The jury is still out on Optus Stadium as a Test venue, with conditions on the pitch becoming dangerous for batters as the match progressed. Even though uneven bounce led to a few dismissals and reared up balls causing bumps and bruises, that Australia won the first Test against Pakistan by 360 runs, many cricket pundits are still sceptical about the future of Test matches being hosted there. Former Test batter, Mark Waugh, described the pitch as treacherous during an interview on Fox Cricket. He expressed concern about the balls flying off the pitch, going above the batsmen’s heads, and causing unsafe conditions for the players.
The attendance was also minimal at the stadium during the match, with around 17,000 fans on the first three days and only 6,000 on the fourth day.
While many believe that the WACA Ground is a better option for Test matches that do not feature England or India, others argue that the facilities at Optus Stadium are superior. However, concerns have been raised about the impact of playing at the larger stadium.
In the same Test, Australia’s Nathan Lyon became the highest wicket-taking off-spinner in the history of Test cricket, achieving 500 Test wickets.
Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne’s form seems to be on a downward trend as he has suffered a slump in performance with just one ton in a moderate calendar year. Despite this, selectors maintain that they are satisfied with his past performances.
On the other hand, despite the large margin of defeat, Pakistan is not written off entirely after they showed some potential. While their fielding requires improvement, the team’s performance was not entirely dismal, with some individual players showing promise.