Sydney Cricket Ground Trust Chair Rodney Cavalier has "declared the historic ground will never follow in the footsteps of Adelaide and resort to drop-in pitches" to placate the Australian Football League, according to Chris Barrett of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The transformation of the Adelaide Oval, via a A$535M ($488M) redevelopment, has been a "key talking point ahead of the second Ashes Test starting on Thursday." Despite "subtle requests for the SCG to go down the same route as the Adelaide Oval," there is "staunch opposition to the policy being adopted in Sydney." Cavalier: "Certainly on my watch they know it's not going to happen. It was never more than a polite inquiry, but the SCG, I made it clear way back when Adelaide declared that it would be going to a drop-in wicket, that even if the Sydney Cricket Ground was the last cricket ground in the world that had a traditional wicket it would remain the last cricket ground in the world." The AFL has made "little secret of its preference for the grounds it shares with cricket to have drop-in pitches as they make for better and less-slippery surfaces." The AFL has "previously lobbied unsuccessfully for the change at the Gabba" (SMH, 12/3).
