This times a thousand.
If a bowler lines up to bowl on an MCG drop in freeway, of course they look awful. Too many batsman happy groundsmen who want to make sure the broadcaster gets 5 days.
Well that's exactly what I said about Jackson Bird. Bloke came in to the MCG test averaging 27 with the ball in Test cricket. That's nothing to sneeze at. But a tall bloke like him who bowls with a good upright seam and gets movement off the wicket is going to get absolutely nothing out of the MCG deck. And he doesn't get the new ball to extract any swing from his action or the air.
I actually think genuine swing bowlers are far better off than seam bowlers. There's still plenty of grounds with atmospheric assistance even if the deck is shit (although the swing doesn't last as long). Poor old seam bowlers get absolutely nothing.
Was interesting seeing Chris Tremlett saying that England aren't producing genuine fast bowlers because they all become swing bowlers just to get a go in local conditions. Seems they have the opposite problem to Australia in a way, we produce quick bowlers because having that pace is an advantage of dead tracks so the quick bowlers go further up the tiers, but we're lacking a bit in proper swing or seam bowlers....
