The Hindu : Sport : Pitches not batsmen friendly

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Thursday, Oct 19, 2006
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Pitches not batsmen friendly

The dew factor will come into play in all the games at Jaipur, writes Vivian Richards

VALUABLE KNOCK: Runako Morton, in the company of his skipper Brian Lara, pulled the West Indies out of a precarious situation. — Photo: K.R. Deepak

Batsmen who reached India licking their lips in anticipation of a run feast during the Champions Trophy must be terribly disappointed. The pitches on offer so far have been far from batsmen-friendly.

The one at the Brabourne Stadium has already received a lot of flak for being below international standards, and it's unfortunate that the West Indies have had to play two straight matches on that wicket. While it did look better on Wednesday, it is still not an ideal one-day surface.

The Jaipur pitch is a lot better, but I feel the dew factor will come into play in all the games played at this venue. Hospitality, facilities, and great dressing rooms can only get you that far. Most players would have preferred good, true surfaces to the extras.

Morale booster

The batting performance of the West Indies against Australia on Wednesday would have gone a long way in restoring the team's self-confidence. The pitch looked a lot better than the one used in the West Indies-Sri Lanka game on Saturday, but a few balls did keep low.

Once again, Brian Lara's presence transformed the situation for the West Indies, and he really played a brilliant knock. He not only pulled his side out of trouble from a precarious 63 for four, but it was his presence that acted as a confidence-booster for Runako Morton.

Morton was a lot more assured in his strokeplay because he knew that his captain was there at the other end. Perhaps the West Indians took a leaf out of New Zealand's book, and ensured that they played out as many overs as possible.

Middle order woes

At one stage 250 looked possible, but in the end 234 was not a bad effort, particularly since the pitch deteriorates significantly at the Brabourne Stadium.

The West Indies team, as people keep pointing out, relies too much on Chris Gayle and Brian Lara. I hope the middle order realises that it is not possible for Gayle to play a blinder every time he comes out to bat. They too must take some responsibility and come into their own when the top order has not done the job.

A good side is one where one player stands up when his teammates have had a bad day. It's no good for the middle order to fire when Gayle or Lara has taken them to the threshold of a good score. They must learn to fire when the chips are down. This is why I am happy with the way Morton stood by his captain.

The week started with the awful news of a dope scandal in the tournament. The Shoaib-Asif affair is really saddening, but I would not like to comment on it till more details emerge from Pakistan.

However, the Pakistan side showed great resilience and spirit to win against an in-form Sri Lanka side. The Pakistan bowling, though depleted, showed the way by restricting the Lankans to 254, who had got off to a flying start, but were restricted to an achievable target thanks to Abdul Razzaq.

Gameplan

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