BRIDGETOWN (Barbados), June 10: Australian coach Tim Nielsen is worried that the lifeless pitches could be ruining Test cricket.

Australia last week drew the second Test against the West Indies in Antigua. Australia considered the pitch at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium to be too dead.

“If we are going to maintain the standard of Test cricket, we would love to have it, with big crowds. It’s hard to do on those sorts of wickets,” Nielsen said.

“I don’t think it shows off anybody’s skills to have that sort of surface to play on. There were long periods of the game (in Antigua) where it was hard work for everybody.

“The strike rate was pretty low, so I think you would like to see a bit more pace and bounce in the pitch to allow both sides to show off their skills,” he added.—Agencies