After India beat Australia 2-1 in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in 2020\/21, the batting average in Tests has gone down from 37.0 to 28.8. Moreover, average balls per wicket in Australia till the 2020\/21 series was 66.6, and after that, it\u2019s also gone down to 52.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Average overs per Test in Australia till that unforgettable series win by India was 347.1, and since then, it has gone down to 279.4. \"The wickets were probably better then as well, the ball wasn\u2019t as big a seam, so there was less good balls to get you out if that makes sense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"A lot of it was batter error, and at that stage I felt like I wasn\u2019t making many errors. I think I said to Hadds before that first Test, \u2018they\u2019re not going to get me out\u2019 and it turned out to be the way. Maybe I need to say that more often and try to stick to it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"Between the early 2000s and 2018 the wickets were pretty good. They were more batter than bowler friendly in Australia, and that\u2019s flipped on its head now. With the grass on the wickets and the balls, it is definitely a lot more challenging for a batter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"If you play well you can still score runs, not saying it\u2019s impossible But I felt it was harder for them to bowl a really great ball to get me out, whereas you feel now there\u2019s one every now and again that\u2019s going to have your name on it and you can\u2019t do anything about it,\" said Smith to The Sydney Morning Herald.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Veteran left-handed opener Usman Khawaja also said the changes in nature of the pitches and Kookaburra has meant bowlers don\u2019t need to put in much effort to swing the red ball in Tests and first-class domestic games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"Batting in Shield cricket has been as tough as it\u2019s ever been in the last four years, ever since Kookaburra changed the ball. They raised the seam of the ball, made it more oval, we get more divoty wickets now than I ever had in the 10 years before that. We had green wickets before, but now that ball\u2019s changed, that\u2019s really changed things up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Veteran left-handed opener Usman Khawaja also said the changes in nature of the pitches and Kookaburra has meant bowlers don\u2019t need to put in much effort to swing the red ball in Tests and first-class domestic games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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