Will the WACA regain its pace?

A sod of soil south of Perth could provide the base that restores the WACA Ground's once-famed reputation as Australia's liveliest pitch. WACA curator Cameron Sutherland spent yesterday analysing soil samples on the Harvey River, about an hour's drive from Perth, in the hope of finding the dirt that will return the pitch to its glory days.

Rather than starting work on the pitch only a week or so before the Test, Sutherland will begin preparations this month to build a compact base for the playing surface. The new method was trialled in Western Australia's one-day match against Tasmania last week, which Test opener Justin Langer said made for exhilarating cricket. "It is exciting for cricket - though not for opening batsmen when you see the keeper standing so far back," Langer said. "It was a classic WACA wicket."

"There were about 20 people on the hill all day shouting out things about my sexuality and whether I dealt and took drugs, and I copped that pretty sweet,” Matthews said. “But when he [North Sydney’s Matthew Burton] walked over to me in a menacing fashion and took his glove off to intimidate me, that's when I took exception. I've seen 100 punks like him go down over the years. He didn't intimidate me. I just laughed at him."