The most beautiful part of the game of cricket is the 22 yard strip on which the game is played. This 22 yard yard strip called the Pitch is almost the talking point of every match played in the cricketing history. The behavior of pitches often differs in the subcontinents and other nations owing to factors like the soil found , the atmosphere of the region , the curators talent to prepare a suitable pitch for both the teams in accordance to the requirement for the game of cricket.
However some pitches traditionally owing to the climatic conditions are bouncy tracks which assists the fast bowlers or some are spin friendly wickets owing to the turn they receive on it. However the traditional Newlands pitch which has a a history of being a fast bowlers paradise due to the hard surface and a tinge of live green grass which grows on it .This nature allows the fast bowlers to swing the red ball at will on this wicket thus extracting uneven bounce which is difficult for the batters to judge the bounce of the ball.
However scorecards on such kind of wickets decision to bat first always could be tricky for the captain winning the toss because its always the first hour of the test match each day which decides the flow of the match ie: If the batters survive critical bowling then the pitch which seemed hard relatively looks easy like the Centurion pitch did for South Africans or if batters started to fail then the same pitch becomes a graveyard for them like the Indian batters in Centurion or Adelaide Ovals famous 36 all out.
Post the Cape Town test which itself finished within 1.5 days, several questions were raised about the pitch that was used to play this test match. Indian Captain Rohit Sharma even in the post match press conference raised questions to media themselves who back in India when rank turners or pitch assisting spin bowling is made slashes the management or the team for poor pitch conditions and the governing body ICC too questions the same granting the team demerit points .
This pin pointing towards the nature of subcontinent pitches is generally done by the touring media especially Australia and English media who finds extra happiness in criticizing the sub continental pitches for their failures and preparing the same kind of bouncy and swinging pitches suiting their own bowling when the Asian teams especially India tours them.
Former Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has came in support for the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and took the jibe against the ever boasting English media regarding the pitch debate they often fall into.
Sunil Gavaskar furious on English Media
Former Indian opener now turned commentator Sunil Gavaskar is known for his no-nonsense opinions and he was once again at his hard-hitting best in his recent column for Mid Day.
Gavaskar believes the pitch used in the recent Cape Town Test between India and South Africa ran the risk of injuring the players out in the middle. He was baffled that the pitch didn’t receive much scrutiny like the ones Indian pitches get from the Western media when they prepare rank-turners.
Sunil Gavaskar wrote about how South African legend Shaun Pollock deemed the Cape Town pitch as the curator’s error, but the same isn’t said when pitches in India turn. He wrote:
“These kind of excuses that the curator got it wrong is typical of the SENA countries [South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia]. When our curators make a dry pitch then it’s ‘chicanery’ as a former Australian skipper said last year after the Aussies had been walloped in the first two Test matches,”
Mentioning the Test series against England at home, he added:
“In about three weeks time another Test series starts with a country that has the biggest whingeing and moaning media in sport. Anything that doesn’t suit their team will be criticized and allegations will fly thick and fast,”
The second and final Test of the series ended in just two days, with India winning by seven wickets.
Sunil Gavaskar urges Indian media to rubbish western media’s ‘agenda’
Legendary Sunil Gavaskar played for India at a time when he believed the other cricket boards like England’s used to not give them the respect they deserved. He feels they cannot digest the fact that India has become a cricketing superpower.
On this, he wrote:
“Ever since India became a power in the sport and rightfully began to assert itself in the ICC boardrooms, there has been a concerted effort to denigrate it by those from the Old Powers. They arrive with an agenda and come what may, will dish out stories for getting the brownie points at home,”
He further added:
“It would be wonderful if our media rises to the challenge and takes them on word for word. That would be a clash to enjoy as thoroughly as the one that will unfold on the ground,”
The first Test between India and England will be played at Hyderabad from January 25 and it will be interesting to see how the visiting England team rises up to the challenge put forth by the Indian team in the Indian home conditions on the pitch that will suit Indian bowlers.