Sporting picth ... Again ?

[fineleg]

Fifteen months ago in Cape Town, Wasim Jaffer came to the press conference after day one of the Test and pleasantly described the pitch, on which he scored 116, as distinctly Indian. "When we saw the track yesterday, we were surprised how a pitch in South Africa could look like this," were his exact words. Cut to the present, a day on which India were dismissed for 76, and Harbhajan Singh raised eyebrows at the nature of the Motera pitch while bemoaning the trend of draws in India. Dale Steyn, who took 5 for 23 to assist the rot, was also surprised but felt the greenish track played right into South Africa's hands. "The last time we played here [in Ahmedabad] against Sri Lanka there was red soil. But now I don't see red soil anywhere, not in Chennai and even here the clay is not red," Harbhajan said. "It has been changed. Obviously, there is grass too. Every team plays to their strength [at home] and we should also do the same." Despite reports that Anil Kumble and head curator Dhiraj Parsana were at odds against what type of surface should be prepared Harbhajan denied the pitch took the focus away for India. "Whatever wicket you get, you have to play on it," he said. "Obviously if the [home] captain was unhappy with the pitch and the curator didn't do anything about it then you just can't help it. The Indian team's strength is spin. No doubt we have good young fast bowlers but till today all the matches we have won in India are because of our strength. "What we are seeing nowadays is that pitches are being changed constantly and the clay is being changed. Previously we used to get positive results for India, but now we see a lot of draws being played out and results going against the Indian team." Steyn put the question back to India, questioning Kumble's decision to bat despite knowing what the track looked like. "I was surprised. I haven't played too much in the subcontinent, especially in India, and I've never seen a pitch like this, with so much grass," he said. "From what I read in the papers there was a bit of an argument between the curator and the Indian captain. They probably didn't get what they wanted. If they didn't get what they wanted then you have to ask the question, 'why did they bat first?' If you always thought it was going to be green then maybe you made the wrong decision." [ Mickey Arthur, South Africa's coach, told Cricinfo that his side was extremely pleased with the track. "There were no hidden demons on the surface, but honestly, I am a bit surprised. It's a really good wicket for us and suits our bowling attack," he said. "Obviously, I would have expected India to play to its strength, which is spin bowling. It's from that point of view that I am surprised. The pitch was a little two-paced at times, but it was ultimately a good wicket." In January 2007 South Africa swallowed their pride, regrouped, and went on to famously win the Cape Town Test by five wickets. How Indian choose to act here forth remains to be seen.

[Guest whineleg]

Sack the curator and strip India of test status. Only that will these dadajis and lazy bums learn how to play cricket!

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Daljit promises a sporting track Kanpur: The BCCI Pitch and Grounds Committee Chairman Daljit Singh said on Tuesday that the Green Park track for the third Test between India and South Africa here would be a sporting one and rubbished suggestions that he had been asked to ... More... Daljit promises a sporting track Kanpur: The BCCI Pitch and Grounds Committee Chairman Daljit Singh said on Tuesday that the Green Park track for the third Test between India and South Africa here would be a sporting one and rubbished suggestions that he had been asked to prepare a pitch favouring the home team by the BCCI. Daljit, who inspected the pitch on Monday evening, said he would prepare a track which would have something in it for both the fast bowlers and spinners. “Both the fast bowlers and spinners will get help from the pitch. It will not favour only one team,” said Daljit. “We are preparing a sporting track. It may take spin later in the match,” he said. BCCI directions When asked about Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh’s comment that India should play to its strength at home and have spinning tracks, Daljit said pitches in the country were made according to the BCCI directions. “I don’t know whether Harbhajan said it or not, but had he said it he should have spoken keeping in mind the policy of BCCI,” Daljit said.

[Desi Cartman]

Sporting picth ... Again ? I hate to say this but I hope they don’t prepare a sporting track like they did in the 2nd test. The below statements are worrying me though.

"It will be a sporting track,” was all Singh said when asked about the nature of the wicket. Kumar also chose his words carefully. “It is an ideal wicket for a Test match,” he said. “But it will not be like the one we had for the last Test match here. This wicket will produce a result.” The last Test played here, between the same two teams, was a dull draw, which saw 23 wickets for the 1,145 runs scored. But the conditions in Kanpur are pretty similar to those in Ahmedabad. Kanpur will be as hot as, if not hotter, Ahmedabad. Parsana claimed he left the grass cover “to bind the wicket”. Since the Green Park wicket does not have ‘live’ grass, it is set to crumble. It will just be a question of when rather than whether. “Latest on the third day,” said a source. “The spinners are going to play a big role as the game progresses.” Link

:omg: this pitch is also gonna trun on day 3 .. I hope the test lasts that long

[Mr. Wicket]

If I read it right, it's not about the fact that the pitch will turn on day 3. The way it's put, the source says it'll crumble at latest on day 3. Nice. :D

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Micky Arthur not worried about Kanpur track The South African coach says his team is well equipped to counter the turning track prepared to suit the home team's spinners in Kanpur. More... SA coach Micky Arthur not worried about Kanpur track MR Mishra, Press Trust Of India Kanpur , April 09, 2008 First Published: 14:56 IST(9/4/2008) Last Updated: 18:15 IST(9/4/2008) South African coach Micky Arthur on Wednesday sought to put the beleaguered Indians on the back-foot ahead of the third and final cricket Test, saying that his team was well equipped to counter the turning track prepared to suit the home team's spinners. Arthur said his team expected such a track after wrapping up the second Test in Ahmedabad within three days and were not unduly worried at the prospect of facing a three-pronged spin attack from the hosts. "We expected such a wicket for this match after what happened in Ahmedabad. The wicket will go through the top very early but we are prepared for it. We are quiet confident of doing well in this match also," Arthur told reporters here. Although there was some grass on the Green Park track, it was shaven off this morning and it was expected that the pitch will break quickly. The Indians, trailing the three-match series 1-0, have no option but to win the last match to level the series. "We are prepared for all the eventualities. We expect India to go in with three spinners in such conditions. We also have the option of two spinners but we have not taken a decision on the team composition yet. I expect the track to deteriorate quickly," he said. On whether the toss will play a big role, he said: "It will be a huge toss to win. Sometimes it is sad when the toss becomes so crucial. We will be happy if it lands in our favour." Arthur also made it clear pace sensation Dale Steyn would be fit to take the field for the match. "Dale has a little niggle but it is not serious. He will play. There are no injury issues in the team. All the other players are in good shape." South African paceman Morne Morkel said he was looking forward to the match and said he was getting quite used to the sub-continental conditions. "I am looking forward to the match. It is a great opportunity to win a series in India. I will go into the match with a positive mindset," he added. Morkel reckoned that that the pitch will provide some assistance to the pace bowlers on the first two days or so. "I think there will be something in it for the pacers also. We have to get the basics right," he concluded.

[Feed]

The toss will be crucial, says Arthur South African coach Mickey Arthur feels the wicket at Green Park, the venue for the third and final Test, is going to break early and will deteriorate as the match progresses. More... The toss will be crucial, says Arthur April 09, 2008 20:01 IST South African coach Mickey Arthur, it seems, has learned a thing or two from the Australians when it comes to calling a spade a spade. Most importantly, he is slowly but surely mastering the art of playing with words. On Wednesday, even as the Indian players and officials refrained from making any statements ahead of the third and final Test, the Proteas' boss was all the more forthcoming, his displeasure over the nature of the wicket quite palpable When Gupte dismissed Sobers at Green Park. "The wicket is going to break early and will deteriorate as the match progresses," said Arthur, when questioned about the nature of the wicket. He, however, added that the South Africans were least surprised to see such a wicket. "We were expecting this kind of a surface, especially after the way things went in the last Test," he said. "But we have done our homework well and are prepared for any eventuality." The astute coach was of the opinion that the coin may well decide the course of match, though he was far from pleased with his own observation. "The toss will be crucial," he said. "It's sad that the toss will play such a critical role in a Test match, but that is a reality." With the wicket devoid of any grass and cracks expected as the match progresses, South Africa may well be forced to resort to two spinners at Green Park and the coach is very much aware of what the situation may demand. "Besides Paul Harris, we have all the options open. Robin Petersen is definitely an option," said Arthur, of the 29-year-old left-arm bowler who took a career-best 5 for 33 against Bangladesh in the second Test at Chittagong recently. "He bowled well against Bangladesh and we're definitely going to consider him."

[Chandan]

Well the same thing Kallis said just after the Ahmadabad match and Smith said today--that SA are not worried about the track that will be dished out by India. Infact, according to them they were prepared to play on raging turners in all the three matches. So SA is properly prepared for this series. Can the same thing be said about India? All our frontline seamers are out injured, our leading spinner is injured, our leading batsman is ruled out! Why did we not prepare for the series in the same way? Why do we lose focus so quickly?

[Cricketics]

man i so badly wanted to see Sharma play in this series.. i am not sure if he will play now..

[Shehezaada]

the saffers have improved how they play spin bowling...mackenzie and amla look really good, but i still think they have some problems when it turns square. Time for a pitch that looks the moon, 90's style, and get back our rep as tigers at home. Now that we've started winning overseas as well, can't be called kittens abroad.

[umpire]

I still do not think SA are better players of spin bowling. McKenzie somehow survived in Chennai due to slow nature of pitch, but he was constantly troubled by spinners. Arthur is just bull$hitting, its about time we show them what kind of pitches we can produce. Remember SA opted for bouncy track in Durban when they lost first test against us. Durban had become placid for last 2 seasons but they managed to produce bouncy track. Now its our turn.

[THX_1138]

I did not watch the game live but how exactly are we pinning the debacle of the second test match to anything but our own self destructive batting? the pitch had little to no juice in it on the opening two days. south africa piled on the hurt and heck we scored some good runs in the second innings... so how on earth was the pitch sporting? we were simply outdone by the best pace attack in the world.

[THX_1138]

we need to bring back our top bowlers... and bat with a stronger constitution. and please, someone needs to take RP Singh aside and inject some zeal into him. When on the field he things is a party and he has little responsibility. Our bowlers are hardly ever accurate and motivated and at the slightest signs of a batting side assault, we buckle. Doesnt hurt to field the ball every now and then either...

[Dravid]

this is lame...make a fcking dust bowl damn it... might as well go play in rsa and get raped there

[Ram]

To be honest, its really amusing to see a chorus of voices calling for a 'raging turner' to defeat the South Africans. Even people who were previously chest-beating about the Renaissance in Indian fast bowling and how we can beat ANY team, even in seamer-friendly conditions, seem to have mellowed down now. I will reiterate to the point of boring everyone to death that we MUST play to our strenghts at home. And traditionally, our biggest match-winners at home have ALWAYS been spinners. Our strategy, preparation and type of pitch we dish out MUST be with keeping the spinners in mind. Considering all this, its bewildering to see the kind of tracks we have had in this series so far. Chennai was as flat as an interstate, while Ahemedabad had enough encouragement for seamers to coax Javagal Srinath out of retirement. Though I must add here, most of our misery at the Motera was self-inflicted. That certainly wasnt a '76 all out' first innings pitch. Evidently, there was *too much* encouragement for the seamers on day 1, but atleast, we should have scored around 250. And the worst part is, the bad news is yet to come. Everyone here seems to take it for granted that once we have minefield of a pitch that spits and bites, Ind will automatically have an adavantage. The truth is not as simple as that. Whatever conditions we can exploit, the Saffies can exploit too. If their batsman find it difficult to negotiate the turn and bounce, so will our batsman. So the strategy to dish out an under-prepared pitch may well backfire on us, though I dont expect that to happen. I think it will be like any normal test match pitch in India ( slow, low and taking turn on days 4 and 5) and the Saffies are in good enough form to ATLEAST draw this.

[Dravid]

To be honest' date=' its really amusing to see a chorus of voices calling for a 'raging turner' to defeat the South Africans. Even people who were previously chest-beating about the Renaissance in Indian fast bowling and how we can beat ANY team, even in seamer-friendly conditions, seem to have mellowed down now. [/quote'] i am saying it since our 2 best test pace bowlers r injured- zaheer and ishant..

I will reiterate to the point of boring everyone to death that we MUST play to our strenghts at home. And traditionally, our biggest match-winners at home have ALWAYS been spinners. Our strategy, preparation and type of pitch we dish out MUST be with keeping the spinners in mind.

+ our batsman r good at playing spin and sa does not have that good of a spin attack..

[Ram]

i am saying it since our 2 best test pace bowlers r injured- zaheer and ishant..

RPS has been our best seamer in the last 8-10 months. He hasnt ruffled a feather in series so far.

+ our batsman r good at playing spin and sa does not have that good of a spin attack..

A low, uneven track that has variable bounce + 3 fast bowlers capable of bowling around 145 kmph and really straight is not exactly the proposition the Indian batsman will be too excited bout either.

[umpire]

>A low, uneven track that has variable bounce + 3 fast bowlers capable of bowling around 145 kmph and really straight is not exactly the proposition the Indian batsman will be too excited bout either. Actually SA bowlers have been pitching short and it helped them in Ahmedabad, but if bounce is low they will be canon fodder. Thing is its not lack of bounce that will get SA, our spinner should have bounce, zip and turn. Ball should grip the surface and do magical things. But for us to be effective we need kumble at his best. This is very ground where we won decisive test match against much stronger SA team lead by Cronje.

[f.b.m]

I hope that its a raging turner just so that SA can pick nincompoops like Peterson. btw: It has to be a raging turner, not a slow, powdery crappy PSS wicket.

[umpire]

what does f.b.m. stand for?