Perth braced for heatwave during series openerPitch likely to crack but won’t ‘blow wide open’Optus Stadium curator Brett Sipthorpe says Australia and
New Zealand batsmen will not be confronted with cracks the size of canyons during the first Test in Perth, but warns there will be plenty of them.
An intense heatwave will hit Perth during the series opener which starts on Thursday, with the forecast 40-degree temperatures set to produce numerous cracks in the pitch. But Sipthorpe says those cracks will not be much more than one inch wide, with the compact nature of the drop-in wicket ensuring the cracks don’t “blow wide open”.