The surprising way SCG Test is paying tribute to Shane Warne – as pitch stuns Alyssa Healy
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Revealed: The surprising way the SCG test pays homage to Shane Warne, as tone experts wow and Alyssa Healy says, “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
- The SCG launch is expected to become the third test between Australia and South Africa
- He will support the spin for veteran Nathan Lyon as well as the recalled Ashton Agar.
- Australian women’s cricketer Alyssa Healy tipped the SCG deck to ‘quickly fall apart’
- Curators using shade No.3, for the first time since Shane Warne’s Farewell Test in 2007
Many cricket commentators have been left shocked by the extreme state of the SCG pitch ahead of the Third Test against South Africa, but the wicket was also doubled as a tribute to the late King Shane Warne.
Australian female star Alyssa Healy called the cover “really dry”, felt that it “could fall apart pretty quickly” and that she had “never seen anything like it in her life”.
Fellow Fox Sports cricket pundit Kerry O’Keeffe also tipped the players to dominate as the Aussies looked for a clean sweep in the series.
In what could be a nod to Warne, game-day officials in Sydney opted to bowl out the number 3 pitch for the first time since the spin king’s Test send-off in January 2007.
The wicket sits two to the left of the usual No.5 Test pitch and towards Bill O’Reilly’s stand.
Australian women’s cricketer Alyssa Healy called the SCG deck “really dry” and that she had “never seen anything like it in her life”.
Perhaps as a nod to the late Shane Warne, the Sydney curators chose to release release number 3 for the first time since the farewell king of spins in January 2007.
“When we were doing our research, we found out that Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer had their final test in Camp #3,” SCG curator Adam Lewis said.
‘So in our planning we had that in the back of our mind.
‘We tried to turf field number 5 as best we could, but with the amount of play we’ve had all season, I just couldn’t get there in time.
‘Knowing that Shane Warne and the lads played their last Test in the No.3, it felt good so we put our energy into it.
âShane was really good not just for players, he was always good for healers. He always stood up for us and knew we had our hearts on our sleeves.’
The ground staff are also hopeful that the pitch will provide the twist Warne has always hoped for and enjoyed at the SCG, where he also made his Test debut in 1992 against India.
Australian cricket legend Shane Warne died in Thailand last March at the age of 52 after a heart attack.
Australia named two spinners to face the Proteas, with Ashton Agar in the XI alongside Nathan Lyon.
Agar from Western Australia last donned her baggy green in 2017.
Previously, Australia had not picked two spinners on home soil since Stephen O’Keefe and Lyon bowled in tandem during the New Year’s Test against Pakistan six years ago.
Retired batsman Matthew Renshaw has also been confirmed to have tested positive for Covid RAT before a ball was bowled on day one, but will take his place in Pat Cummins’ team in the middle order.