In a spin: Pitch mysteries leave Australia considering 140-year SCG first

Skipper Steve Smith has lamented the shift in SCG wickets that has Australia considering playing their first Test at the venue in almost 140 years without a frontline spinner as a “shame”.

Smith was as definitive as he’s ever been about taking one last chance to torment England in 2027, but conceded Australia still had multiple selection calls still in flux on Test eve given uncertainty around the much-scrutinised SCG pitch.

Spinner Todd Murphy’s first Test on home soil was not locked in on Saturday given sporadic rain and cool conditions leading into day one, fuelling concern another seam-friendly SCG deck lies in wait.

Once regarded as a spinner’s paradise, Sydney has proven anything but in recent times. Wickets falling to spin bowling have come at an average of 49 in the past five years and any thought of picking two tweakers appears long gone.

According to SCG statistician Adam Morehouse, should Murphy miss out for the second straight Test, it would be the first time since the summer of 1887-88 that the home side has gone with an all-seam attack at the venue.

Australia will confirm their XI at the toss on Sunday after players, coach Andrew McDonald and chairman of selectors George Bailey made multiple inspections of the pitch before and after training on Saturday.

Smith said the SCG’s shift to favouring fast-bowling kept the prospect of an all-pace attack, or playing both all-rounders Cameron Green and Beau Webster, on the table.

“We could play a couple of allrounders, we could play a spinner, we could play no spinner,” Smith said.

“We’ll figure it out once we see the surface and see which way we want to go about it.”

Asked whether the SCG’s reputation as a spinning wicket has run its race, Smith responded: “And that’s why [not playing a spinner] is still getting talked about. Which is a shame.

“I love the old-school SCG: flat for two days, footmarks starting to come in, cracks opening, reverse swing, spin late in the game, tricky to bat, slow, low wicket, fielders in front of the wicket.

“But I don’t think it’s been that as long as I’ve been playing, unfortunately.

“It’s probably one of Nathan Lyon’s worst grounds in Australia, that’s why all things are being talked about.”

England skipper Ben Stokes was holding fire on a similar decision around picking either Shoaib Bashir, the only fully-fledged spinner in their touring party, or persisting with part-timer Will Jacks, until game-day.

Shifting rain forecasts for day one have prompted Australia to delay committing to a final XI as well, though curator Adam Lewis said earlier this week that lessons had been learned from last year’s Australia-India Test, which finished well inside three days and only saw 10 overs of spin bowled.

Lewis planned to leave six millimetres of grass on the wicket as recently as Thursday, with Cricket Australia desperate for the Test to go the distance after losing as much as $15 million across two-day finishes in Perth and Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Smith dismissed suggestions he could follow Usman Khawaja into a storybook SCG farewell, pointing to the need for batting stability ahead of Australia’s next cycle of Test tours.

Khawaja’s retirement announcement has only heightened the spotlight on the gradual regeneration of a champion, but ageing Test side.

Smith acknowledged that his experience in the middle-order takes on added importance once Australia begin a 12-month stretch in August that will feature at least 20 Tests, including tours to South Africa, India and England.

“With Usman dropping off now he’s one of our experienced players, so it probably wouldn’t be ideal if he and I went out this week,” Smith said.

“I want to keep playing so don’t read into that too much. I’m still playing, I’m enjoying it, so we’ll wait and see.”

Australia’s return to South Africa in September looms as a particularly pivotal campaign for Smith given it is the first tour there since he, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft served suspensions for the ball-tampering scandal of 2018.

A home summer of Tests against New Zealand, followed by a bumper five-Test tour of India in February, 2027, the 150th anniversary Test against England and the Ashes present as a legacy-defining period for this generation.

The World Test Championship final will also fall before the 2027 Ashes as well, with Australia leading the standings after a South Africa’s surprise upset in the most recent decider.

“I feel we’ve got a really good team,” Smith said.

“The team we’ve had over the past three or four years, making two World Test Championship finals, different people have stood up at different times, it’s never been one or two people getting the job done, it’s been shared across.

“That’s made us a really good team, so it’s been good to be a part of and as an older player now, hopefully I can help some of the players coming through and help teach them the game of Test cricket. That’s my role now.”

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