India's hopes of getting a turner in the traditionally spinner friendly wicket of the Sydney Cricket Ground were dashed with the curator on Monday predicting that the pitch would be more favourable for fast bowlers than it has ever been in the past.
"I think we will see a lot of bounce and good carry in it. I do not see any gremlins in it. I expect it to be a very similar to the Ashes deck last year," said curator Tom Parker ahead of the second Test, starting in Sydney on Wednesday.
Parker believed that warm weather had helped his team prepare a wicket containing plenty of life.
That's bad news for the tourists who are looking for its batsmen to fire at Sydney after disastrous outings in the middle in the first Test at the MCG last week.
India is already down 1-0 in the series after the loss in Melbourne and the wicket might compound their problem further.
Although the pitch will offer help to the quick bowlers particularly in the early stages of the game, the curator also predicted some help for the Indian spinners.
The Melbourne wicket was more like a subcontinent strip and there was not much assistance for the fast bowlers, still India's famed Indian batting performed abysmally against the quickies and failed to get past 200 in both innings.
The Ashes Test Parker was referring to was the fifth Test victory over England where Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark bagged all but one of 18 wickets. Two wickets went to Shane Warne. England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar could pick only one wicket.
The reputation of the SCG as a spinner's delight is no longer true.
In the 2006 game against South Africa, only eight of 27 wickets fell to spin and in Pura Cup this summer just 10 wickets of 52 have come from slow bowling.
"Spinners have to work a bit harder than they used to, definitely," Aussie spinner Brad Hogg said on Sunday.
"But wickets are wickets, at the end of the day. You play what you get."
Parker said inclement weather forecast for later in the week, and over the weekend, might also tip the scales back to the quicks.
"The weather is supposed to turn a little bit nasty I think," Parker said.
"You lose time [or] you get an overcast day, it might start swinging around. But other than that, it should be a normal SCG pitch."
Parker though was certain that the ball will spin by day four at the latest.
"The nature of the beast at the SCG is that it always turns. I haven't seen a wicket here in a Test match that hasn't," Parker said.
