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Time to prepare sporting wickets

S. Dinakar

The BCCI’s attempts to improve the quality of pitches have not yielded results

— Photo: V. Ganesan

Disappointed lot: Lifeless tracks, like the one prepared at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, pose the danger of driving away spectators from Test cricket.

Chennai: The surface for the first Test at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium was a poor advertisement for Test cricket. On a pitch loaded in favour of batsmen, even the final day’s play offered little. The empty areas of the stands on a Sunday told the story.

Without taking any credit away from Virender Sehwag and the other batsmen who thrived on a lifeless track, matches of this nature will endanger Test cricket during a phase when it faces a distinct threat from the shorter forms of the game.

A healthy contest between the bat and the ball is a heart of a combative Test match. In a sport already dominated by batsmen, the role of the bowlers should not be marginalised further.

The pitch at Chepauk, along with the surfaces in Mohali and the Wankhede Stadium, has been among the better wickets in the country. Traditionally, the surface at Chepauk has an element of pace and bounce. Sadly, the wicket behaved differently this time.

If the India-Australia series down under whipped up some exciting fare this season, the sporting nature of the surfaces played a huge role.

K. Parthasarathy, the curator at Chepauk, says the preparation of the pitch was affected by sharp spells of rain in the days leading to the Test.

“The wicket was covered during the day and there was little sunlight for the surface,” he said.

Will the sweating under the covers redeem the pitch to a certain extent? “No,” answers Parthasarathy. “That is not natural moisture. It is more of a chemical sweat,” he argues.

Interestingly, the latest pitch-covers in England and Australia are of a transparent nature, allowing the sunlight to go through. “We will be getting those covers in the future,” says Parthasarathy.

The BCCI’s Pitches and Grounds Committee has a set of guidelines for the curators, and some of them are in conflict with wisdom, guided by conditions, gained over the years.

Parthasarathy points out that an excess of clay content in the top soil slows down the surface. “We are using more clay content now. Previously, I would have an equal mix of clay and red soil while preparing the top soil. The red soil gets drier sooner. It can also break quicker, perhaps from the third day.”

Raja’s take

This again takes us to a great debate. Should India play on rank turners at home against the non-sub-continental sides? Former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja replies in the affirmative. “Spin has been India’s strength on home soil. You should prepare turning tracks. In any case, it would be impossible to leave any grass on the surface in this heat. The grass would die a natural death,” he points out.

Raja’s viewpoint has its backers but a better idea would be to prepare surfaces with consistent bounce and carry that would make it an even contest between the bat and the ball. Spinners too require bounce and the natural wear and tear in the wicket will assist them.

India has a burgeoning pace attack but injuries to key bowlers Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan could have altered the line of thinking of the host.

The side also had Rudra Pratap Singh returning from fitness concerns.

Parthasarathy says he received no instructions from the Indian camp to prepare a track of this nature. While this might be true, the nature of pitches for the future matches could hinge on Ishant’s fitness.

The BCCI’s attempts to improve the quality of pitches in the country have not yielded expected results. The surfaces in a few major Test centres, including Chepauk, were relaid in 2003 by experts from New Zealand. These fresh pitches proved even slower; there was a feeling that matches were played on the new tracks too soon, before they could settle down.

Sharp contrast

Parthasarathy was asked by the host association to relay the pitch the following year and the India–Australia Test in 2004 was played on a surface that provided everyone a chance. The pitch for the just-concluded Test here was in sharp contrast to that lively wicket.

Pitch preparation is a science. For making a sporting pitch, the weight of the roller is gradually increased so that even if the grass is removed, the root remains strong.

The pitch will retain hardness and offer bounce. If the soil is tightly bound on a pitch with a grass cover, then it will provide seam movement and bounce.

For preparing a pitch lacking in pace and bounce, one that will assist the spinners, the grass is removed, there is less watering, and then the heavy roller is used in the morning to loosen up the top soil.

For a rank turner, a barren pitch that has not been watered for a week is broken up by the heavy roller. If there is sunshine, the dry pitch could break on the first day.

The need of the hour is sporting tracks.

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