Pitch not likely to be a spinners' paradise

Spinner's turn: Shane Warne faces the media as Australia prepare of Thursday's Test © Getty Images

Rumours that the Old Trafford pitch might be a spinners' paradise were scotched by Jim Cumbes, Lancashire's chief executive, when he told reporters that it was likely to favour quick rather than slow bowlers.

"At the moment the pitch is like concrete," he said. "There is plenty of pace and bounce and at this stage I would expect it to favour the seamers rather than the spinners. Traditionally it has favoured spin but it has been prepared slightly differently this time because of the weather. There should be some turn from the fourth day on, but I don't think it will be turning sideways early in the match."

That view was backed by Old Trafford groundsman Peter Marron. "Everyone keeps telling me it will turn square. I don't think it will. It's rolled out flat, it's got a polished surface and the weather forecast is good." But he added that it would offer something for the slow men. We spent years trying to get pitches to turn for English bowlers," he smiled. "It happens to do it naturally now. But I don't think it will turn as quickly as everyone thinks it will"

On the evidence of matches this season, there seems little to support claims that the ball could turn sideways early on. The most successful bowler at Manchester in 2005 is Durham's Steve Harmison.

Stuart MacGill, who was expected to partner Shane Warne, might now sit out the game, but he said that a faster surface would still suit him. "It may well actually work in our favour, because a bit of extra pace in the deck wouldn't hurt me much."

But while the Australians appear unfazed, Tony Ware, the head curator of the MCG, told Sydney's SEN radio that any attempts to prepare a quick track to negate Warne and MacGill could end in disaster. "It's a tricky exercise," he explained. "I think their only option, if they want to not have a spinning wicket, they have to have almost a damp wicket on day one or day two, which only means that the Test match becomes determined by the toss of the coin, which nobody wants to see. If the curator is under a bit of direction to put water on the wicket so close to a game under English conditions, I think they need to be a little careful with that."