Former Adelaide Oval groundsman Nathan Lyon can expect to get plenty of turn out of the pitch for next week's fourth Test against India.
Second-year Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough is pleased with how the wicket is coming along and says it is the same pitch that was used for Australia's fifth-day loss to England last summer.
"The heat will definitely dry the pitch out and it's reasonably dry already," Hough said on Friday.
"There'll be a little in it on day one, but Adelaide Oval traditionally is a good batting pitch with a bit of spin on days three, four and five.
"Adelaide Oval will always produce spin later on as the game goes.
"Normally there will be a little bit of inconsistent bounce on days four and five, so I wouldn't expect anything else."
Hough said he had left a bit more grass on the wicket this year.
"We're trying to get a pitch with as much bounce and carry as we can possibly get," he said.
"We want something that will settle down well for the batters on days two and three and variable bounce on days four and five and something in there for the spinners."
Hough said he felt no pressure to make the match go the full journey after the Perth Test only went for two-and-a-half days.
"I'm just here to produce a sporting pitch. I'll leave it up to the teams to fight that out," he said.
Australia fielded a four-man pace attack in last week's Perth Test as it claimed victory by an innings and surged to a 3-0 lead in the four-match series.
But either Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Ben Hilfenhaus or Peter Siddle will have to make way for Lyon's return on Tuesday as the 24-year-old prepares to play his 10th Test and first on his home ground.
It will be an emotional moment for Lyon who has taken 24 Test wickets at 30.04 in nine matches since making his debut in August 2011 in Sri Lanka.
Lyon has come such a long way in 12 months, considering last summer the offspinner could only manage 12 Sheffield Shield victims at 43.00 and now he is tipping an in-form quick out of the Test side.
AAP
Tags: cricket, sport, adelaide-5000, sa, australia First posted January 20, 2012 20:20:49
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