England - India
- Thread starter Wanderer
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dickygrace
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Now 0-2. My word.
midlifecrisis
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A bowlers' game
dickygrace
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We batted dreadfully but the pitch is something India ought be ashamed of.
Wanderer
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Yeah they pundits were all saying nothing wrong to preparing pitches to suit the home team but this is ridiculous, taken to extremes it would mean 100% home wins forever.
Guy
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Scyld Berry nailed it;
This unfit pitch was no advert for Test cricket - India should be docked World Championship points
Spectators and broadcasters who pay the bills have nothing left to fill the last three of five scheduled days - it is simply not good enough
SCYLD BERRY
CHIEF CRICKET WRITER
25 February 2021 • 3:13pm
England's batsmen have no answer to the pitch and India's spinners CREDIT: BCCI
Emphasis has to be on the last syllable. The pitch at the new stadium in Ahmedabad was bad - too bad for a Test match or any other form of cricket.
By the ICC rule book, what should happen now is that the pitch at the new stadium is marked as “Unfit”. Not “Average”, not “Below Average”, not “Poor” but “Unfit” - not because it was unfair to England, but because it was unfit for any batsman to bat on after day one.
Spectators and broadcasters, who pay the bills, therefore have nothing left to fill the last three of five scheduled days.
By that ICC rule-book, after bureaucracy has run its course, the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium should be suspended from international cricket for a period “between 12 and 24 months”. But it will not, of course, for two main reasons.
One is that the fourth and final Test is due to begin on March 4 at the very same venue. Batting might be slightly easier then in any event, because the ball will not be pink but red, and therefore a touch softer - less liable to skid on - and batsmen will find it more visible.
The second reason why the Narendra Modi stadium will not be banned lies in the name. The ground has just been re-named after India’s Prime Minister, who set the whole project in motion when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Owing to Covid, the match referee and the umpires are Indian, and it would be naive to expect that they will be dobbing India’s most powerful man in it.
Cynics might add a third reason why Ahmedabad will emerge from this controversy unscathed. India’s omnipotence in cricket. If the England and Wales Cricket Board complain publicly about the pitch, India will not tour England this summer. End of story, because it would be the end of the ECB’s finances.
But whatever the contexts and circumstances, the third Test pitch was “Unfit” by day two. On day one, one batsman from each side reached 50 while the surface just about held together. On day two, nobody could score 30. The amount of turn was utterly unpredictable. Joe Root, a part-time offspinner, took five wickets for eight. Enough said by the prosecution. No need for any more.
This unfit pitch was no advert for Test cricket - India should be docked World Championship points
Spectators and broadcasters who pay the bills have nothing left to fill the last three of five scheduled days - it is simply not good enough
SCYLD BERRY
CHIEF CRICKET WRITER
25 February 2021 • 3:13pm
England's batsmen have no answer to the pitch and India's spinners CREDIT: BCCI
Emphasis has to be on the last syllable. The pitch at the new stadium in Ahmedabad was bad - too bad for a Test match or any other form of cricket.
By the ICC rule book, what should happen now is that the pitch at the new stadium is marked as “Unfit”. Not “Average”, not “Below Average”, not “Poor” but “Unfit” - not because it was unfair to England, but because it was unfit for any batsman to bat on after day one.
Spectators and broadcasters, who pay the bills, therefore have nothing left to fill the last three of five scheduled days.
By that ICC rule-book, after bureaucracy has run its course, the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium should be suspended from international cricket for a period “between 12 and 24 months”. But it will not, of course, for two main reasons.
One is that the fourth and final Test is due to begin on March 4 at the very same venue. Batting might be slightly easier then in any event, because the ball will not be pink but red, and therefore a touch softer - less liable to skid on - and batsmen will find it more visible.
The second reason why the Narendra Modi stadium will not be banned lies in the name. The ground has just been re-named after India’s Prime Minister, who set the whole project in motion when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Owing to Covid, the match referee and the umpires are Indian, and it would be naive to expect that they will be dobbing India’s most powerful man in it.
Cynics might add a third reason why Ahmedabad will emerge from this controversy unscathed. India’s omnipotence in cricket. If the England and Wales Cricket Board complain publicly about the pitch, India will not tour England this summer. End of story, because it would be the end of the ECB’s finances.
But whatever the contexts and circumstances, the third Test pitch was “Unfit” by day two. On day one, one batsman from each side reached 50 while the surface just about held together. On day two, nobody could score 30. The amount of turn was utterly unpredictable. Joe Root, a part-time offspinner, took five wickets for eight. Enough said by the prosecution. No need for any more.
Phil the Brit
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They should be totally ashamed of that pitch. It was a disgrace. I have seen smoother ploughed fields.
Guy
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potentially Wattie but only one of their (and our) batsmen hit 50 across 4 innings. A Test Match should last 4 or 5 days, not 2.
Thatch
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Yes - Given it is the first terrestrial broadcast Test match series since 2005 - I feel cheated! Never mind the English batsmen.
Last edited:
Wanderer
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The first terrestrial broadcast Test match since the previous test a week ago!!!
Phil the Brit
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Or the three in Sri Lanka! Actually take that back, i think they were on Sky.
Thatch
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Yes now I re-read, I see I missed the word 'series', and got the date wrong. Thanks for your diligence.
Sommi
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As an Indian I support and am partial to the Indian side.
However I feel the pitch was bad, even for a national level game.
Both sides have very high standards of talent, skill and professionalism.
In media coverage they have been polite and diplomatic in their statements focusing more on players' performance rather than the pitch itself.
I do not know whether it was intentional to have such a deteriorating pitch or it was just mis-prepated. No matches were previously played on that pitch. The stadium was re-done and increased in capacity. May be more money and time should have been spent curating the pitch.
The stadium is now named after Mr. Narendra Modi or Namo, as we Indians like to call him. He is not known to ignore bad press and I am sure "steps" will be taken to rectify that pitch.
From historical experience, every country does have pitches that suit their own way of playing and give some home advantage.
South Africa and Australia are known for such tactics. (Welcome to Gabbatoir, they said). But India's recent victory has confirmed that a truly skilled team can overcome such situations.
I wish a very talented English team all the best in the next test matches and may be they can turn the tide and win a match on a balanced pitch.
However I feel the pitch was bad, even for a national level game.
Both sides have very high standards of talent, skill and professionalism.
In media coverage they have been polite and diplomatic in their statements focusing more on players' performance rather than the pitch itself.
I do not know whether it was intentional to have such a deteriorating pitch or it was just mis-prepated. No matches were previously played on that pitch. The stadium was re-done and increased in capacity. May be more money and time should have been spent curating the pitch.
The stadium is now named after Mr. Narendra Modi or Namo, as we Indians like to call him. He is not known to ignore bad press and I am sure "steps" will be taken to rectify that pitch.
From historical experience, every country does have pitches that suit their own way of playing and give some home advantage.
South Africa and Australia are known for such tactics. (Welcome to Gabbatoir, they said). But India's recent victory has confirmed that a truly skilled team can overcome such situations.
I wish a very talented English team all the best in the next test matches and may be they can turn the tide and win a match on a balanced pitch.
Andyk
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Hahahahaha. Brilliant Dan. Another game that bores the pants off me.