Cricket pitches explained: 3 Basic pitch types and how they impact the scoreboard

#2 Green Pitch

Dream pitch for seam bowlers

The grass cover on these pitches enables movement for fast bowlers. Green pitches are a dream surface for seam bowlers as they can showcase their swing and pace prowess. However, they can cause a significant threat to the batsmen. These wickets have a grass cover on the good length area causing the ball to move and swing after pitching on the surface.

England, South Africa and Australia have a lot of grounds that boast of such pitches which enables their best bowlers such as Anderson, Steyn or Starc to wreak havoc on the opposition.

Green pitches are ideal for Test matches as they examine the temperament of batsmen against seam and swing bowlers. The grass on the pitch reduces the roughness of the surface that allows the ball to swing regularly thereby testing the batsmen's technique. However, this pitch doesn't accommodate for spinners as the ball doesn't grip the surface.