Australian cricketer Travis Head has given his opinion on the pitch in which the first Test match which is being held against Australia in Perth would be played at the Optus Stadium and will commence on Friday. In the build up to the match, there has been a lot of rain in Perth which affected the preparation of the pitch. But, the head curator of the Optus Stadium explained that the ‘snake cracks’ on the surface would be of less concern, since the fast bowlers would get more pace and bounce when the play on the surface commences. Head stated that he loves playing on such surfaces while in Perth, and yet also noted that the last two days, could be a bit tough with some parts of the surface being ‘terrifying’ even.
“I do know that I’ve enjoyed batting here – in parts. It’s as simple as that, there are some portions of this wicket that can be terrifying. I believe everybody’s spoken about that. If it’s day two, three, four or five of the game and depending on where the wicket goes, it can be tricky,” said Head.
Head also disclosed a bit about his training for bouncy surfaces, which he underwent in the last Ashes where he practiced yon with yellow balls, including net sessions.
“I did it a lot in England. I am pretty sure that I faced nets after the first test, where I was hardly bowling with crimson balls. It was only yellow balls as I understood that those were the short ones they were going to bowl to me.” Head elaborated saying, “When you’re through a long series – and I suppose I was the one that copped it the most in that series – I thought let me be joking and go for training while at least putting on some lighter training gears – so that may come out again.”
Head explained the training with yellow balls, saying: “I don’t want a broken finger but I want to train it. It’s not enjoyable to train and it’s hard to do so and visibility and wickets (makes it) not as (easy to bat against) as the centre.”
