Bowler-friendly SCG wicket spices up series finale

A returfed square and new variety of grass is largely considered responsible for the change, with above-average carry and plenty of seam movement on offer.

While the move towards a more bowler-friendly wicket has been praised, the surface was criticised by experts including Indian great Sunil Gavaskar.

The former India captain said on Saturday night that if wickets fell at this Test's rate in India "there would be hell" with complaints about the state of the pitch.

Sydney's pitch on day one carried a decidedly green hue, before cracks began to appear. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

But McDonald said the shift towards a livelier SCG wicket should not be considered a drawback.

"The ground staff have done an incredible job in terms of creating a wicket with something in it," McDonald said, prior to Gavaskar's comments.

"Traditionally here it is quite benign, and a lot of people have been talking about the draws. So you're damned if you do, damned if don't. This game has sped up.

"I think (the SCG curator) is trying to produce an even contest between bat and ball. 

"Has it favoured bowlers a little more than what we expected and potentially the ground staff expected? There is no doubt about that. But it has made for interesting cricket."

Wickets only fell once every 73 balls between 2014 and 2023 at the SCG - the slowest rate of any ground in the world that hosted more than three Tests.

In the first two days of this year's Sydney Test alone, they fell at a rate of one every 36 balls.

A lively SCG wicket could well have come at the wrong time for Australia, given a draw in Sydney would have been enough for them to maintain the 2-1 series ledger and clinch the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

But it appeared certain almost from the outset that one side would be winning, such was the carnage in the middle.

Australia eventually claimed victory after lunch on day three, chasing down the 162 runs required with six wickets in hand.