Thursday, 20 February 2014
Boring Slow Pitch Robs fans 2nd Test, South Africa v Australia, Port Elizabeth
South Africa limped to 214-5 at the end of first day's play of test match between South Africa and Australia. at Port Elizabeth. It was a day which every cricket fan wished never came in their life. The pitch was a real villain.
For a series that was seen as a platform to find out who is the best fast bowling attack in the world, between Australia and South Africa, the cricket pitch dished out by the curator was a big disappointment. It was painfully slow. Even Mitchell Johnson looked as slow as Vernon Philander. The ball barely bounced higher than the waist and shots were difficult to time for the batsmen.
May be it was a well thought tactic from South African team management. The inability the host batsmen showed in first test against short pitch bowling of Australia seems to have sent message to pitch curator "We want low and slow wicket. Mitch is too hot to handle!" But looking at how match stands at the end of first day's play, the pitch hasn't quite helped South Africa's cause. Instead it is Australia who seems to have a upper hand in match, even though fast and furious Mitchell Johnson has managed on 1 wicket (Hashim Amla) thus far.
AB De Villiers and Deal Elgar played well for South Africa and gave the scoreboard some good look. The scorecard at stumps on day 1 looked like this :
Dean Elgar played well, mostly defensively against seam bowlers and occasionally attacking to spinner Nathan Lyon, for 83. AB de Villers, batting on 51 not out, continued his good form with fine half century creating a new world record of scoring half centuries in 12 consecutive test matches. He shared the record with Viv Richards, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir before this fifty.
Nathan Lyon talked about the pitch and what he makes of the day's play. He said that they knew this would be a very difficult pitch to bowl on, and he is happy with the control they have maintained, and stoked that they got those two bonus wickets when they were waiting for the new ball.
In reality test match still in the balance here, but it seems to be a peculiarly flat and lifeless wicket. I wonder why? :-) How things have changed! I'm sure the SA quicks will not be looking forward to bowling here, and if Philander is carrying any injury it could be a real issue, because SA only have four bowlers (unless I'm missing someone). Still, if they get 300+ it is still runs on the board that AUS have to get. Lehman says the pitch is pretty good with plenty of grass but very dry underneath. That means it should spin later on, but probably won't break up too much. But do SA have a spinner who can take advantage of bowling last?
For a series that was seen as a platform to find out who is the best fast bowling attack in the world, between Australia and South Africa, the cricket pitch dished out by the curator was a big disappointment. It was painfully slow. Even Mitchell Johnson looked as slow as Vernon Philander. The ball barely bounced higher than the waist and shots were difficult to time for the batsmen.
May be it was a well thought tactic from South African team management. The inability the host batsmen showed in first test against short pitch bowling of Australia seems to have sent message to pitch curator "We want low and slow wicket. Mitch is too hot to handle!" But looking at how match stands at the end of first day's play, the pitch hasn't quite helped South Africa's cause. Instead it is Australia who seems to have a upper hand in match, even though fast and furious Mitchell Johnson has managed on 1 wicket (Hashim Amla) thus far.
AB De Villiers and Deal Elgar played well for South Africa and gave the scoreboard some good look. The scorecard at stumps on day 1 looked like this :
 |
| Cricket Score Card, Australia vs South Africa, 2nd test Day 1 Stumps |
Nathan Lyon talked about the pitch and what he makes of the day's play. He said that they knew this would be a very difficult pitch to bowl on, and he is happy with the control they have maintained, and stoked that they got those two bonus wickets when they were waiting for the new ball.
It was a hard fought day of cricket on a disappointing spirit sapping pitch. Australia will be feeling better about today, but you mustn't forget that AB de Villiers is still out there.
Pitch gave South African cricket fans to make a shout "Mitch who? So much for the over-hyped Australian bowling attack. On a green, seaming pitch with overcast conditions they have hardly made a dent. SA march on and get stronger by the hour. What was really disappointing was watching Lyon bowling around the wicket, targeting leg stump and on the pads - so negative, very un-Australian. Couldn't help noticing Harris leaving the field with a tweak and Smith was right Centurion totally suited Johnson, but maybe he can get some more tail-ender wickets here yet. Mind you both are in the their mid thirties now anyway and injuries are part of that age category," said McKenjie.
But Am I hearing complains about the pitch from Australians. So all the Aussies, complaining about the pitch. Are you saying that your Mitch is just a one-type-of-pitch-wonder, and cannot perform consistently across all sorts of pitches? Unlike Dale Steyn, who has great figures over a protracted period of time, even on the subcontinental road pitches? He did not even look remotely threatening for frightening today, even the raw and inexperienced Elgar played him out without giving any chances.
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