Atkinson comes calling at Kotla

The lush green outfield at the Ferozeshah Kotla presented the International Cricket Council's chief pitch consultant Andy Atkinson with a pleasant sight but whether or not the World Cup venue is match- fit will be known only when the stadium hosts Ranji Trophy games.

The lush green outfield at the Ferozeshah Kotla presented the International Cricket Council’s chief pitch consultant Andy Atkinson with a pleasant sight but whether or not the World Cup venue is match- fit will be known only when the stadium hosts Ranji Trophy games.

On Monday,Atkinson spent an hour inspecting the main square and the practice wickets.

“Today is the first stop on a routine inspection of the venues to be utilised for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. At the conclusion of our visit,reports will be submitted to the ICC,” Atkinson read out from his dairy. ICC venue consultant Eugene Van Vuuren was also present at the Ferozeshah Kotla.

“At this stage it would be incorrect for either of us to make any further comment regarding our findings until our reports have been submitted and they (ICC) have had the opportunity to examine the content of those reports,” Atkinson added.

Atkinson had raised the red flag with regard to the work in progress at the Kotla in his last report. He had expressed concerns about severe work delays. However,DDCA officials are now confident that they will meet the deadline with more than a month to spare. The top-dressing of the pitch is in place and rolling is expected to start in a fortnight. In a month’s time,the pitch will be ready for use. The DDCA has invited Atkinson to watch the Ranji Trophy games so that he can get a first-hand experience of how the new pitches will behave. Atkinson has requested DDCA not to schedule any matches on the ground from December onwards.

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