Following on the 'pitch' debate
Ponting "dug his own grave", says controversial Test pitch curator
Tuesday November 9, 10:23 PM
NEW DELHI (AFP) - A former India captain who prepared the crumbling pitch for last week's Bombay Test against world champions Australia defended himself by passing the blame on touring skipper Ricky Ponting.
Polly Umrigar, chief curator of the Wankhede stadium track where 40 wickets fell in less than three days, leading to India's stunning 13-run win, said the pitch crumbled because Ponting used the heavy roller on it in both innings.
"We had prepared a firm, hard pitch that would have turned from third day onwards," Umrigar, 78, told AFP.
"Ponting himself said the wicket was dry. If it was dry, why did he want the heavy roller on it?
"If the pitch was bad, would nearly 300 runs be scored on it on each of the second and third days?
"The truth is Australia could not handle our spinners."
Captains have the option of getting the wicket rolled by light or heavy rollers before the start of their team's innings.
On the rain-hit first day when just 11 overs were bowled, 22 runs were scored for the loss of two wickets. The second day produced 290 runs for 18 wickets and the third 293 runs for 20 wickets.
Australia, set a modest fourth innings target of 107, were shot out for 93 to give India a face-saving win.
Australia, who were already assured of their first series win on Indian soil since 1969 after taking a 2-0 lead in the four-match rubber, had to settle for a 2-1 scoreline instead of a 3-0 rout.
Ponting said after the match he would be reporting the pitch to the International Cricket Council.
"It was nowhere near a Test wicket," Ponting said. "It was disappointing for everyone, the players and the fans, that the match ended so fast.
"There was very little batsmen could do on a track like that."
India made 104 in their first innings and 205 in the second while Australia scored 203 and 93, their lowest ever score in India.
Umrigar, one of India's most respected cricketers who played 59 Tests between 1948 and 1961, scoring 3,631 runs at an average of 42, received no support from the Bombay Cricket Association (BCA).
BCA vice-president Dilip Vengsarkar, himself a former Test captain, said the pitch "was unsuitable for Test cricket."
"It was a bad advertisement for Test cricket," Vengsarkar said. "We will ensure this does not happen again because the cricket-loving people of Bombay deserve full five days of action."
