***Official*** India in South Africa 2017/18

[vcs]

Faf loves a good pitch whinge. It's only a good pitch in his book if it behaves like a greentop when his team bowl and a road when they bat.

 

[Daemon]

It's less that and more frustration that this is not even close to what they asked for. Kohli said similar things after the draw against SL.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Yeah but we all agree Kohli's a whinging **** too.

 

[StephenZA]

I think that this is a very unusual Centurion pitch, hence the complaint... if this was at St Georges it would not be unexpected. Hence why SA wanted to play India at Centurion and Aus at St Georges. Need to play to your strengths at home, to often SA produces a friendly pitch for the opposition during a series and we lose/draw series at home that we should have won.

 

[Boris_Dog]

Ja, so not the pitch they wanted but this has been a great match to watch. Bit of a contrast to Cape Town which was also great but different. Good for cricket.

 

[Chrish]

Yeah but the curator tried to comply with the request but couldn’t prepare the green top due to weather? So it’s not prepared like this on purpose. That’s what I gathered anyways from reading the discussion.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Anyway, the thing we should be talking about right now is that Saha is out of the series and has been replaced in the squad by dinesh karthik.

Which means that yes, we may get to see Vijay and Karthik in the same team. Get hyped.

 

[Shri]

Batting order for the second innings:

Vijay
Rohit
Rahul
Kohli
Pujara
Ashwin
Pandya
Tail

 

[Daemon]

At the very least I hope one of them brings drinks to the other in the middle

 

[Stefan9]

Yeah but the curator tried to comply with the request but couldn’t prepare the green top due to weather? So it’s not prepared like this on purpose. That’s what I gathered anyways from reading the discussion.

Its just incompetence. There is a drought in cape town but they got the pitch right. Faf has a right to feel aggrieved that his home ground couldn't give him the pitch he wanted.

 

[StephenZA]

Its just incompetence. There is a drought in cape town but they got the pitch right. Faf has a right to feel aggrieved that his home ground couldn't give him the pitch he wanted.

That's a bit harsh... inexperience (new curator), it was apparently very hot and the grass got burnt. I know everybody keeps saying just put a cover on it, but if curatorship was that easy there would not be an entire profession based around it. Anyway done and dusted, hopefully he learnt something.

 

[SeamUp]

That's a bit harsh... inexperience (new curator), it was apparently very hot and the grass got burnt. I know everybody keeps saying just put a cover on it, but if curatorship was that easy there would not be an entire profession based around it. Anyway done and dusted, hopefully he learnt something.

Exactly. Experience. Then he needed a helping hand from someone experienced for an important series.

The most important thing to any groundsman with a lack of experience or one with experience is looking at the weather in advance and preparing and planning. He failed with the most simple task.

 

[Stefan9]

That's a bit harsh... inexperience (new curator), it was apparently very hot and the grass got burnt. I know everybody keeps saying just put a cover on it, but if curatorship was that easy there would not be an entire profession based around it. Anyway done and dusted, hopefully he learnt something.

Same temperature as it is pretty much always this time of year...

 

[StephenZA]

Exactly. Experience. Then he needed a helping hand from someone experienced for an important series.

The most important thing to any groundsman with a lack of experience or one with experience is looking at the weather in advance and preparing and planning. He failed with the most simple task.

Maybe, maybe not, I am no expert, as I said I don't know enough about curatorship to criticize. Did he get the pitch wrong. Yes. Why, I don't know? As regards to any help he should have got for such an important series, that is as much going to the Centurion/Lions managers and CSA. I don't know what is going on behind the scenes.

What I`m saying here is we are lambasting a single man without any real background knowledge of what is going on (unless other people here have expertise experience here) . It is not a rank turner; it still had some decent bounce. It was dry and a bit flat, not the most terrible pitch in the world, it was just not what SA wanted.

 

[SeamUp]

Maybe, maybe not, I am no expert, as I said I don't know enough about curatorship to criticize. Did he get the pitch wrong. Yes. Why, I don't know? As regards to any help he should have got for such an important series, that is as much going to the Centurion/Lions managers and CSA. I don't know what is going on behind the scenes.

What I`m saying here is we are lambasting a single man without any real background knowledge of what is going on (unless other people here have expertise experience here) . It is not a rank turner; it still had some decent bounce. It was dry and a bit flat, not the most terrible pitch in the world, it was just not what SA wanted.

The buck stops with the curator. When a pitch is created at Centurion where the majority of our SA players grew up and say they've never seen a pitch like this there then yes, then questions have to be asked.

We wanted no turn, but it turned from Session 1 Day 1. We wanted a wicket that provided pace with bounce not a wicket where the ball looses all of its fizz once it hits the wicket. Those are the 2 main things for me - not lateral movement.

I am thinking from an SA perspective and the SA team perspective in what they wanted and should have got. No questions asked.


Is this test match entertaining ? Hell yes. It's what we wanted but it certainly has brought India into this game by at least 30% more. They can certainly still win this, then the post-mortems come of why SA lose these odd tests at home. You can imagine SA players going into home tests with a certain mind-set - I'm sure most test teams do.

It was like that Durban wicket suiting Sri Lanka those years back. The Real TPC took home the bacon that test.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Pitch is definitely friendly to Ashwin and our batsmen, which is why it's disappointing that we're still behind in this test. Could've been a different story if not for those drops.

 

[StephenZA]

The buck stops with the curator. When a pitch is created at Centurion where the majority of our SA players grew up and say they've never seen a pitch like this there then yes, then questions have to be asked.

We wanted no turn, but it turned from Session 1 Day 1. We wanted a wicket that provided pace with bounce not a wicket where the ball looses all of its fizz once it hits the wicket. Those are the 2 main things for me - not lateral movement.

I am thinking from an SA perspective and the SA team perspective in what they wanted and should have got. No questions asked.


Is this test match entertaining ? Hell yes. It's what we wanted but it certainly has brought India into this game by at least 30% more. They can certainly still win this, then the post-mortems come of why SA lose these odd tests at home. You can imagine SA players going into home tests with a certain mind-set - I'm sure most test teams do.

It was like that Durban wicket suiting Sri Lanka those years back. The Real TPC took home the bacon that test.

Look we going go around in circles here... I don't disagree with anything you`ve said. And I think that they need to look at what happened. I`m just not going to jump up and down, blame it on one inexperienced man, without knowing what actually went wrong. The more important thing here for me is that they fix it for next time.

 

[vcs]

The only way for India to get back into this game is if they are chasing 250 maximum, which would still be a massive challenge. SA are still well in control.

 

[SeamUp]

Look we going go around in circles here... I don't disagree with anything you`ve said. And I think that they need to look at what happened. I`m just not going to jump up and down, blame it on one inexperienced man, without knowing what actually went wrong. The more important thing here for me is that they fix it for next time.

Maybe they should leave it like this for Australia ?

I guess my working environment you have to hold people accountable and give them responsibility if good enough.

That is what I know. He failed. We only get 1 or 2 tests a year at each ground. Considering this a big series ( 1 of our 3 main rivals & considering our away tour to India I would like to think it is worthy of my energy and not just worry about a next time).

 

[SeamUp]

Pitch is definitely friendly to Ashwin and our batsmen, which is why it's disappointing that we're still behind in this test. Could've been a different story if not for those drops.

The only way for India to get back into this game is if they are chasing 250 maximum, which would still be a massive challenge. SA are still well in control.

You guys will certainly be kicking yourselves.

But even if you get the chance to chase 250-300 you guys will love it. Conditions aren't totally against you.

Think we could be set up for a cracker.