In recent times, Test matches have increasingly resembled frenetic T20 games as overs fly by, wickets tumble, and results often arrive inside two or three days. Just as the debate over pitch conditions and fairness in Test cricket intensifies, the ICC has dropped a bombshell: the Perth pitch used for the opening match of the 2025–26 Ashes has been rated “very good”.

ICC’s Rating on Cricket Grounds

The Perth pitch rating verdict caught many off guard. While fans were stunned by how quickly the game ended, officials at what is deemed an ICC standard cricket ground in Perth lauded the surface, drawing immediate and sharp comparisons with the scrutiny endured by sub-continent grounds like the famous Eden Gardens pitch.

ICC Pitch Ratings：Why Perth’s Top Rating Raised Eyebrows?

The governing body uses a four-tier rating system for every ICC standard cricket ground:

Under this system, a “very good” rating requires a pitch to deliver “good carry, limited seam movement, and consistent bounce early in the match,” thereby offering a balanced contest between batters and bowlers. Yet, how the first Ashes Test in Perth played out surprised nearly everyone. The Test concluded in just two days after 32 wickets fell over 847 deliveries, with 19 wickets tumbling on Day 1 alone. England were bundled out for 172 in their first innings, thanks to a fiery 7-58 by Mitchell Starc, only for Australia’s own top-order to collapse to 121/9 at stumps.

Related Article：Root’s Aussie Nightmare Continues Thanks to Mitchell Starc’s Ashes Wickets

THAT’S FIVE FOR MITCH STARC! #Ashes pic.twitter.com/igYkBPOL9N

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 21, 2025

On Day 2, another flurry of wickets followed, and yet, the pitch earned the highest grade from match referee Ranjan Madugalle. Supporters of the rating point out that the surface delivered what the ICC demands: carry, bounce, and a fair chance for both bat and ball, especially early on. They argue the quick finish owed more to aggressive batting and superb pace bowling than to a “flawed” wicket. Officials from the host board agreed: they described Perth Stadium as delivering “a fair balance between bat and ball” which aligns with how the ICC defines an ICC standard cricket ground.

The pitch for the two-day Ashes Test at Perth Stadium has been given the highest rating by the ICC.

▶️ https://t.co/bI90KbIsQd pic.twitter.com/pbVKc35vHY

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 27, 2025

Still, critics were taken aback. If this rapid, high-wicket Test qualifies as “very good,” then the bar seems rather low. Many felt the rating stretched the meaning of fairness, a sentiment sharpened by what’s been happening on sub-continent wickets in Asia over the past few years.

Perceived Double Standards：Sub-Continent vs SENA Grounds

This episode has re-ignited a familiar grievance: that the ICC and global cricketing community often judge sub-continent pitches more harshly than those in SENA nations (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia). Recent high-profile criticism of the Eden Gardens pitch following a low-scoring, spin-heavy Test between India and South Africa is cited as a glaring example.

🚨 PERTH TEST PITCH = VERY GOOD 🚨

– ICC has rated the pitch for the first Test as “Very Good”, the match finished in just two days. pic.twitter.com/LSW1ttzWmV

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 27, 2025

Legendary former Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has been particularly vocal. In the wake of the Perth verdict, he criticised the silence over a two-day, 32-wicket Test at Perth while pointing out how sub-continent venues like Kolkata draw swift condemnation for producing spinning or uneven tracks. Gavaskar even noted that the Perth wicket reportedly “had more grass than usual,” which meant seamers had extra help and yet the pitch escaped negative scrutiny.

Eden Gardens is ready for Test cricket again 🏟️ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Qn4JHkaFPm

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 14, 2025

Contrast that with how the Eden Gardens pitch has been dissected: fans and pundits described it as “dangerous” or “a disgrace,” complaining of uneven bounce and spin-heavy behaviour early in the match. Some argued it was more about a surface suited to spinners than a fair contest.

17 wickets fall in a day at Eden Gardens, India: terrible pitch, what a shame, this is not what cricket lovers want to see.

19 wickets fall in a day at Perth, Australia: true pitch, what brilliant bowling, this is exactly what cricket lovers want to see.

— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) November 21, 2025

This perceived dichotomy between praise for pace-friendly collapses in Australia and harsh judgment for spin-friendly decks in Asia fuels growing resentment. For many, the Perth Pitch rating has become emblematic of a deeper bias: that “balanced Test cricket” is often only defined in the narrow frame of seam-friendly wickets, while spin-friendly conditions are treated as aberrations.

Supporters of this view argue that an ICC standard cricket ground should be judged on its ability to provide a fair contest regardless of region, whether it favours spin, seam, or offers batting sweetness. They say that the global cricket community must stop applying different yardsticks depending on geography, and recognise that fairness doesn’t have one universal style.

Conclusion：Rethinking What ‘Fair’ Means in Test Cricket

The drama of a two-day Ashes Test at Perth, full of pace, collapse and a fast century, was undeniably compelling. The Perth Pitch rating as “very good” underscores that official criteria were met, at least according to the letter of ICC standards. Yet, the backlash and the comparisons to what happened at other venues, such as the Eden Gardens pitch, reveal a fault-line in cricket’s global psyche: how we define a “fair contest.”

The ICC has rated the pitch for the first Test in Perth as ‘very good’. It is the highest of the four rankings as per ICC’s four-tier rating system

Do you agree with the ICC’s rating? 👍or 👎 #Ashes2025 #Ashes pic.twitter.com/C3dCTJPg40

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) November 27, 2025

If pitches in SENA countries are celebrated when results come quickly, but sub-continent tracks are condemned when they produce similar rapid finishes or spin-heavy contests, then perhaps the problem lies not in the pitches themselves, but in the bias underlying their judgment. The Perth verdict has reopened this debate, forcing the cricket world to ask: should fairness in Test cricket really be conditioned by geography or by balance, variation, and opportunity for both bat and ball, regardless of continent?