Flat pitches snatching away excitement from Tests: Ponting

Sydney, Jun 12 (UNI) With interests and money already drifting towards Twenty20 cricket, Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes that the kind of pitches on which Test matches are being played these days have taken away the excitement from the five-day games.

''I just think Test cricket is probably not as exciting anymore because of the wickets that we're playing on,'' Ponting was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

''People would rather watch a game in Perth than they would in Antigua. There's much more happening.

Currently, Australia is playing in the West Indies where they have had two dull Tests on flat surfaces in Jamaica and Antigua.

The Australian captain is of the oipinion that the cricket pitches over the world need to have some bounce so as to restore excitement.

''There're more bouncers, more batsmen ducking and weaving and sometimes falling on their backsides, more catches behind the wicket, more hook shots. That's the sort of Test cricket that we all grew up watching and enjoying,'' he added.

Ponting, however, was not too impressed with the idea of Test World Champioship which would probably undergo a four-year cycle.

''You're playing for a trophy every series you play,'' Ponting said. ''It doesn't matter if it's at the end of two or three or four years, there are trophies on the line every series. We've got to look at other smaller ways.'' UNI XC RAR RC BST1302