Reading a fifth-day pitch

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Both captains walk out and prod the same square metre of turf. They usually come to opposite conclusions, and one of them is going to be wrong before lunch.

What the cracks really mean

Wide cracks look dramatic but often play more evenly than they appear. It is the narrow ones, right on a good length, that produce the delivery nobody sees coming.

The key points

• Narrow cracks on a good length are the most dangerous
• Footmarks give a spinner a repeatable target
• Dry patches accelerate wear on both sides of the wicket

Footmarks and the angle of attack

Four days of bowlers landing on the same rough patch create a target for a spinner bowling around the wicket. The batter can leave the ball or play it, but he cannot do both.

This is why the toss on day one so often decides the shape of day five.

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