oddly enough I heard few complaints about the track when England where bowled out for 260 and there was a wonderful hat-trick consisting of some superb fast bowling by Siddle and then later Huss and Haddin put on a gritty partnership during 2 hours of some very good fast bowling and that once they were gone the last few wickets went for not much at all. Lets not also forget a litany of dropped catches and a side that played with the least amount of energy and enthusiasm on days 4 and 5 that I have ever seen in my time of attending test matches at the Gabba. Lets not forget an abysmal performance by a Bowler ranked 7 in the world and that the player ranked number 9 in the world was actually dropped.
I despair at analyses such as yours
Hollow Knight
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If only there was some way for them to cultivate pitches off site in various locations, to avoid such scenarios.
irel
Norm Smith Medallist
A statement that proves that you have never had to prepare a wicket under difficult conditions. It has been wettest lead up since 1974 with fewer warm to hot sunny days than normal. Oddly enough I heard few complaints about the track when England where bowled out for 260 and there was a wonderful hat-trick consisting of some superb fast bowling by Siddle and then later Huss and Haddin put on a gritty partnership during 2 hours of some very good fast bowling and that once they were gone the last few wickets went for not much at all. Lets not also forget a litany of dropped catches and a side that played with the least amount of energy and enthusiasm on days 4 and 5 that I have ever seen in my time of attending test matches at the Gabba. Lets not forget an abysmal performance by a Bowler ranked 7 in the world and that the player ranked number 9 in the world was actually dropped.
I despair at analyses such as yours
Excuse my ignorance John but aren’t fast and unpredictable pitches produced under wet, cloudy and humid conditions?
Excuse my ignorance John but aren’t fast and unpredictable pitches produced under wet, cloudy and humid conditions?
Prepare a pitch irel and then get back to us.
Not just my analysis, sorry- add Roebuck, Laylor, Haigh et al.
"litany" [sic- do you mean many?] Four dropped catches???
My point was that Mitchell had a YEAR to prepare his one-off, and like other years, did so throughout the AFL season. Hence the criticism, repeatedly aired on these pages.
In the event, Mitchell reportedly chose Number3 pitch which is apparently known as the slowest. Good pick. Not.
After Day3, IIRC only 7 wickets were taken by either side. Both sets of bowlers. Both sides. Doesn't take all that much analysis really.
Football Pope
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The old prepare a pitch for a new pitch...Selling aint what it use to be
I know more than Roebuck who talks the greatest load of rot in Cricket. I read his pretend attempt at prose on Cricinfo and the bloke should stick to smacking naughty boys bottoms. I have not read the others but those that I have have read discussed the issues as I have. Dropped catches, a lack of endeavour and enthusiasm etc etc.
Litany means "a sizable series or set" in my dictionary. In the context of an innings in test match cricket I am right.
A whole year to prepare? The major preparation has been hampered after the footy season. Notice the unseasonal rain even as I type this? And as to the the Lions board on Big Footy being all knowledgeable of the trials and tribulations of preparing a test match wicket you just can not be serious.
I have no idea as to why they used the next one but I presume it was preparation issues that you seem to think were none existent. I watched this game from behind the bowlers arm at the Vulture Street end for the vast majority of the 5 days and to me there was no less pace as to make it an appallingly slow wicket. There was a lack of sideways movement after lunch on day 3.
Dropped catches and a poor body language in the field was a major issue and to say other wise hides a poor effort. The team had a 1st innings lead of 221 and not a few years back would have won this in a canter. Yes the wicket was not it's usual self and I would be foolish to deny otherwise but I ask you this. If it is easy to bat on a flat wicket why do not all teams make 500 runs for the loss of 1 wicket each time?
Excuse my ignorance John but aren’t fast and unpredictable pitches produced under wet, cloudy and humid conditions?
Not at the Gabba. It is a naturally fast wicket with the only faster one being at the WACA. From what I have been told the lack of hot and warm days have meant that the pitch had to be worked at bit more.
John.... Why is 'drop in' pitches that work at other venues allowing all tenants at the ground to perform on ideal conditions not a viable option? There is no reason not to do it! Cricket is still played every season at the MCG each year at the highest level.Sounds like the only thing stopping this desirable solution from the Lions is pig headed arrogance from a cricket biased Gabba Trust!!
All cricket lovers the world over admire it as one of the quickest wickets and a fine track for both batsman and bowler. A drop in pitch is far slower and they become standard in style season after season. When Warwick said it was the best wicket in the country he was not far wrong as IIRC it was voted that by over 50% of the players a few years back. Even with ours offering less sideways movement than usual it is still comparatively quick even with a poor preparation.
Anyway why should not we Cricket lovers have our wicket at the Gabba. Why should we give up our history? This is our logo equivalent. This is The Brisbane Cricket ground with a long history. Footy has to do far better in Brisbane ( and QLD for that matter ) before it can dictate to others what to do in terms of the Stadium it leases for about 11 games a season. It had better worry about Rugby League before Cricket if the truth be told. IIRC there were figures that stated that Cricket used the ground twice as much as Footy anyway.
As to Trust's "pig headed arrogance" this is becoming a silly mantra on this board. The ALP state government has stated, and they are ultimately responsible for all stadia through Stadiums Queensland, that there will be no drop in wicket while they are the Administration. Now before anyone thinks that that is some political conspiracy on be half of the ALP forget it because the L side of the LNP are all Reds and the N side are rural cricket fans from the dawns of time.
There was a bit in the HUN the other day about the Gabba wicket....the reporters couldn't find this Mitchell guy, all they found was a person who wanted to be know only as "John"..
Do you have anything to do with the Gabba ground/maintenance or Trust John?......you seem extremely knowledgable about the ground and the pitch etc..
Do you have anything to do with the Gabba ground/maintenance or Trust John?......you seem extremely knowledgable about the ground and the pitch etc..
Haa haa. And once I was grimreepah
. I have nothing at all to do with the ground staff but my knowledge is not that particularly different than a good few whom have info on this board about the Lions (or footy) in general is it? Whats wrong with knowledge about the sport one loves? It is why this place exists. Why should I not be vociferous in my defence of the wicket. Not that different from the fire and fury of the Logo defenders am I?
100% in John's corner on this one. Don't believe everything you read in the papers regarding wicket preparation and fast / slow tracks in the same square - it's pure b.s.
As for drop in wickets they can and will never be as good as wicket table that resides in the square 365 days per year.
As for drop in wickets they can and will never be as good as wicket table that resides in the square 365 days per year.
Cousin Jed
Retired President of BigFooty
Pretty sure that story was about the curator who prepared the pitch for the 5th Ashes Test at the Oval last year.
So how does a drop in wicket work? I mean, do they bring a bobcat along, dig the pitch up and cart it away to be stored in a pile somewhere, then bring it back and roll and sow it? Or is there some other method. I honestly don't have the faintest knowledge of what is actually involved.
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