Doctoring the pitch

[The_roc]

Was watching the England Bangladesh match and they were looking at the pitch for Tuesdays game. It's got a green tinge, but the betting was it wouldn't still be there on Tuesday.

We have neutral umpires in international cricket, is it time for neutral groundsman? Bet a neutral wouldn't have come up with the Oval wicket for the 5th Ashes test.

 

[Migara]

Have neutral players and the croicket will be the best game ever.

 

[The_roc]

Have neutral players .

You mean like have a load of foriegn players in the England line up?

 

[silentstriker]

It would suck a lot if there was no variety when touring countries.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Yeah, I reckon there's too little home team advantage these days as it is without adding to it.

 

[Migara]

You mean like have a load of foriegn players in the England line up?

Have a team out of different nationalities, or even better, brain wash them, so they won't have a nationality . . .

 

[Sir Alex]

Was watching the England Bangladesh match and they were looking at the pitch for Tuesdays game. It's got a green tinge, but the betting was it wouldn't still be there on Tuesday.

We have neutral umpires in international cricket, is it time for neutral groundsman? Bet a neutral wouldn't have come up with the Oval wicket for the 5th Ashes test.

Why bother to have home and away tests?

 

[Migara]

Or is it sour grapes?

 

[jeevan]

Have a team out of different nationalities, or even better, brain wash them, so they won't have a nationality . . .

You mean have arbitrary corporate franchises like the IPL?

 

[Migara]

 

[slippyslip]

If anything in Australia our pitches have become more "neutral". Compare the WACA to what it was 20 years ago.

The Gabba is most friendly pitch to Australia yet for some reason we don't play against the tougher touring sides there. Neither India or South Africa played their in the 2 years previous to this year.

Perfect example of pitch doctoring was the 3rd test in 2008 for the South Africa v India at Kanpur.

Or the pitch at Mumbai in 2004 for the final match against Australia after Ganguly had a massive cry about the pitch the previous match.

Allow teams to make a complaint if they feel if the pitch has been unfairly doctored. If a pitch is suddenly different from previous years without a good explanation it clearly has been doctored and fine the host nation.

Of course the chances of the ICC ever fining India for pitch doctoring ...

 

[silentstriker]

/Learn2PlaySpin. Apparently that's not part of cricket anymore.

The only way a pitch is doctored is two teams play on a different pitch. ICC had a whinge about the Kanpur pitch, thankfully BCCI can tell them to go stick it up their ass. The problem with that tour in terms of Indian pitches was not the one at Kanpur, but the one two Tests before that.

 

[slippyslip]

/Learn2PlaySpin. Apparently that's not part of cricket anymore.

The only way a pitch is doctored is two teams play on a different pitch. ICC had a whinge about the Kanpur pitch, thankfully BCCI can tell them to go stick it up their ass. The problem with that tour in terms of Indian pitches was not the one at Kanpur, but the one two Tests before that.

Right. Noticed you ignored the 2004 Mumbai pitch. M. Clarke 6/9. What a joke.

When you open the bowling with spin on the 3rd day of a test then something is wrong.

And South Africa played the spin ok on the first day before the pitch crumbled to pieces. Deliberately preparing a pitch that resembles a 3rd day pitch on day 1 is pitch doctoring.

Thats the way cricket has always been. Its not like India invented test cricket. Though, I get the impression from many Indian fans that they now "own" cricket and everyone else can go get stuffed.

 

[silentstriker]

Right. Noticed you ignored the 2004 Mumbai pitch. M. Clarke 6/9. What a joke.

When you open the bowling with spin on the 3rd day of a test then something is wrong.

And South Africa played the spin ok on the first day before the pitch crumbled to pieces. Deliberately preparing a pitch that resembles a 3rd day pitch on day 1 is pitch doctoring.

Really, so one team being better at certain conditions is now pitch doctoring? I'll have a whinge if Australia ever prepare the old school WACA pitch again? That's clearly doctoring right?

Thats the way cricket has always been.

No, not really.

Its not like India invented test cricket. Though, I get the impression from many Indian fans that they now "own" cricket and everyone else can go get stuffed.

Yea, no one should learn to play spin. Also, let's just play the cricket as it should be played, old school:

Nothing has ever changed in cricket.

 

[Sir Alex]

Huh? When was Perth "favorable" to Australia? West Indies used to beat the living daylights of them during the 80s so much that it used to be referred to as "Away ground of Australia". Even India beat them there.

 

[slippyslip]

Really, so one team being better at certain conditions is now pitch doctoring? I'll have a whinge if Australia ever prepare the old school WACA pitch again? That's clearly doctoring right?

Nope. Notice how the WACA pitch stayed the same year in year out and was never modified or changed when the West Indies played.

Take the 1992/93 West Indian final test at the WACA. Going into this match it was 1-1 with Australia needing to win. Was the WACA any different to previous years when Australia played teams that weren't strong on fast, bounchy pitches? Nope. The WACA was probably at its fastest and bounciest and Ambrose and Bishop destroyed Australia.

Now if the WACA curator prepared a pitch different to what it was in previous year when Australia thrashed India there then that would be pitch doctoring.

And the SCG that same series, a pitch the West Indies had lost badly at in their previous two tours, was very batsmen friendly that year with Lara scoring 277 runs and the game ending in a draw. Was the SCG turned into a spin friendly dust bowl? Nope. Infact, it didnt even spin that year.

No, not really.

Why should I care about a colloquialism that was invented in the days before covered pitches?

Yea, no one should learn to play spin. Also, let's just play the cricket as it should be played, old school:

Plenty of Australians can play spin.But a pitch that has crumbled to pieces by the 3rd day is not of a test standard. As I pointed out, India didn't invent test cricket, nor was it one of the first two teams to play a test match. Just because India "owns" cricket now doesnt give it the to make the rules.

Lame image

Nothing has ever changed in cricket.

So you're saying batsmen don't use cricket bats anymore? Interesting theory. Besides the two bats on the left most of them look pretty much the same.

How much has changed in the theory behind a cricket bat since 1877? (and those two bats on the left were stopped being used in cricket long before 1877) Not a hell of a lot. Tennis racquets and golf clubs have changed more over the pas 133 years than cricket bats.

In MLB you're only to use wooden bats with strict rules on how they're made.ie no corked bats. Maybe you should ring up the MLB boss and tell him things have changed?

 

[Shri]

Yeah should also start to play test matches in an indoor stadium. The spectators blow raspberries to doctor the wind and make it go the other way hence assisting swing bowlers.

 

[Migara]

Nope. Notice how the WACA pitch stayed the same year in year out and was never modified or changed when the West Indies played.

Take the 1992/93 West Indian final test at the WACA. Going into this match it was 1-1 with Australia needing to win. Was the WACA any different to previous years when Australia played teams that weren't strong on fast, bounchy pitches? Nope. The WACA was probably at its fastest and bounciest and Ambrose and Bishop destroyed Australia.

Now if the WACA curator prepared a pitch different to what it was in previous year when Australia thrashed India there then that would be pitch doctoring.

Actually the situation is same with Indian pitches. They were known to crumble and take turn. It was only in last decade ICC and spin phobia of few countries forced India to prepare flat pitches. I am really proud that SL board has not changed the pitches. Any one who was critisizing SL pitches were just asked to go and fly a kite. Up to this day SSC has extra bounce, Asgiriya has seam, PSS a belter and Moratuwa a spin paradise. Galle did change it's nature, but that was a direct result of the tsunami.

And the SCG that same series, a pitch the West Indies had lost badly at in their previous two tours, was very batsmen friendly that year with Lara scoring 277 runs and the game ending in a draw. Was the SCG turned into a spin friendly dust bowl? Nope. Infact, it didnt even spin that year.

I cannot recall any pitch with spin (other than off the rough) when SL toured Australia. Other than Cairns and Darwin all other pitches were flat as pancakes when SL toured Australia. Warne averages 38 on these pancakes against SL. He bowled well only in Darwin and Cairns against SL. Murali averages 100+ on them (never played at SCG for SL).

Plenty of Australians can play spin.But a pitch that has crumbled to pieces by the 3rd day is not of a test standard. As I pointed out, India didn't invent test cricket, nor was it one of the first two teams to play a test match. Just because India "owns" cricket now doesnt give it the to make the rules.

But that does not mean Aussies and English own the game. If some one thinks like than they can STFU.

 

[silentstriker]

Besides the two bats on the left most of them look pretty much the same.

How much has changed in the theory behind a cricket bat since 1877?

Haha, if you don't think bats are different from 1900 to 2010, you are insane. Guys who have been playing since the 90s have commented how much better the bats are just in ten years time.

 

[silentstriker]

Now if the WACA curator prepared a pitch different to what it was in previous year when Australia thrashed India there then that would be pitch doctoring.

Haha, I wasn't aware someone changed the pitch between innings. Unless they did, one team did better on the same pitch than the other, and that's called playing cricket.