The best venues for fast bowlers and spinners

Over the last seven or eight years, the general refrain in world cricket has been that the conditions have become much more favourable for batsmen, mostly at the expense of the fast bowlers. Where once upon a time it was common to see at least two venues in each country outside the subcontinent having pitches that sported a fair amount of grass to assist seam and bounce, it has now become a rarity to see such surfaces, as the commercial pressure to ensure a full five days of Test cricket overrides all other factors. It has happened in most centres in Australia; the pitches in the West Indies have almost uniformly become low and slow, while even in New Zealand most surfaces that the Indians have seen in the ongoing series have been a far cry from those that were witnessed in their previous series.

Thankfully, though, while most venues are leaning towards offering more and more goodies to the batsmen, there are still some that retain their venom and spice. England found that out, much to their discomfort, in the first Test of their series in the West Indies, when they were sent packing for 51 at Sabina Park, the only pitch of the series that had any encouragement for the fast bowlers.

In fact, Kingston is one of the few venues that have regularly offered support to the bowlers over the last few years: Steve Harmison took 7 for 12 there in 2004, Corey Collymore bagged 7 for 57 against Sri Lanka in 2003, and 7 for 78 against Pakistan in 2005, while Stuart Clark nailed 5 for 32 last year. Not surprisingly, Sabina Park leads the table of best venues for fast bowlers since 2002: in seven Tests, 191 wickets have fallen to the fast men at an excellent average of 23.81. It's also one of only two venues - Johannesburg being the other - where fast bowlers strike at less than 50 balls per wicket.

One venue conspicuous by its absence is the WACA ground in Perth. In its heyday it was a haven for fast bowlers, offering disconcerting bounce and plenty of pace. Over the last few years, though, there has been a constant complaint about the surface there losing its unique qualities and transforming into a pitch that is like any other in the world. The numbers support that observation, with the average runs per wicket rising to around 34 in the 2000s. In 10 Tests here in the 1980s, there were 16 five-fors by fast bowlers; in eight matches in the 2000s, there have been only seven.

The story is similar at some of the other venues: Barbados, which played host to a dull draw between West Indies and England a month back, has slipped to an average of nearly 33 in the 2000s, while Durban has declined significantly as well: from an average of 25.88 for the fast bowlers in the 1990s, it has fallen to 33.80 in the 2000s.

It remains open to debate, though, as to how much of the decline in numbers is due to the conditions, and how much due to the quality of fast bowlers around these days. The likes of Marshall, Holding Roberts, Garner, Lillee, Thomson, Imran, Akram, McGrath, Donald and several others had a huge role to play in making pitches appear unplayable. What is undeniable, though, is that there has been a significant slowdown in pitch speeds over the last few years.

Among the best venues for spin, at the top of the list is an unexpected name - Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Monty Panesar have all done well at this ground, with Murali taking 11 for 132 in 2006. The next two venues are Murali's lairs: in Kandy five of the eight five-fors belong to him, while in Galle Murali has shared the honours with Warne, Harbhajan Singh, Ashley Giles and Ajantha Mendis.

Of the top 10 best grounds for fast bowlers and spinners, five are common to both, though it also includes Sharjah, a venue that has hosted only four Tests, all in 2002.

In the overall top 10, Sabina Park maintains its top spot, comfortably ahead of second-placed Kandy. The batsmen from India and New Zealand could well have a tough time over the next five days in Wellington, which comes in in third place, marginally ahead of the Wanderers in Johannesburg. The three countries that aren't represented in the top 10 are Australia, India and Pakistan - an indication of the conditions, but also of other factors: the excellent batting line-ups of Australia and India, for example, score enough runs to ensure that the runs per wicket average in these countries is always reasonably high.

Best venues for all bowlers since Jan 2002 (Qual: at least four Tests)

Venue	Tests	Wickets	Average	Strike rate	5WI/ 10WM
Sabina Park, Jamaica	7	249	24.72	50.1	16/ 1
Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy	6	203	27.76	57.4	12/ 3
Basin Reserve, Wellington	9	281	28.93	58.2	15/ 3
Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	9	310	28.98	52.2	10/ 3
Sharjah CA Stadium	4	122	29.13	58.0	2/ 0
Trent Bridge, Nottingham	7	241	30.37	58.6	10/ 1
Eden Park, Auckland	4	136	30.68	58.1	5/ 1
Galle International Stadium	5	165	31.41	67.3	8/ 5
Supersport Park, Centurion	6	191	32.13	60.1	9/ 2
Seddon Park, Hamilton	5	152	33.17	67.5	6/ 1

To view the best grounds for bowlers in all Tests (including Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) since 2002, click here.