Tuesday, May 13, 2008

How can Harbhajan be punished twice?

Amidst the Indian Premier League extravaganza, there was a disturbing news item that concerned the image of Indian cricket_the warning from the International Cricket Council regarding the Green Park pitch at Kanpur where India overwhelmed South Africa inside three days.
In these very columns I had said that a bad pitch produces bad cricket and the one at Green Park could not have been termed a Test wicket. From what I had read, the captain of the Indian team for that Test, M. S. Dhoni, had gifted some money to the curator for preparing a pitch that suited the home team. What was good for Dhoni was unacceptable for the ICC, and of course for the majority of the cricket fraternity.
I am not surprised by the letter that the ICC dashed off following a complaint by the Match Referee, Roshan Mahanama, that the pitch was bad advertisement for Test cricket. It was. And then the ICC is said to have suggested that sporting pitches be prepared in future. Now I want to know what makes a sporting pitch!
If what I have gathered from my experience is true, then a sporting is one that helps both batsmen and bowlers. It is a pitch that tests the skills of a batsman and a bowler. That is why it is called Test cricket, the highest form of the game. By the same yardstick, I would expect the best batsmen and the best bowlers to adapt themselves to the pitch.
You encounter a pitch that assists the spinners with the ball turning a lot and you also come across a pitch where the ball bounces and hastens off the surface. Such pitches test your technique and of course the character to adapt and fight. As an international cricketer, one has to be prepared to play on all kinds of pitches.
Now the conditions also differ from country to country. The weather can be so hostile in places like New Zealand and England. You not only face bounce and swing but also chilling conditions. I have known instances when our bowlers have struggled to grip the ball properly because of the severe cold. But I have not known them to grumble.

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