The Hindu : Sport : Obsession with pitch can lead to disaster

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 26, 2004

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Sport

Obsession with pitch can lead to disaster

It seems to me that pitch preparation dominates the thinking of the Indian team before, during and after each Test these days. In the days leading up to each game most of what we hear about is what sort of pitch it is and how it will fit the team wish list.

The most important preparation before each game should be focussed on how best to prepare the team to play under the prevailing conditions, not on how best to prepare the pitch on which to play. Nobody but the curator and the venue manager should be involved in that discussion.

Local conditions and local knowledge is the only advantage the home team should have over the visiting team. Just by having grown up on the types of wicket that is inherent to that venue or that country should be enough to allow the home side the advantage. From there it should be up to the skill of the two teams to decide the winner.

A good Test wicket is one that provides a challenge for all participants. Some wickets will naturally offer an advantage to the bat or the ball and that is as it should be. Some countries will have prevailing conditions that suit pace bowling over spin and vice versa. This variety is also good for the game.

Ability to cope

International cricketers need to be able to cope with all of this and a range of cultural environments to ply their trade. Some can cope with this better than others and they are the ones who last long enough to establish themselves in the top pantheon of the game.

That is why the long version of the game is called `Test' cricket because it is a test of all of the human qualities. If one has a physical or a mental deficiency it will be exposed and exploited by the opposition and the conditions. This is why we applaud those who can overcome these obstacles to become the champions of the game.

Mental skills and attitude play a big part in the preparation for each game and it seems to me that the Indian team is pre-occupied with a range of things that do not help to get the mind in the best state to perform their best. Good teams have a clear focus on the game plan and each team member has a clear understanding of his role in that plan.

The captain and the coach are obviously integral to the team preparation and it is important for them to be in a healthy state of mind to provide the leadership for the group. If one, or both of them is distracted for whatever reason it will have a detrimental effect on the team.

Too many distractions

All of the distractions that have been going on off the field in recent times must have had an unsettling effect on the Indian players. The distractions over the wicket preparation have been only one part of a myriad of diversions.

None of the team has any control over BCCI elections or the television rights debate, but they must divorce themselves from the controversies over which they have some control such as the wicket preparation. Others are responsible for that process and should be left to do their job.

The Indian think tank seems to be concerned that they don't have the resources to beat the feisty South Africans. They appear to be more interested in manipulating the conditions to suit their strengths rather than doing the hard work that it takes to get the team ready for each game.

South Africa had the best of the game in Kanpur because it was more focussed on its game plan. India needs to have a clear focus on what things it needs to work on, individually and as a group, or the single-minded South Africans may run away with the silverware. That outcome would be a disaster for Ganguly and his team.

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