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England have copped another telling blow after their loss in the first Ashes Test, with the ICC rating the Perth pitch "very good" – the highest-possible rating. The tourists only made 132 and 172 with the bat in the first Test on a pitch that provided plenty of pace and bounce.
England captain Ben Stokes said the pitch was tricky for batting at times, and some in India have questioned why the surface hasn't come under as much scrutiny as some of the tracks in the subcontinent that result in short Test matches. The Perth Test only lasted two days, and AAP has reported that Cricket Australia would have lost about $3 million in revenue from the third and fourth days being wiped out.
But the ICC have now declared there was absolutely nothing wrong with the pitch, giving it the highest rating possible on Thursday. The rating is given to pitches with "good carry, limited seam movement, and consistent bounce early in the match, allowing for a balanced contest between batters and bowlers".
Despite 19 wickets falling on day one and another 13 on day two, Travis Head's century in the fourth innings showed the pitch would have been much easier for batting the longer the contest lasted. The 'very good' rating has effectively shown that England's batting and approach simply wasn't good enough.
Cricket Australia's head of cricket James Allsopp declared the Perth pitch "provided a fair balance between bat and ball". He said in a statement: "The dominance of some brilliant pace bowling from both sides and the frenetic nature of the contest meant the match lasted only two days.
"This was disappointing for fans holding tickets for days three and four, but we saw some incredible moments which captivated huge viewing audiences and will inspire even more kids to pick up a bat and ball this summer. As always, we want to ensure pitches across Australia have their own characteristics, and we’re looking forward to another enthralling contest under lights at the Gabba starting next Thursday."
Mike McKenna, the CEO of Optus Stadium in Perth, said the short test was more a result of both teams' poor batting in the first innings and England losing their way with the ball in the second. Head was completely untroubled as he peeled off 123 from 83 balls – the fastest century in the fourth innings of an Ashes Test ever.
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Speaking after the match, former Australia coach Justin Langer put the blowtorch on England's batters and said they didn't show enough respect to the Aussie bowlers or conditions. "Perth is a totally different wicket than anywhere else you play in the world," Langer said on Channel 7.
"We saw some of the shots that the England batters played yesterday, you can get away with in different venues and different places, but you can’t do it here. They’ve now got time to go away, get together…and maybe just refine the way they think they need to play their cricket to win here in Australia.
"All I’ll say to any player in Test cricket, yeah you can play your style and you’ve got to get bat on ball and be aggressive and play the big drives, but you’ve got to respect the conditions. You’ve got to respect the opposition. “I didn’t see enough of that from Zak (Crawley) this game and certainly from the England batters. If they want to stay in this Test series they’re going to have to show a lot more respect to the conditions and the Australian bowlers than they have for these last two innings."
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