Bit harsh on England there spook. I don't think we've ever really doctored pitchs away from what suits Australia. Its more so the climate is different.
I could easily argue it the other way. Australia makes hard, fast dry wickets as they know that bowlers from England don't suit it, but thats no really true. Its the heat that bakes the wicket to make it as hard as they are.
Likewise England isn't as hot and is wetter, so the wickets tend to retain a bit more grass and therefore aren't as hard, ie. less bouncy and susceptible to more seam movement and swing through the air.
Its why England develops more swing bowlers than truly quick bowlers, because that express pace doesn't swing.
Its a silly argument (and an arrogant one) to blame other countries when the wicket doesn't suit your bowlers perfectly.
Seemed to work well for Glenn McGrath (who wasn't express pace), his average was better in England than it was in Australia.
Interesting observations I made in England too about the game at the grass roots level. That concrete and/or synthetic pitches are quite rare. A bit more common now. But not traditionally a really a big part of the game as far as I could tell. Is that right Posh?
I explained to English friends who lived in rural Cambridgeshire (a hot bed of village cricket) that at the lower levels, in Australia, we all grew up learning the game on concrete and/or synthetic wickets. Only if you got to a reasonable level were you privileged enough to then get a game on a turf wicket. Maybe a bit different if you are at elite private schools. But certainly not for public school kids and junior club cricketers where I grew up. Cambridgeshire folk seemed quite surprised.
This perhaps also influences the types of players we produce from the very formative years. Concrete and synthetic wickets create a lot of speed and consistent, true bounce. But don’t offer much variation (apart from one high school we used to play against, where their 40YO concrete pitch had so many cracks in it, it was more dangerous than Sabina Park). I can only imagine playing at the lowest levels in England, on pitches that just don’t have the budget to be really well prepared, what *smile* they are playing on. Balls must be skidding past at ankle bone height, losing quite a few yards of speed as they hit the deck.