• Home
  • Writers Opinion
  • Dust Is Evil Grass Is Glory Equating Green Pitch To Subcontinent Track Is Lazy Analysis

Dust is evil, grass is glory? Equating green pitch to subcontinent track is lazy analysis

Akshita Patel

Selective outrage over pitches [Source: AFP Photos]Selective outrage over pitches [Source: AFP Photos]

Cricket loves drama. But sometimes, overanalysis and bias lead to double standards, especially when it comes to contrasts in pitches in Test cricket across continents.

When a Test match in India, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh ends in three days, the noise is instant and loud. Words like “spike in dust,” “rank turner,” and “death of Test cricket” fly around. 

Fingers are pointed. Questions are asked. Pitches are blamed. For instance, in the Kolkata Test between India and South Africa, neither side could score above 200. 

Bowlers had an advantage, and as a result, the game concluded inside three days.

Why no outrage over the Perth wicket?

But just days later, when 19 wickets fell in one day at Perth in the opening Test of the Ashes 2025 between England and Australia, the outrage was quiet. 

Almost respectful. It was called “exciting,” “hostile,” and “perfect for fast bowling.” Same collapse. Completely different story. 

And that’s where the comparison becomes lazy.

Green pitches and subcontinent pitches behave very differently, and pretending they are the same is missing the point of Test cricket altogether.

In places like Australia and England, green tops are living, breathing surfaces. Yes, they help bowlers early. Yes, they move. But they also settle. 

The moisture dries. The grass wears down. Batting, usually, becomes easier as the match goes on. Survive the first session or two, and you are rewarded. That’s the deal. 

And Travis Head proved it when he scored 123 runs off 83 balls in the final session of day 2 to help Australia chase down 205 runs in just 28.2 overs.

Additionally, the Perth wicket for the first Ashes Test had no demons whatsoever. Initially, some lateral movement was seen with the new ball, but the collapses were an absolute result of poor shot selections and complete batting failures.

Selective outrage exposes critics’ hypocrisy

Now flip the script to the subcontinent. Pitch behaviour there is the exact opposite. The surface doesn’t get friendlier. It gets uglier. 

Cracks don’t heal. They widen. Footmarks don’t disappear. They become landmines. Dust doesn’t go away. It starts talking. 

By Day 4 and 5, batting isn’t just difficult. It becomes an act of survival. And this is where the core difference lies.

On green pitches, bowlers get rewarded early, but batters have a chance later. On turning, cracking subcontinent pitches, bowlers get more powerful with time, not less. That’s not “poor pitch preparation.” That’s geography and soil doing their job.

Yet somehow, only one kind of pitch gets called “unfair.” When India gets bowled out in three days at home, it’s “bad for Test cricket.” When England and Australia implode in Perth in one day, it’s “wow, what a contest.”

That’s not analysis. That’s selective outrage. Test cricket was never meant to be played on identical surfaces. Its beauty comes from survival in different conditions, such as swing at Lord’s, pace in Perth, and spin in Chennai. That variety is not a bug. It’s the feature. 

If we start demanding that every pitch behaves the same, we might as well play all Test matches in Dubai.

It’s time we enjoy and respect Test cricket as it is

The truth is simple - green tops and dusty turners are not twins. They are not even cousins. 

One grows calmer with time. The other grows venomous. And treating them with the same criticism is just taking the easy way out.

And perhaps it’s time fans and analysts just enjoy Test cricket as it is. Every pitch is different and special in its own way. There’s no such thing as “good” or “bad” pitch in cricket.

It is always about adaptability. Playing according to the situation tests one’s resilience, temperament and character. It differentiates between an average and an extraordinary talent. And that is exactly what Test cricket is all about.