One-sided? Atkinson hits indignant pitch

The biggest talking point during the Karachi ODI was the nature of the wicket in use 8212; flat and devoid of any life 8212; which became ...

The biggest talking point during the Karachi ODI was the nature of the wicket in use 8212; flat and devoid of any life 8212; which became a graveyard for the bowlers with more than 693 runs being scored on Saturday.

It8217;s attracted a great deal of criticism, but the man at the centre of it all, Pakistan Cricket Board PCB8217;s English consultant curator Andy Atkinson doesn8217;t agree with any of these assessments.

Saurav Ganguly and Inzamam-Ul Haq, restrained by the ICC code, made a toned-down plea for 8216;better and sporting wickets8217;. 8216;8216;After Lahore and Karachi, I am sure that the wickets will be absolutely flat during the series,8217;8217; said Ganguly at the end of the match. His coach John Wright too has predicted a high-scoring series.

But Atkinson 8212; now in town to look after the preparations at the Pindi Cricket Ground for Tuesday8217;s match, seemed pretty relaxed when he approached by The Indian Express. 8216;8216;Please don8217;t ask me anything about this track. Because I cannot predict a score,8217;8217; he says while relyaing instructions to the local groundsman.

So the focus was reverted back to the Karachi match which, Atkinson claimed, was 8216;8216;very fair8217;8217; and in tune with the kind generally offered for one-day cricket. 8216;8216;For the past decade the wickets in one-day cricket are tailor-made to suit batsmen. This is because people come to watch fours and sixes and nothing else. Pitches are supposed to be like this.8217;8217;

So does that mean sides should pack their teams with only batsmen? 8216;8216;No, I am not saying that. What I am saying is the bowlers must put the ball in one place and kept it simple and tight.8217;8217;

However, the batting-friendly wicket isn8217;t to the liking of those who say it produces an unfair contest. Mention this to Atkinson, though, and he bristles.

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8216;8216;Which match were you watching? Wasn8217;t that Karachi ODI a contest? The batsmen enjoyed themselves and that is what one-day cricket was invented. If I am wrong ask the 33,000 who turned up at Karachi whether I am wrong or anyone watching it on television if I am wrong. I think 99 per cent of the people will agree with me.8217;8217;

According to Atkinson, the Karachi game was a 8216;8216;once in two-three years8217;8217; game. 8216;8216;When did you last see such a game. It is good for the game if we have such encounters.8217;8217;

Atkinson does not feel for the bowlers and says their turn will come in the Tests.8216;8216;You want a contest, wait till the Tests. It is more of a connoisseur8217;s delight and the bowlers will have a good time then. But here the rules are simple:just keep it tight and put the ball in the right place.8217;8217;

Having said this much, Atkinson, who just has finished a stint with the ICC during last month8217;s under-19 World Cup, asserted that there is no guarantee that every match will see tall scores. 8216;8216;It8217;s highly unlikely that you will get to see such tall scores again. But runs are what matters.8217;8217;