Australia’s batting coach, Michael di Venuto, heavily criticized the Edgbaston pitch after the first Ashes Test against England.
Michael described it as the flattest pitch he had ever seen, lacking movement, bounce, and pace. Despite the match going down to the wire, many players, including James Anderson, expressed dissatisfaction with the docile nature of the track.
Di Venuto acknowledged the need for adaptability but expressed concern over the slow nature of the pitch. Although Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne had rare failures in the game, Di Venuto downplayed their performance and emphasized their commitment to improvement through intense net sessions.
Labuschagne suffered a finger injury during practice, but he continued batting, indicating that it didn’t significantly affect him. Di Venuto praised Labuschagne and Smith’s self-sufficiency as their own best coaches, while offering occasional guidance.
The batting coach also lauded Pat Cummins’ heroic batting display and the resilience shown by lower-order batsmen Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland. Di Venuto remains focused on optimizing performance and adapting to varying pitch conditions as the Ashes series progresses.
“It was the flattest pitch I have ever seen, day one in particular,” said Di Venuto. “The lack of movement, bounce, pace. Very slow. Even county wickets don’t get that flat or dead. As the game went on the swing increased with overheads. We saw the game liven up when we had the ball for eight overs one evening. But it was a dead old pitch.” (Cricbuzz)
