Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne dudded amid fury over 'terrible' pitch in SCG Test

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have both been done in by an SCG pitch playing plenty of tricks, dismissed in the morning session on day three of Australia's third Test against Pakistan. Smith was sent on his way for 38 by Mir Hamza after being caught at short cover while trying to loft the ball over the infield.

Immediately after being caught, Smith looked down at the pitch in anger, shaking his head and gesturing at the wicket, appearing to blame it for why he lost his wicket. Replays showed the ball held up in the pitch slightly and Ricky Ponting pointed out on Channel 7 that the amount of dust kicked up by the ball shows how dry the wicket is.

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"Hamza did his part and what we'll see here is just look at the big puff of dust that comes out of the wicket. This is a sign of just how dry this pitch is," Ponting said. "There you can see it. Big puff of black dirt breaking the surface. It is a big explosion in the surface. And then watch Smith's reaction.

"Smith straight away looks down. Points at the wicket and puts his hands on his hips and can't believe that this has just happened. He worked so hard for so long, 86 balls. He was out there just starting to get a bit more freedom and flow to his batting, and he gets one like that."

Before Australia added another run, Labuschagne was sent packing for 60 after a delivery from Agha Salman kicked off a rough patch and exploded through the Aussie's forward defence and cannoned into the stumps. Analysis of the delivery showed the ball deviated a massive 65cm from its original line at the time it impacted the stumps. Australian great Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket commentary: "It's a beautiful delivery. Nice shape, drops as well. Marnus can’t believe it."

Former Australian Test bowler Trent Copeland on day two pointed out on the Channel 7 broadcast that there was a dead patch in the middle of the pitch due to it being on the centre bounce area for Sydney Swans matches in the AFL. Curators are unable to do anything about the patch due to the traffic it receives during the AFL season.

Usman Khawaja says pitch is the "perfect SCG wicket"

After play on day two, Usman Khawaja insisted the SCG wicket was back to its best, dismissing former Australian captain Tim Paine's suggestion that it was playing "terrible". The Australian opener declared the surface was the "perfect SCG wicket" and believes it has improved from earlier in the season.

Paine last month described the SCG wicket as an "absolute disgrace" and "embarrassing" following a Sheffield Shield match, and has once again slammed the way the pitch is playing during the third Test. "The wicket just looked terrible again. I don’t know what’s going on there. They were bowling balls on day one of a Test match and it was rolling," Paine said on SEN. "I can’t believe that for day one of a Test match in Australia, the ball was rolling along the ground."

However, Khawaja leapt to the defence of the pitch curators, praising them for returning the famed deck to its past glory. "I think this is as close to an SCG pitch that I grew up playing on," Khawaja said after play on day two. "Once that new ball got a shine off after 10 overs, it was quite a slow wicket and it spun a bit and the ball stayed low. And that’s what we want. That’s the SCG we grew up playing. I think that’s what we love about Australia, all the wickets aren’t the same.

"Yeah, if this was Perth or the Gabba then you’d be like, ‘Yeah, something’s not right here’. But this is the SCG. I think that’s a really good wicket out there. I think it’s a perfect SCG wicket out there. If we keep getting play on it, I expect it to deteriorate, it’s already taking turn. I think it’s a very good wicket."

- with AAP

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