While players and coaching staff often get the spotlight when discussing the state of Pakistan cricket, a more fundamental issue is slowly eroding the sport’s very foundation: the quality of pitches.

In cricket, the pitch is arguably the most crucial factor in determining the balance of the game. An ideal pitch offers something for both batsmen and bowlers, creating an engaging contest between the two. When pitches offer no assistance to bowlers, matches tend to drag on, with high-scoring games that lack the thrill of fast wickets or dramatic collapses.

Dead pitches fail to provide any assistance to bowlers, especially fast bowlers. They are flat and devoid of life, meaning they don’t offer seam movement, bounce, or turn. These pitches, which neither provide swing for seamers nor turn for spinners, often lead to dull, drawn-out matches lacking the excitement that fans crave.

The passion of Pakistani cricket fans is unparalleled, but the excitement that fans expect from the game is being drained by lifeless pitches. Dead pitches often result in drawn-out, high-scoring matches where there is little for bowlers to do and even less for fans to get excited about.

For fans, cricket is about the uncertainty and balance between bat and ball. Dead pitches disrupt this balance. The excitement of bowlers outsmarting batsmen is not there. As a result, spectators are losing interest, choosing to stay home rather than watch long, uneventful games in person.

To revive crowd engagement, Pakistan needs to bring back sporting wickets that offer both excitement and unpredictability. Well-balanced pitches not only test the skills of players but also keep fans on the edge of their seats. Revitalising pitches is essential to restore Pakistan’s cricketing vibrancy and ensure packed stadiums filled with enthusiastic supporters.

Over the past decade, Pakistan’s pitches have developed a reputation for being flat and lifeless. Commonly referred to as “dead pitches,” these surfaces are overly favourable to batsmen, and have become a major factor in diminishing the quality of cricket in Pakistan.

The cricket pitches in Pakistan differ significantly from Australia, England, South Africa, and even Sri Lanka and India. Pakistan’s pitches are generally known for being slow and low, with a tendency to favour spin bowlers. These pitches often offer minimal bounce and pace, especially in the later stages of a match, making it difficult for fast bowlers to extract much movement off the surface. As a result, matches in Pakistan often see longer innings with fewer high-speed deliveries.

In contrast, Australian and English pitches are famous for their pace, bounce, and consistency throughout the match. The pitches in cities like Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Lords, and Trent Bridge tend to offer significant assistance to fast bowlers, allowing them to generate bounce and pace that can trouble batsmen. The lively nature of these pitches makes Australian cricket fast-paced, with an emphasis on aggressive bowling and shot-making. Spin bowlers in Australia typically come into play later in the game, often relying on bounce rather than turn.

Pakistan’s strength on the international stage has historically been rooted in its fast-bowling prowess. However, the current state of pitches threatens that identity, leading to fewer standout fast bowlers emerging from the domestic circuit.

The management never provides conditions to their players according to their strength. When we had the best attack comprising Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, the authorities never provided pacer-friendly pitches fearing that if home bowlers could bowl the opposition cheaply, our batsmen would also struggle against the visitors’ bowling attack.

Bowlers tend to cut down their pace in an effort to bowl more economically since outright pace alone is rarely effective on such surfaces. The inability to experiment with seam, swing, and reverse swing means bowlers do not develop the nuanced skills needed to excel at the highest levels. Fast bowlers tend to overexert themselves on dead pitches, leading to a higher risk of injuries. Trying to extract pace from flat wickets can result in stress-related injuries, particularly to the back and knees.

While dead pitches primarily harm fast bowlers, they also adversely affect spin bowling. Pakistan has been home to legendary spinners like Abdul Qadir, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq and Saeed Ajmal. Spin bowlers rely on pitch conditions that offer grip, turn, and bounce to make their deliveries effective. On a dead pitch, even the most skillful spinners find it difficult to get turn and variations needed to bamboozle batsmen.

They are forced to bowl defensively, which limits their growth. Pakistan cricket is at risk of losing the tradition of producing top-class spinners, just as it’s in danger of losing its fast-bowling legacy.

Dead pitches may seem advantageous for batsmen, allowing them to pile on big scores without the constant threat of getting out. However, this can be deceptive. While high scores look good on paper, batsmen who regularly play on dead pitches fail to develop techniques that are crucial for facing high-quality bowlers on livelier tracks. This creates a false sense of security and inflates batting averages in domestic cricket, leading to underwhelming performances when these players transition to international cricket.

The thrill of watching fast bowlers tear through batting lineups or spinners weaving their magic is lost on such surfaces. Fans prefer competitive, balanced matches where wickets fall, and batsmen are challenged. However, flat tracks offer little in terms of excitement, leading to a decrease in television viewership and reduced stadium attendance.

In an era where cricket faces competition from other sports and entertainment options, boring matches are a surefire way to alienate younger audiences. Pakistan’s cricketing authorities must be wary of this, as the future of the sport heavily depends on fan engagement.

For Pakistan to remain competitive in international cricket, its players need to be exposed to a variety of pitch conditions. From fast, bouncy tracks to spin-friendly surfaces, diversity in pitch preparation is essential to ensure that Pakistani players can compete in all conditions, home and away.

If Pakistan is to reclaim its place among the top cricketing nations, addressing the issue of dead pitches must become a priority for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

To improve the pitches conditions, we need to bring in expert groundsmen from abroad who have the experience of preparing balanced and lively pitches. The PCB must get groundsmen to prepare different types of pitches, including green-tops, turners, and bouncier tracks.

By investing in better pitch preparation and offering a diversity of playing conditions, Pakistan can once again produce cricketers capable of excelling on the world stage.

This is not an issue of not leaving grass on the pitch. The grass looks good aesthetically but we need to create bounce, which can happen without grass, as happens on Australian pitches.

If attention is not given to infrastructure, Pakistan will continue struggling in Test cricket not only abroad but even at home and playing the World Championship final will remain a dream.

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