Sydney: Former Australian cricket great Allan Border on Sunday condemned the poor quality of first-class pitches in the country as a threat to Australia's position as the game's world leader. Border, now a national selector, expressed concern at the spate of "dodgy" wickets prepared this summer for the Sheffield Shield competition. He warned that if the trend to green tops and huge first-day wicket hauls continued, batsmen would not develop. "It's a worrying trend for me. I'd like to see the wickets prepared a little bit better," said Border, one of Australia's greatest batsmen. "Playing on dodgy wickets ... I don't want us to go down the England road where you play on result wickets for the sake of getting a result." Border insisted that difficult wickets were acceptable, occasionally, but that undeveloped batsmen would not improve their skills if that was the general state of the pitch. "It's incredible how many times 15-plus wickets have been taken on day one or games have finished in just on two days," he said. In 20 Sheffield Shield matches this season, there have been 14 instances of 10 or more wickets falling on day one. Queensland's collapse for 129 against South Australia on Sunday in Brisbane was only the latest example. As many as 18 wickets have fallen on the first day this season. Border said many pitches for domestic matches were taking a back seat to those for Tests and One-day International matches. "Pristine" wicket blocks, well-covered with grass, look good for those at the ground and for TV cameras, he said, which meant there was often not enough time to prepare the pitches for state games.

Tags: cricket, sydney, former australian cricket great allan border, condemned poor quality, first-class pitches, threat, australia's position, game's world leader, national selector, dodgy wickets, sheffie.