Australia Vs England, 1st Test: Perth Pitch 'Sporting', Kolkata 'Sub-Par'? Ex-India Players Call Out Switch In Narrative

Pacers ruled the roost on the opening day of Ashes 2025-26, as a remarkable 19 wickets tumbled in Perth on Friday (November 21, 2025). Mitchell Starc claimed a career-best 7/58 to help bowl England out for 172, before Australia got a taste of their own medicine, chiefly via visiting skipper Ben Stokes (5/23 so far).

It was the most wickets ever to be taken on the opening day of the first Test of an Ashes series. The last time more wickets were taken on the first day of any Ashes Test was at Old Trafford way back in 1909, with 20 being snared then.

With the Aussies nine down for 123 at stumps, the match could well be over by the third day, if not the second. Yet, Friday's play was largely described as thrilling by British and Australian media, in sharp contrast to the kind of general reviews the Kolkata Test pitch got in the India vs South Africa series opener.

Pitch Talk For Eden Gardens Versus That In Perth

The Eden Gardens surface came in for considerable flak after the match ended in two-and-a-half days and Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma was the only batter to go past the fifty-run mark. The curator came under fire for what many deemed as an "under-prepared" pitch, and India head coach Gautam Gambhir had to eventually come to his defence, saying the track was "exactly what we asked for".

While usual suspects like Michael Vaughan and other former cricketers from England and Australia trashed the Eden Gardens pitch, there was no such conversation after the flurry of wickets in Perth's Optus Stadium. And experts from India were quick to point that out.

Indian off-spin legend R Ashwin posted a cheekily-worded tweet on X: “Only 19 wickets fell at Perth today, but an excellent day’s cricket. Oh no! What if the same happens tomorrow in Guwahati?”

Fellow Tamil Nadu cricketer and former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik also made his stance clear. “Is it fair to say people like to see pacers picking plenty of wickets on spicy pitches rather than spinners on a turning pitch? And if that’s the case — WHY?????”

Sunil Gavaskar's 'Crybabies' Jibe

It is not the first time that Indian cricket luminaries have exposed such 'double standards'. Soon after the Kolkata Test, hit back at the pitch's Western critics through his Sportstar column. "...one of Ben Stokes’s has-beens has got vocal about the pitch simply because 15 wickets fell on day two.

"At The Oval, 15 wickets fell on the second day, but of course, unsurprisingly, not a word of criticism about the pitches in Australia and England. Lots of wickets fall in a day in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but nary a word of sarcasm. That is left for India and Indian pitches. So predictable this haranguing about Indian pitches and finding fault with everything about Indian cricket," he added.

In the past, Gavaskar has launched a scathing attack on a section of the English media, labelling them as "moaners" and "crybabies" for their incessant complaints about Indian pitches that provide spin. "Former English and Australian cricketers all time talk about the Indian pitches and conditions. We're not moaners, we're not whingers. You'll never find us complaining, but 15 wickets in a day in India, there would be hell", Gavaskar had said.

Fans and prominent online commentators also voiced their frustration at the switch in narratives for spin-friendly and seam-friendly wickets.

It remains to be seen how the English and Australian media and former cricketers react to this criticism, or whether they pay heed to it at all.