The Ashes Test in Perth erupted into a full-blown pitch debate on social media after the match folded inside two days. England were bowled out for 172 in their first innings. Hosts Australia were then reduced to 123/9 in 39 overs at stumps, resulting in 19 wickets on the opening day. England were again bundled out for 164 on Day 2. The second day then witnessed 13 wickets as Australia won the series opener by 8 wickets. Expectedly, fans and experts asked a pointed question: why is the reaction different when such collapses happen outside India?Aakash Chopra set the tone with a sharp post on X: “Such an outcome on a subcontinental pitch would’ve meant the death of Test cricket.”
Ravichandran Ashwin added a sarcastic touch: “Only 19 wickets fell at Perth today, but excellent day’s cricket. Oh no. What if the same happens tomorrow in Guwahati?”
R Ashwin post
Dinesh Karthik asked the core question: “Is it fair to say people like to see pacers picking wickets on spicy pitches more than spinners on turning pitches? And if that is the case, why?”
Dinesh Karthik post
Their frustration came from an old, genuine grievance. When Tests in India finish quickly on turning tracks, the criticism from abroad is often intense. Yet when the ball seams and zips around in England, New Zealand, or Australia, the same scrutiny rarely happens.But the Perth Test also delivered a twist. Travis Head walked out as a stand-in opener in the second innings and proved decisively that this was not an unplayable pitch. His century off 69 balls changed the entire narrative and showed why the pitch cannot be placed in the same bracket as the recent Eden Gardens surface.
The match: A two-day rollercoaster
England were ahead for four sessions. Mitchell Starc took 7 for 58 to bowl them out for 172. Australia replied with just 132 with Ben Stokes taking a five-wicket haul, and England were cruising at 65/1 in the second innings. Then came the collapse. Three wickets fell at 76. Root failed again. Stokes nicked off. England then folded for 164.
Australia’s Mitchell Starc celebrates the wicket of England’s captain Ben Stokes (AP Photo/Gary Day)
Set 205 to win, Head went berserk. He smashed 123 from 83 balls with 16 fours and four sixes. Marnus Labuschagne finished unbeaten on 51. Australia won by eight wickets with three days left.The numbers looked extreme:Thirty-two wickets.673 runs.141 overs.Chaotic, yes. Unplayable, no. And that’s the key difference.
The Perth pitch improved as the game progressed
The pitch in Perth is generally known for high, bouncy pace, but it also gets better for batting as the days progress. Even the last match played in the BGT between India and Australia saw the same thing happen. India, batting first, got bundled out for 150. Australia got all out for 104 courtesy of Jasprit Bumrah’s amazing spell, but the twist came when India posted 487/6 with hundreds from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli. The pitch, which looked unplayable, gradually flattened out even during that time.The pitch began hard and spicy on Day 1 but gradually flattened out. Morning and pre-tea sessions were consistently better for batting. The same happened again in this Perth Test: the pitch, which looked unplayable, slowly settled down. That is why Head could dominate with clean, confident strokeplay once the surface eased.A pitch that eases out is part of normal Test cricket.
The Eden Gardens pitch was underprepared and deteriorated from ball one
The Kolkata surface in the recent India vs South Africa Test behaved very differently.
- It turned from the first hour itself.
- It had an inconsistent bounce.
- It disincentivised skill and rewarded luck.
- It kept getting worse as the match progressed.
That is the opposite of the Perth pattern, where the ball moved sharply early but became truer with time.Seam vs spin is not the real issue. Predictability and fairness are. There is nothing wrong with a pitch favouring spin or seam. A pitch becomes a problem only when:
- bounce becomes unpredictable
- pace becomes variable
- skill becomes secondary to survival
- surfaces behave contrary to expected standards
At Perth, the movement and bounce were sharp but consistent. Batters got beaten by quality bowling, not random behaviour.At Eden, the variable bounce meant even the best defensive technique could not guarantee survival.The proof is in Travis Head’s inningsA pitch cannot be labelled unplayable if someone scores a century at a strike rate of nearly 150 against a quality pace attack.
Australia’s Travis Head (AP Photo/Gary Day)
Head’s assault was not reckless hitting. It was controlled, high-skill batting on a surface that was slowly settling down.
Why India must re-examine rank turners
India lost the Eden Test by 30 runs. The match was thrilling. Yet the larger question remained: was it good for Test cricket?Not all turning tracks are bad. But undercooked ones with inconsistent bounce hurt both teams.This has been the trend at times:
- Indore versus Australia in 2023
- Pune vs New Zealand in 2024
- Mumbai vs New Zealand in 2024
- The recent Eden Gardens Test vs South Africa
India lost all these Tests, and for the hosts, losing a home Test is not normal. For instance, since Virat Kohli became captain (2014–2022), India lost only two Tests under him in seven years. Each of these defeats exposed a painful truth: India are no longer the best players of spin. Rank turners elevate visiting spinners, narrow the gap between teams, and create more chaos than contest.India’s strength today is balance. Bumrah and Siraj are world-class. Jadeja, Kuldeep, Axar, and Washington bring elite variety.This attack can win on good cricket wickets that last four or five days. India’s spin options are already so good that they do not need to doctor pitches; these wickets bring both opposition into play and even reward bowlers with lesser skills.The World Test Championship points system rewards wins heavily, which encourages risk. But there is a point where risk becomes short-sighted.Chopra, Ashwin, and Karthik are correct in calling out double standards. Collapses on seamers’ pitches are often praised as “great Test cricket,” while collapses on turning tracks are criticised as “poor pitches.”But the Perth pitch itself was not a poor surface. It improved with time, rewarded skill, and allowed a batter to score one of the great Ashes hundreds. It cannot be compared with the Eden Gardens pitch, which was underprepared, inconsistent, and deteriorated from the first hour.
