Puddle muddle sends Kiwis shopping

PUNE, Sept 30: One didn't need a crystal ball. And there weren't any prizes for guessing. The lack of drainage at the Nehru Stadium saw t...

PUNE, Sept 30: One didn8217;t need a crystal ball. And there weren8217;t any prizes for guessing. The lack of drainage at the Nehru Stadium saw to it. A washout on the opening day was a foregone conclusion, thanks to a quagmire of an outfield that confined the New Zealanders and India A to a session of nets.

8220;Everybody only hopes that the game gets going but the chances are very slim,8221; said the newly appointed chairman of the BCCI selection committee Chandu Borde before he left for Bangalore to watch the the Irani Trophy starting tomorrow.

Disappointed players, quite convinced that the chances of play at the Nehru Stadium were as remote as Pluto, arrived at the venue at 8.00 a.m. They subsequently left for their hotel before setting out on a shopping spree 8212; perhaps an attempt to ward off the gloom. Overcast skies and more rains forecast for a few more days have dampened the Kiwis camp ahead of a tough tour.

But the New Zealanders, sticklers for training, were back for practise in the afternoon. Not at the Nehru Stadium but at the BG Shirke Ground 8212; a training sanctuary in the given conditions.

Penny wise, pound foolish seems to be the Pune Muncipal Corporation PCM credo. With no thought given to drainage, the mopping only wasted energy. The waterlogged ground seemed beyond redemption.

8220;The system is bad but nobody seemed to take cognizance of the drainage that is chocked,8221; said the curator of the ground, Vaman Lele who made sure that the track, both for the match and practise were in good shape.

Fifteen workers from PCM, some from the Date Mandap along with the Maharashtra Cricket Umpires Association, led the workforce at the venue but all in vain.

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Drawing attention to the ground, Lele said that red soil would have made for a lush green surface ideal for play. But poor drainage has undermined the venue8217;s reputation with a dubious first. Never before has a day8217;s play been washed out at the Nehru Stadium.

Hosts Maharashtra Cricket Association, who extended their lease on the ground just before the India-Sri Lanka one-dayer, are a bitter lot as four aspriring local players will now have to wait for their next opportunity.

And with more rain forecast later in the evening, Pune8217;s is turning out to be a wet carpet welcome to the Kiwis.