What is wrong with doctoring of pitch ?

[Son Of Coco]

If that's what you mean then India is probably the last place to have a whinge about this.

I think it happens in a number of places. I don't think the last test is an example though. At least not in how things played out. All we got was some random picture. Let's be honest, the whole pitch could have looked like the picture we saw with the 'dry' ends extended all the way through, and nobody would have said anything, and India still would have flogged us.

If it was an attempt to muck around with the pitch, it seemed rather pointless given our track record over there.

 

[Senile Sentry]

See. That's just dodging the question. It's a hypothetical. How should a pitch be prepared. I'm of the school of thought that it should be consistent. If you change what it usually is to benefit the home team, that's dodgy. If Australia served up 5 Perth pitches in a season that would not be ok. Further, the goal should be to make the pitch itself consistent. Wear and tear will vary it through a game, but imagine if Australia dished up Perth mid 80s at one end and Brisbane 22 at the other end. That's just being a wanker. Making left and right different is wrong. I don't think pitches should be made to enhance a teams advantages. If a pitch is regularly Dr jeckle through a first class season it shouldn't become mr Hyde when a team unfamiliar with the conditions arrive. There is no need either. The advantage is already there.
These are hypotheticals. There are limits. Natural variations are fine. Tailor made variations are not. That is just being bad hosts.

Isn't it difficult to do such kind of pitch preparation not to mention the impact it could have on home team as well ? Isn't the hypothetical scenario stretching it a bit too much ?

 

[Shri]

as if there's a universal baseline for a pitch that exists in all countries

british people have one in their dense little heads and throw their toys out if it doesn't get reflected irl

 

[Shri]

That is just being bad hosts.

 

[Senile Sentry]

I mean I would think a Board would look to doctor other things than resort to such a long winded almost improbable stich work of pitches. There are far too many loose ends and uncontrollables which can screw the home team. Pitch is not something one can design and 3D print!

If nefarious is the underlying emotion, then they could target simpler matters like 1. Food poisoning 2. Giving a dodgy football to practice to the visiting team 3. Bribe home umpire with long term league contracts and slip in a sandpaper 4. Divert the check in luggage of some players to a different airport and then refuse them replacement pads 5. Deny them entry into common areas and lifts used by home players citing some vague contamination issues 6. Bribe key opposition players with long term league contracts and citizenship

 

[cnerd123]

I'm totally fine with a pitch that behaves differently for a lefty and a righty

 

[Xix2565]

If it was an attempt to muck around with the pitch, it seemed rather pointless given our track record over there.

That's the thing though, what you see as mucking around is basically a normal part of pitch preparation in India in certain grounds due to what the soil involved can do. And I'm not sure why there is this implication that pitches aren't made to suit home teams all around the world.

 

[Ashes81]

Personally I don't like pitches that are too much in favour of the home side as is it doesn't make for good games on the whole.

In England we could produce a whole series of green tops, like Trent Bridge 2015, and we'd be very tough to beat.

But would it make good viewing with 175 playing 160 every test. When India tour England, I want pitches that test the Indians against the moving ball but I don't want all tests over after 3 days with India struggling to reach 200 in any innings.

Yes, the home team should have an advantage but anytime you're opening the innings with a spinner, or in England not needing to play a spinner, then that's not a good pitch for me.

 

[shortpitched713]

That's the thing though, what you see as mucking around is basically a normal part of pitch preparation in India in certain grounds due to what the soil involved can do. And I'm not sure why there is this implication that pitches aren't made to suit home teams all around the world.

This.

 

[cnerd123]

Yes, the home team should have an advantage but anytime you're opening the innings with a spinner, or in England not needing to play a spinner, then that's not a good pitch for me.

Why do you hate spin

 

[Xix2565]

Personally I don't like pitches that are too much in favour of the home side as is it doesn't make for good games on the whole.

In England we could produce a whole series of green tops, like Trent Bridge 2015, and we'd be very tough to beat.

But would it make good viewing with 175 playing 160 every test. When India tour England, I want pitches that test the Indians against the moving ball but I don't want all tests over after 3 days with India struggling to reach 200 in any innings.

Yes, the home team should have an advantage but anytime you're opening the innings with a spinner, or in England not needing to play a spinner, then that's not a good pitch for me.

You do realise your army of seamers didn't just sprout up out of the ether right? They're there because the pitches are prepared in a way that suits their style of bowling, and they're the best exponents of said bowling in England because they've grown up in that environment. It's just that when teams can match that level of bowling England start to struggle to win. Pitch preparation has nothing to do with making entertainment beyond the teams having a place to compete and I'm not sure why this idea is so prevalent among people.

 

[Ashes81]

Why do you hate spin

I love spin bowling but it shouldn't be opening the bowling - that's what your seamers are for.

 

[Son Of Coco]

And I'm not sure why there is this implication that pitches aren't made to suit home teams all around the world.

Depends on what you mean by 'made'.

 

[Ashes81]

You do realise your army of seamers didn't just sprout up out of the ether right? They're there because the pitches are prepared in a way that suits their style of bowling, and they're the best exponents of said bowling in England because they've grown up in that environment. It's just that when teams can match that level of bowling England start to struggle to win. Pitch preparation has nothing to do with making entertainment beyond the teams having a place to compete and I'm not sure why this idea is so prevalent among people.

Cricket doesn't exist in its own vacuum, part of its remit should be to entertain those watching at home and in the ground.

At its best cricket should be a relatively even battle.between bat and ball and a good pitch should offer something to all types of bowlers.

 

[cnerd123]

I love spin bowling but it shouldn't be opening the bowling - that's what your seamers are for.

So you agree pitches that justify picking 4 quick bowlers are also poor?

 

[Senile Sentry]

I love spin bowling but it shouldn't be opening the bowling - that's what your seamers are for.

Why? In an age where even gender based roles are being challenged and getting more fluid, cricket has surely got to move on with such rigidities around bowler roles surely ?

I am glad that India has more or less pioneered this change. And Ashwin being a top proponent. It's actually akin to Srikkanth / Greatbatch opening to use the fielding restrictions which revolutionized ODIs. Maybe even more.

 

[Xix2565]

Depends on what you mean by 'made'.

Pitches are not natural random areas in a ground that people magically found and decided was suitable for playing cricket on. They're more artificial than any normal garden in a household.

Cricket doesn't exist in its own vacuum, part of its remit should be to entertain those watching at home and in the ground.

At its best cricket should be a relatively even battle.between bat and ball and a good pitch should offer something to all types of bowlers.

Sure, but what does pitch curation have to do with that? You can make any sort of pitch but ultimately the players who play on it will be the ones entertaining the fans watching and we've seen players perform contrary to the expectations of what the pitches may suggest.

And it's not like Test cricket is this bastion of fairness and parity that you seem to believe.

 

[Socerer 01]

Why? In an age where even gender based roles are being challenged and getting more fluid, cricket has surely got to move on with such rigidities around bowler roles surely ?

I am glad that India has more or less pioneered this change. And Ashwin being a top proponent. It's actually akin to Srikkanth / Greatbatch opening to use the fielding restrictions which revolutionized ODIs. Maybe even more.

has India been the pioneer in this though? since our famed quartet of spin we’ve generally gone with two spinners usually… in the modern era Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been the ones who have pushed both conditions and teams for full spin attack

 

[cnerd123]

has India been the pioneer in this though?

Yes

 

[Senile Sentry]

has India been the pioneer in this though? since our famed quartet of spin we’ve generally gone with two spinners usually… in the modern era Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been the ones who have pushed both conditions and teams for full spin attack

Wasn't that a case of simply having no real pace bowlers ? Even then someone used to just come and twirl around a few balls just to take the shine off or so. India, in particular Ashwin, sort of institutionalized it. No wonder he has 150 plus wickets as an opening bowler @ 18.59. Such an underrated new ball bowler