The SCG pitch has been criticized by former Indian cricketers Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar. Vengsarkar called the pitch "substandard" and heavily biased toward pacers, making batting extremely difficult.

ICC rates four out of five pitches in Border-Gavaskar Test series 'very good', with Sydney track deemed 'satisfactory'.

However, former Australia captain Michael Clarke was highly critical of the surface. "The SCG is my favourite ground in the world, it is my home ground, and I hate saying this out