Melbourne, Jan 4 (NationPress) Australia's leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson has expressed his candid view on the absence of spinners in the fifth Ashes Test held at the Sydney Cricket Ground, stating that the decision made by the team's management “sucks”.

Historically, this venue has favored slow bowlers, yet Australia opted for an all-pace attack, ignoring the spin bowling option for the third time in this Ashes series. “It sucks, mate. I won’t be careful, it sucks,” Swepson remarked. “As a spin bowler, I am obviously biased, but I think we’ve seen it coming for a while now, especially in (Sheffield) Shield cricket.”

“There are fewer and fewer spin bowlers participating in games, particularly in specific regions of the country, and that trend is now reflected in Test cricket. We see greener pitches, and seam is becoming the primary source of wickets, which is disappointing because I believe there's a significant role for spin bowling in Test matches,” he told reporters after competing for Melbourne Stars against Melbourne Renegades at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Swepson, who has represented Australia in four Test matches, further expressed his disappointment for off-spinner Todd Murphy, who missed a chance to play in the absence of the injured Nathan Lyon. “In other regions of the world, spin bowling is crucial; it's something I grew up watching, like Shane Warne bowling around the wicket into footmarks at the SCG.”

“It would be great to see that return, but the current trend indicates we're moving further away from that with the pitches being prepared. I feel for Todd; he’s an exceptional bowler, and as part of the spin fraternity, I would love to see spin bowling get its due recognition again.”

He also pointed out that groundsmen in Australia's domestic matches may be intentionally creating pace-friendly surfaces to avoid dull draws. “It seems to me that we are more concerned about producing results than allowing for a flat pitch that leads to a two-day Test or Shield match.”

“It feels like we prefer a result over a flat pitch that starts to deteriorate. Conversations with veteran players in Shield cricket, like Usman Khawaja, reveal they used to bat for two days on a perfect road before the pitch began to break down.”

“I can’t recall the last time I played a Shield match like that, which is quite unfortunate. I would love to see that style return, but it requires someone somewhere to commit to creating such pitches, and I’m uncertain who that will be or if it’s a decision for Cricket Australia.”