Pitch report

Dave Tickner looks at what Cardiff might have in store for the first Test of the eagerly-awaited Ashes series.

A look at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff

With the first Test just hours away, Dave Tickner looks at what the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff might have in store for the opening encounter of the eagerly-awaited 2009 Ashes series.

Overview

Sophia Gardens - now known by the rather less romantic moniker of the SWALEC Stadium - in Cardiff is perhaps the most controversial choice for a Test match venue in history. Certainly it has provoked the greatest volume of discussion and debate. For some, the fact that it's outside England is problem enough (these people, it seems, are unaware of Simon Jones); to those who don't read the Daily Mail, it's that most un-British of practices - queue-jumping - that causes unrest. The anger in Durham and Hampshire was deep and understandable. Durham has patiently proved itself capable of hosting Test cricket over the past decade with a number of low-profile early-season matches, while the impressive Rose Bowl had good reason to believe they were next in line. That Cardiff was awarded a Test match is - for sane people who know that Welsh cricket fans follow the England team - reasonably uncontroversial. The ground has been extensively and impressively redeveloped. It is ready for Test cricket. But for it to get an Ashes Test - and the first of the series at that - is a controversial move. It is the first time an Ashes Test has been taken outside the Big Six English grounds since Bramall Lane in 1902, and giving it to a first-timer like Cardiff smacks of a political decision. The fact that the decision leaves both Trent Bridge and Old Trafford - two venues where England usually go well - without an Ashes Test (indeed, neither ground has had any Test cricket this year) only highlights the fact this was not a cricketing decision. Make no mistake, wild-eyed, red-faced stories about this being a 'neutral' venue or even a home game for the Aussies are well off the mark: even ignoring the fact the local supporters will follow England, it is still possible for English people to cross the border into Wales - there aren't actual dragons there. And it's not only the English who've been getting involved in conspiracy theories and chuntering about Cardiff. While Rod Bransgrove grumbles about the silent but powerful W in the ECB, Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting have commented on England's decision not just to give the game to Cardiff, but to take the first Test away from Lord's where the Aussies traditionally prosper (even though 2005, when Lord's did host the first Test, was very much unusual for an Ashes series). However, it will be a neutral game in the sense that neither team will have greater experience of the conditions over the five days of a Test match. The extent of the redevelopment means even county experience is of questionable benefit, and in any case the Australia squad has as much recent County Championship experience as England's. Much has been made of Cardiff's propensity to spin. This seems to be more in hope than expectation. Only 17 Championship wickets have been taken by spinners in Cardiff this season, while its new-found reputation for being dry and dusty must be of amusement to the locals. However, there is one cricketing reason for Cardiff's selection. While England have played only two ODIs here - and both were rained off - Sophia Gardens was the venue for 2005's most memorable cricket moment not involving England: Bangladesh's inspired one-day victory over the Aussies.

They said...

"The 'W' in ECB is silent but very powerful."
Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove after Cardiff jumped ahead of the Rose Bowl in the Test-match queue. "Historically Cardiff has been one wicket around the country that has spun. It's been one of the driest wickets in England (sic)."
Ricky Ponting joins the conspiracy theorists on the reasons for Cardiff's promotion. "This is an historic day for cricket in Wales. The award of an npower Ashes Test Match will build on the Welsh Assembly's exciting programme for the development of tourism through sport."
Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell. "I know that throughout Wales this will inspire young cricketers to join Simon Jones and become the Test cricketers of the future."
Glamorgan and England off-spinner Robert Croft. "We've done one-dayers but doing a Test match we recognise as a step up but we've got it and we're going to deliver it properly."
Cardiff chief executive Mike Fatkin. "I reckon the first Test match should always be at Lord's. How Cardiff get the first Test match in the Ashes is just a disgrace."
Shane Warne sits on the fence.

Weather forecast:

Decent. Plenty of rain around on Monday and Tuesday, but the forecast is clear from there on in with plenty of sunshine and very pleasant temperatures in the low 20s, or high 60s/low 70s in old money.

Conclusion

Erm.. well one can only conclude that it's a step into the unknown; a shrug of the shoulders. No-one truly knows how Cardiff will stand up to a five-day Test. And rain in the days leading up to the match will only further cloud (as it were) the issue. As such, both sides would be well advised to just pick their best bowling attack rather than try to second-guess the conditions. For England, this means Ian Bell and Monty Panesar miss out from the 13-man squad; for Australia, four seamers must play. If Brett Lee's fit, that decision becomes even easier. Many have said that not playing the spinner Nathan Hauritz is a risk; playing a sub-standard spinner for the sake of it is surely a greater one. If he fails - as he did against the Lions - to tie down an end, the workload on the three seamers will simply be too great.