Cricket has become a fast bowlers paradise with premier pacemen benefiting from innovations to the sport that have made batting increasingly difficult, according to Australian great Allan Border.

The use of drop-in pitches and the introduction of day-night Tests using pink balls are affecting the traditional patterns in matches, the former Australian captain said.

The spotlight will be on the Gabba pitch for the Test between Australia and the West Indies beginning Thursday following the farce that occurred against South Africa in 2022.

A demerit point was issued against the ground by match referee Richie Richardson after 34 wickets fell in 144 overs, with Australia winning the Test held in December within two days.

Richardson ruled that the Test favoured fast bowlers too much and that there was extra bounce and “occasionally excessive seam movement”.

Speaking to Fox Cricket’s podcast The Follow On ahead of the first Test at the ground since that match, Border said the Gabba was usually a superb ground to host the long form of the game.

“The actual surface that you play on, the pitch itself, is a great cricket wicket. It offers something for everyone,” he told Fox Cricket.

“Obviously the faster men enjoy the pace and bounce. The spinners get a little bit of turn and bounce and obviously batting, once you get through the new ball, it is a great place to play as a batsman.

“Pink ball Test matches are a slightly different kettle of fish but it is a great place to play.”

But after Australian captain Pat Cummins defied conventional wisdom and sent the West Indies into bat at Adelaide Oval with great success last week, Border hopes the Gabba pitch provides a more even contest between the bat and the ball.

“Hopefully they don’t leave too much grass on the surface,” he said.

“I know with the pink ball, the problem is that it wears very quickly if it is an abrasive surface. (This) is why they are leaving a lot of grass on the pitches, particularly for pink ball games. It does degenerate or disintegrate more than the red ball over that period of 80-odd overs.

“It is hard to manufacture it exactly right. You want to produce a good pitch that gives everyone an opportunity. (I want) a good surface that is fair for everyone.”

Border, who played 156 Tests for Australia and made 11,174 runs at an average of 50.56, said he is not surprised fast bowlers have been the dominant force throughout the summer.

Josh Hazlewood claimed nine wickets in Adelaide in a match Australia won within seven sessions, though Travis Head claimed man of the match honours for his century.

Cummins, who was the leading wicket taker in the three Test series against Pakistan, continued his golden summer with a four wicket haul in the opening innings of the Test.

Adelaide Oval has generally been considered a good pitch to bat on but Border is not certain that is now the case, worrying some pitches around the country might be losing their character.

“(Drop in pitches) are very similar in their characteristics and to make them work well, they have to leave a lot of grass on their surface,” he told The Follow On.

“That, in itself, leads to the faster bowlers gaining a bigger advantage, particularly when you start to play day-night games with pink balls and things like that.

“The old traditional surface, particularly at Adelaide Oval, was a very good surface that degenerated over five days so that the spinners came into the game and it was an up and down surface. There was a lot more variety in terms of how the surface played.

“It looked like a pretty difficult pitch in Adelaide … and if the game had gone a little bit longer, it would have been quite interesting to see how the scores and everything panned out.”

While Border praised veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who secured three wickets at his favourite ground, he said pitches were increasingly advantageous to fast bowlers.

“The pitches themselves, drop in pitches, have different characteristics and leaving more grass on them certainly does help the bowlers,” he said.

“And that is the trend we are seeing, although in Australia’s case we have Nathan Lyon doing a fantastic job for us bowling his off-spinners.

“There is hope for half-decent spinners. But there is just not too much quality spin around and everyone is focusing on the faster bowler.”

But Border was full of praise for the Australian attack, noting that they “hunt in a pack” in a manner similar the great West Indian attacks he once faced when captaining his nation.