Pitches, not Big Bash, to blame for woes: Wade Matthew Wade has disputed suggestions that Cricket Australia's emphasis on promoting the Twenty20 Big Bash League has come at a cost to the Australian team, saying batsmen were being left stranded by the introduction of too many green pitches. The back-up wicketkeeper on the Ashes tour has two Test centuries to his name and hopes to use the three-day game against Sussex this week to push for his inclusion in the third Test at Old Trafford as a specialist batsman. Cricket Australia came under fire for its pre-planned marketing blitz for this summer's Big Bash League last Monday. The spruiking came only hours after Australia's 347-run slaughter at Lord's. Former Test captain Ricky Ponting said he was "flabbergasted" by the timing of the promotion. The league will run from December 20 to February 15, with the Sheffield Shield played either side of that window. While the inclusion of the tournament on the domestic calendar during the holiday period has effectively sliced the Shield season in two, Wade believes that is not the reason for Australia's consistent failings with the bat at Test level. "I think BBL is good for my cricket and younger guys' cricket," the Victoria gloveman said. It puts you under the kind of pressure you get in a Test match rather than a first-class match with the big crowds. There are theories about the decline in standards but Wade is adamant that the preparation of result-driven, bowler-friendly pitches for the Shield is chiefly to blame. Pitches have not been ideal. They have been greener than previously and that is an issue for batsmen hitting big hundreds. It is not a technical issue that players have not been scoring big runs.