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Journalism of Courage
One of the striking features of the 2003 World Cup so far, except for the fact that there8217;s been almost as much action off the pitch as on it, has been the uncharacteristic behaviour of the pitches. South African pitches are second only to Australia8217;s in terms of pace and bounce. But so far in this World Cup, we haven8217;t seen the fabled bounce or pace and batsmen have, in fact, had a far happier time out there than the quicks.
And at least one pitch expert predicts that spinners will thrive in the later stages of the tournament.
Apart from the matches featuring minnows against stronger teams, all the other results 8212; West Indies beating South Africa, Sri Lanka beating New Zealand, Australia beating Pakistan, Canada beating Bangladesh, India beating Holland and New Zealand beating West Indies 8212; support the theory.
As a result of that, logically enough, bowlers bowling in the second innings have returned better figures than bowlers bowling in the first half of the match see graphic. And, as a corollary to that, of the five centuries scored so far in the tournament, only one has been scored 8212; in a losing cause 8212; in the second innings: Scott Styris8217;s 141 against Sri Lanka.
All the rest 8212; Craig Wishart8217;s 172 not out against Namibia, Andrew Symonds8217; 143 not out against Pakistan, Sanath Jayasuriya8217;s 120 against New Zealand and Brian Lara8217;s 116 against South Africa 8212; were scored in the second essays.
And not one of the established quick bowlers 8212; McGrath, Gillespie, Pollock, Donald, Shoaib, Bond 8212; has had a match-wnning performance, contrary to pre-tournament expectations. The big hauls have all been by the less fancied read: slower bowlers or spinners.
Why these peculiarities in pitches that are expected to behave differently?
The main reason is the wear and tear on the wickets, says Dhiraj Parsana, member of the BCCI8217;s Pitches Committee. This is the end of the season in South Africa. 8216;8216;My reading is that they are all suffering from end-of-the-season wear and tear. The pitches are favouring batsmen a lot this time because the pitches have lost their freshness; there8217;ve been a number of tournaments there through the year 8212; both international and local. As a result of that, none of the pitches have any grass left in them.8217;8217;
The little bit of grass that has remained on the pitches is primarily dead grass, and is kept to give the binding qualities of the pitches time to knit and make for firmer surfaces.
Hilbert Smith, Venue Facility Consultant at Centurion, says, 8216;8216;There are so many theories flying around that it is hard to keep track of what is being said and what is actually taking place. The surface should be quick and the ball should come on to the bat. Because of the heat we have to keep the surface a little moist, but that does not necessarily mean that it is going to play slow.8221;
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Parsana explains the procedure followed by the South African groundsmen, calling the system 8217;over-compacting8217;. He says, 8216;8216;The pitches in South Africa are 8216;over-compacted8217; at the beginning of the season. It8217;s only because of that that there8217;s still some amount of bounce. Unless you8217;re really fast, it is difficult to expect shoulder-high bounce. At the same time, though, the bounce in all the pitches are what we call true. So it becomes easier to bat on.8217;8217;
Does this mean that it is going to be a batsman8217;s tournament with centuries galore and teams batting first have the advantage of better conditions? It8217;s an interesting query that draws swift rebuttals from former South African opening batsman Andrew Hudson, Ian Healey, the former Australian wicketkeeper and Aussie swing bowler Glenn McGrath. They believe that the Wanderers and SuperSport Park venues usually help the swing and seam bowlers during the first 25 overs, after which the batsmen get a chance. Statistics of Australia8217;s match against Pakistan support this theory.
Hilbert Smith shares the view of many cricketers who have played at different South African pitches down the years. 8216;8216;Some of these venues usually help the swing and seam bowlers during the first 25 overs after which the batsmen get a chance. But there is also always the chance of batsmen with flawed techniques being caught out. And there is always going to be the problem of the pitches getting slower as the match progresses. The limited overs game also demands a different type of surface to meet its peculiar demands.8217;8217;
Fresh pitches will always give the fast bowlers more advantage, and provide lateral movement. But, as is the case at the moment, because the pitches are worn out and a lot of cracks are showing through, batting becomes difficult in the second innings, with the pitches becoming slower and the ball not coming on to the bat.
Parsanna goes on to add, 8220;My prediction is also that as the tournament progresses and we reach the super six stage, spinners will do even better, because the cracks will start opening up more.8221; That8217;s good news, of course, for countries with good spinners.
There are factors as well. The first is the psychological element of a team batting second losing early wickets in their quest to chase down even a moderate total. There is a matter of batting second in conditions where the dew gives the bowling side an advantage. Canada8217;s shock 60-run win over Bangladesh at Kingsmead is one example. West Indies bowlers getting among the South African batsmen at Newlands in the opening game is another.
All of which makes for an interesting 2003 World Cup. Batsmen of class can get the runs, and the centuries, too, but will need to work for them. But on the other, it also means that this will be a strange one-day tournament by South African yardsticks. Batsmen of class, as always, can get the runs. Centuries too, as initial trends show, will pile up by the dozen. And because of the climactic changes in South Africa this year, predictions might not come true at all. But the fact that these inaccuracies will make this a rather interesting World Cup is beyond doubt.
