'Watery' Gabba pitch may hit England's chances of retaining Ashes urn

England's hopes of showing off their reverse swing skills on dry Australian pitches may be dashed as the curator at the Gabba ground, where the first Test of the 'return Ashes' will be held, gets set to water down the pitches.

England's curators were banned from putting any moisture in their pitches and the only watering they received was when players urinated on The Oval surface to celebrate their Ashes triumph.

However, News.com.au reports that England may see a green tinge on a freshly watered Gabba pitch when they arrive there for the first Test with curator Kevin Mitchell saying that he will be watering the pitch as it will be important to take wickets with the new ball.

Mitchell called the England team 'a sad bunch', with the report mentioning that his actions may be a revenge against England's act of possibly doctoring their home pitches to suit their players' abilities during the summer Ashes series, which the hosts won 3-0.

The report mentioned that former Test greats had also questioned if the dry and dodgy pitch in the second Test had been doctored to aid England's Ashes campaign.