Don’t expect a rank turner at the Eden Gardens

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India's curator at the famous Eden Gardens has been told what kind of pitch to prepare for the second Test between South Africa and India... More... Corrie's Proteas ready for a 'turner' Stuart Hess February 11 2010 Corrie van Zyl knows the road from now on will get harder, but will it be as hard as the last time South Africa were here in 2008? On that occasion, they were also 1-0 up in the series and went to Kanpur to find a broken pitch on which they lost the third Test in three days. After that match, the ICC gave the Board of Control for Cricket in India a slap on the wrist for the generally poor state of facilities at Green Park. The BCCI said they would take "corrective" measures. But with a similar scenario facing India in this series - titled the "World Championship of Cricket" - will they be more wary before instructing the ground staff at the venerable Kolkata venue to "rake" the pitch? "I hope so," chirped Van Zyl. "I do, however, expect something that will help the Indian team." Indeed, reports in local media on Wednesday quoted the head curator at Eden Gardens as saying he'd received a call from a BCCI official to prepare "a turner". "Test cricket is meant to be played on good wickets. Can anyone please define what exactly a 'turner' is?" Prabir Mukherjee, the curator, told the Indian Express. "If you want the ball to turn square from day one, why do you need a curator? The Eden Gardens wicket will have even bounce and decent carry. Spinners will come into play as the match meanders along." The gist of Van Zyl's response on Wednesday to enquiries about the pitch in Kolkata, was, "we'll see". "Mentally the South African team are better prepared. It's still going to be a challenge to deal with turning wickets, but the players are in a better place as far as the challenges of this tour are concerned," Van Zyl explained. The concerns for India, though, is that they got a surface in Nagpur that was supposedly suited to their strengths. The bounce was low, the pace slow and it turned from day one. Of course, it was not the minefield that Kanpur was in 2008, but it was still weighted in their favour, they were just out-gunned by a very good South African performance. And there's no reason to expect South Africa to ease up. More than half the squad were in the nets yesterday training, a telling indication of their willingness to get this job done. That kind of dedication has made Van Zyl's job a great deal easier. "I was pleasantly surprised by the level of professionalism, and credit must be given to Mickey (Arthur) and what he has put in place that has made my introduction a lot easier," said Van Zyl. India selection convener Kris Srikkanth has been hauled over the coals in the local press and much of the blame for the Nagpur defeat has been laid squarely at his door. He blamed injuries and bad luck for the loss but did praise South Africa for the way they played and especially Dale Steyn, who claimed match figures of 10/108. "They bowled a lot better than us, there's no point denying it. Also, when Steyn bowls with that kind of pace and swing, it's very difficult to handle," said Srikkanth. India have certainly strengthened their batting by including Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik to the squad for the second Test, the latter having made 183 and 150 in the Duleep Final a week ago. VVS Laxman is also expected to be fit after his hand injury. But still some local commentators wonder what Virat Kohli, the former Indian Under-19 captain, has to do to get a call-up. In his last seven one-day internationals, he has made two centuries and three half-centuries, suggesting his form isn't too bad at all. Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after the defeat that he had little say in what squad was selected. "I just give my view, I can't tell you what it is, because it's private, but that's all I do. What the selectors do with it is up to them," said Dhoni, who, along with coach Gary Kirsten, was clearly miffed about the squad given to them in Nagpur. The inclusion of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth may temper calls for a "turner" in Kolkata. Sreesanth was in reasonable form until he was struck down by a thigh strain in Bangladesh last month and his five-for against Sri Lanka last November suggested a more mature approach from the clownish behaviour that was a feature of his play during India's last tour to South Africa in 2006/07.

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India, SA teams arrive in Kolkata Amid a thick security cover, India and South Africa teams arrived in Kolkata on Thursday evening. More... Friday 12th February 2010 India, SA teams arrive in Kolkata Amid a thick security cover, India and South Africa teams arrived in Kolkata to play the second Test match. The second and final Test of the series is scheduled to be held at Eden Gardens from February 14-18. Some of the India team players, including senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar, however are yet to join the squad, while a full strength South African side checked into a city hotel in separate buses. "Sachin, Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan will join the squad tomorrow while Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik will arrive late in the night," said Indian team's local manager. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was seen sitting on the last row of the bus. With the Kolkata Police maintaining a tight security cover, most of the Indian players could not be spotted. No mediaperson was allowed inside the hotel, while there was a dummy India team bus as a security measure. Playing without their mainline players Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and VVS Laxman, India lost by an innings and six runs in the last Test in Nagpur.

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Don’t expect a rank turner at the Eden Gardens The CAB is not willing to risk preparing a rank turner and draw the ire of the International Cricket Council because the Eden Gardens is scheduled to host World Cup matches next year, reports Atreyo Mukhopadhyay. More... Don’t expect a rank turner at the Eden Gardens Atreyo Mukhopadhyay, Hindustan Times Kolkata, February 11, 2010 National attention seems to have shifted to the pitch where the second Test between India and South Africa will be played from Sunday. India must win to level the series and everybody is keen to know how the 22-yard strip behaves. Or, to be specific, whether it offers turn. The pitch at Eden Gardens hasn’t, of late, had bowlers looking forward to it with great expectation. Statistics show that India have won three of the last five Tests here. But the last one came close to five years ago and since then, the only Test and most first-class games have seen an excruciating struggle for wickets even on the final day. It’s been a pitch where the wicketkeeper usually collects the ball from below his waist once it loses shine. True, a Morne Morkel hasn’t bowled here but those who have, found it hard to extract bounce despite bending their backs. The ball has swung a bit in the morning, but afterwards, there has been no noticeable movement off the surface. Spinners, who are expected to play a big role if India are to win and retain their No. 1 Test ranking, too have had a tough time. The ball has turned Day II onwards but the slowness of the surface have helped batsmen recover after being beaten in the air and made sure that they could readjust, often playing on the back foot. Zip off the pitch has been conspicuous by its absence. Veteran curator Prabir Mukherjee promised a “sporting” pitch. He said it would be an “even and firm surface which will last five days”. Till Wednesday, the pitch was watered regularly and the heavy roller used which means it would be flat and the upper crust is unlikely to loosen. The amount of water reduced and lighter rollers came into play from Thursday, which indicates that a late effort to provide turn has started although chances of seeing puffs of dust or the ball spinning alarmingly are minimal. In Ranji Trophy parlance, such a track would be called one of first-innings lead rather than where an outright result is likely. The official stand of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is it has not received any instruction. “We have not heard from the Board or from the team management about laying a pitch that would offer turn. Neither do we intend to think on those lines,” CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya told HT. Apparently, the CAB is not willing to risk preparing a rank turner and draw the ire of the International Cricket Council because the Eden Gardens is scheduled to host World Cup matches next year. Beyond this, there is an anecdote. In 2004, when Dalmiya was the Board president, Nagpur had laid out a pitch where conditions blatantly favoured the visitors. Now, with Manohar heading the Board, Dalmiya hasn’t gone out of his way to prepare a pitch that would help India in a key match. But that’s another story. About the one that starts on Sunday, the news from Eden is not great for India.

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Battle of grass in ‘Garden of Eden’ A turning track is what the beleaguered Indian team may be craving for after losing the first Test against South Africa in Nagpur by an innings and six runs, but MS Dhoni and his mates might be in for a rude shock. More... Battle of grass in ‘Garden of Eden’ Even if any instructions do come, it is not possible to change the nature of the pitch overnight, says Jagmohan Dalmiya Posted On Friday, February 12, 2010 at 01:09:48 PM Kolkata: A turning track is what the beleaguered Indian team may be craving for after losing the first Test against South Africa in Nagpur by an innings and six runs, but MS Dhoni and his mates might be in for a rude shock. If one reads the cues correctly, the CAB may not agree to take off the grass cover that sits smugly on the Eden centrestrip on which the Test match will be played. Curator Probir Mukherjee has been harping that he has had no “instructions” from the BCCI. On Thursday, his boss Jagmohan Dalmiya said: “Even if any instructions do come, it is not possible to change the nature of the pitch overnight.” If it still doesn’t ring a bell, go back to Nagpur, 2004 and the series against Australia when the Vidarbha Cricket Association had offered pretty much the same logic in rejecting the Indian team’s request to shave off the grass. The current BCCI president Shashank Manohar was then the VCA boss, while Dalmiya used to call the shots in the Board. With the CAB having fallen foul of the ruling group led by Manohar, the present scenario lends itself nicely to settling old scores. Incidentally, Manohar has since ‘retired’ from the VCA, but has another year to go in his three-year term as the BCCI president. Coming back to the pitch, it is certainly not a greentop, but has a greenish tinge to it as has been the case right through the Ranji Trophy season. In pure cricketing terms, genuine swingers of a cricket ball should revel on it, but Indian batting — so badly ‘Steyned’ in Nagpur, will no doubt cringe at the very sight of it. Mukherjee maintained that he had left the green grass so that the pitch holds firm. “The grass will certainly be trimmed, even on the day the match commences,” he assured after inspecting the pitch on Thursday afternoon. However, it remains to be seen how closely the grass is shaved when pressure is mounted on Mukherjee by the Indian team management. CAB insiders maintained that no amount of pressure would work. “What happens if we take off all the grass and the wicket crumbles like the one at Kotla (abandoned India vs Sri Lanka ODI)? The CAB will then cop all the blame which is not acceptable,” said a CAB source. The ‘strategy’ for CAB is pretty simple. They will shave off some grass “in the best interests” of the Indian team, but leave the some on it which should help bowlers get decent bounce and carry. In short, the CAB is planning to offer, what they are calling a ‘sporting’ track. The green grass on the top is proof enough that the sub-soil is not loose and also that there has been decent watering on the pitch. Otherwise, the grass would have begun to turn brown. This is good news for South Africans who have the bowlers to exploit the conditions. Eden Gardens is known to be a slow and low turner. Tell that to Mukherjee and he immediately retorts, reminding you of Javagal Srinath’s 13 wickets against Pakistan in 1998-99 or Lance Klusener’s fiery spell against India in 1996-97, when he had eight scalps in the second innings for just 64 runs. “The track will assist the batsmen but there will certainly be enough purchase for the bowlers too. Spinners like Harbhajan Singh will also get bounce off the track if they are able to extract that. You should know how to take advantage of a given pitch,” he added. Mukherjee signed off with one final piece of advice for the rival captains — do not hesitate to bat if you win the toss.

[Ranjha]

Mukherjee is getting lot of publicity and that is what he wanted..

[Karan114]

Beyond this, there is an anecdote. In 2004, when Dalmiya was the Board president, Nagpur had laid out a pitch where conditions blatantly favoured the visitors. Now, with Manohar heading the Board, Dalmiya hasn’t gone out of his way to prepare a pitch that would help India in a key match.

****ers the lot of them, ever putting their petty politics ahead of the national interest.

[Fontaine]

“The track will assist the batsmen but there will certainly be enough purchase for the bowlers too. Spinners like Harbhajan Singh will also get bounce off the track if they are able to extract that. You should know how to take advantage of a given pitch,” he added. Mukherjee signed off with one final piece of advice for the rival captains — do not hesitate to bat if you win the toss.

Good play one full time spinner. Go for Ishant/Sree/Zaheer and give plenty of overs to Sehwag. That way we play to swing type bowlers. That way we don't have to depend on one useless bowler like Dumbhajan to do his job.

[Fontaine]

Mukherjee is getting lot of publicity and that is what he wanted..

Don't be simple. If publicity is all he wanted then he would do what the BCCI has asked and screw with the pitch, underprepare the track and then give press conferences about how he's going to help India win and it's going to be a rank turner and then give more interviews after India win. And he's completely right. The BCCI don't give a crap when we see low flat pitches that are poor for the game. But they freely try to interfere when a curator tries to prepare a sporting track. Too late now BCCI, go piss off.

[Gunner_Mania]

:wall: Petty Politicians ruining Indian cricket as always.

[cowboysfan]

i ****ing hate BCCI,they cant even control their own boards but they want to control world cricket.

[teacup]

Don't be simple. If publicity is all he wanted then he would do what the BCCI has asked and screw with the pitch, underprepare the track and then give press conferences about how he's going to help India win and it's going to be a rank turner and then give more interviews after India win. And he's completely right. The BCCI don't give a crap when we see low flat pitches that are poor for the game. But they freely try to interfere when a curator tries to prepare a sporting track. Too late now BCCI, go piss off.

Spot on. Moreover, I would rather watch a test match that is played on a sporting wicket, with something for everyone, than those played on wickets helping only the batsmen or just one kind of bowlers. If India cannot win on sporting wickets, that too in India, we don't deserve to be No.1.

[asterix]

This old enimity being reeled out..When Dalmiya was BCCI chief, S Manohar was VCA chief and VCA groundsman prepared a green top wicket against Australia (The match in which Gangu chickened out and Dravid had to lead). India lost badly. There was war of words between Dalmiya and Manohar at that time.. It's now PAY BACK time for Dalmiya to Manohar..:giggle: Also it doen't matter if the pitch is "turner" or not because even on turning pitches you can't gets wickets by bowling legside (going further down) Darts..No amount of Lapak-Jhapak, Taking off like Albatross, having most constipated looks will help you get wickets..

[coffee_rules]

Apparently, the CAB is not willing to risk preparing a rank turner and draw the ire of the International Cricket Council because the Eden Gardens is scheduled to host World Cup matches next year. Beyond this, there is an anecdote. In 2004, when Dalmiya was the Board president, Nagpur had laid out a pitch where conditions blatantly favoured the visitors. Now, with Manohar heading the Board, Dalmiya hasn’t gone out of his way to prepare a pitch that would help India in a key match. But that’s another story. About the one that starts on Sunday, the news from Eden is not great for India.

When did ICC ban rank turners? This is injustice, why was it ok to prepare a fast and bouncy pitch in SA (by SA) recently?

[ludhianvi]

Found an interesting a pic of the cross-section of the Eden Garden's pitch. Do they really dig that deep when preparing a pitch? :hmmm:

[saneindian]

Saw a news ticker on Times Now with the alert reading "Eden wicket to be a turning track". The correspondent said the curator has stopped watering the surface since yesterday and will shave off the grass today , this way the wicket will be dry and due to not so hot weather, wont crumble like the Kanpur track. I hope there is enough bounce on the track though. Our spinners love the bounce on the track more than the spin that it aides.

[Lord]

^ yes they also showed Bhajji talking to Dalmiya n Mukherjee.look like it'll be a turner:yay:

[Karan114]

^ yes they also showed Bhajji talking to Dalmiya n Mukherjee.look like it'll be a turner:yay:

Well according to Indiatimes this CAB curator was also speaking to his "old friends" Smith and Kallis (was it this same dude who gave SA a helpful pitch in the 2005 ODI?):

Curator Probir Mukherjee maintained his "no instructions from the Indian team or BCCI" line, adding that the only exchanges he had with either team on Friday were "pleasantries with old friends" Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith. More importantly, Mukherjee again harped on his "sporting wicket" theory. Will he (read CAB) budge if the instructions do come? MS Dhoni and Co will have to keep a Plan B in place.

I highly doubt it will be a turning pitch.

[Karan114]

http://cricket.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/13/captain-dhoni-unhappy-with-eden-wicket.htm Dhoni not impressed with the pitch:

"Personally I believe a lot of emphasis is being given on creating sporting wickets. It is not written in a book that a sporting wicket must have grass or there should be bounce for the fast bowlers. I think a sporting wicket one where there is something for the bowlers and something for the batsman too at the same time," Dhoni said in Kolkata on Saturday on the eve of the second and final Test. "When there is a turning track it is challenging. Every country specializes in something like when you go to South Africa you can see bounce and seam movement, you go to England there is plenty of swing and same with New Zealand. Every country is special for its own thing and we are special because the ball turns and there is bounce for the spinners," he added. Having examined the wicket along with his coach and a few senior players, the India captain believes that the pitch would suit the seamers more than the spinners. "There is a bit of grass on the wicket so I think the seamers will get a bit of help. There is no stands on one side of the ground so you can see a bit of breeze going across the field so there will be a bit of help for the seamers. It looks quite hard but at the same time we will have to see the wear and tear too. I don't see much turn happening on the first two days," he said.

Cheers Dalmiya and congratulations Steyn and South Africa!

[Guest DeveGowda]

Dont worry guys pitch will assist Spinners any way...only thing matters is whether our Spinners utilize IT or NOT... India will win this match No doubt about that...Always SA will win atleast one match in india..so they doen that now and Started givein Quotes in media.. Whenever they started giving Quotes like this they lose BIG... remember Champons trophy and England series....:haha:

[teacup]

When did ICC ban rank turners? This is injustice' date=' why was it ok to prepare a fast and bouncy pitch in SA (by SA) recently?[/quote'] Nobody banned a rank turner. You can classify the Nagpur wicket as a rank turner, as it did provide turn for the spinners from day 1, but no one had any issues with the pitch. If a pitch has variable bounce earlier than day 4 then it will come under the scrutiny of the ICC.