In the history of cricket, the India-Australia rivalry occupies a special position. We, as fans, are enthralled by a battle of equals. The twists and turns in the ongoing Test series have fuelled emotions and led to debates, speculation and opinions.
The debate on Steve Smith’s ‘Dressing-room Review System’ refuses to die down despite a joint statement by the BCCI and Cricket Australia. I hope the serious issues that have been discerned during this series will not be forgotten in this frenzy.
The nature of the pitch has a significant influence on the outcome, as we witnessed. Test cricket certainly deserves better pitches and this matter should be critically examined.
There have been times in the past when this issue was raised and solutions were sought. After observing the Indians struggle on seaming pitches abroad, the BCCI’s technical committee introduced a novel method of playing on green tops during the domestic season. Assessing the local conditions, the committee decided to leave 3 to 4 mm of grass on the pitch. This marginal solution was agreed to by both the technical committee experts and the pitches and grounds committee.
However, the associations refused to forego the home advantage and continued to prepare pitches according to the state of the match.
In another attempt to arrest this trend, the technical committee hit upon the experiment of playing Ranji Trophy matches on neutral grounds. Although this succeeded to some extent, the spinners suffered. With the usage of SG Test balls, the pacers, who could exploit both conventional and reverse swing, were utilised for almost 70% of the overs.
Spinners were summoned only when a team was short of overs. Interestingly, when the ball turned , the batsmen struggled as they lacked practice. The art of playing spin was thus forgotten.
The most recent example was at Pune and Bengaluru when the Indian batsmen were all at sea against the most ordinary left-arm spin of Steve O’Keefe. Surprisingly, even Mumbaikar Ajinkya Rahane, trained in tough maidaan conditions, wasn’t confident . His coach, Praveen Amre, may not have appreciated his eagerness to play the sweep and lofted shots.
The young generation has to realise that this game has been played in the past. The key to developing the perfect technique is to scrutinise the technique and approach of those top-class batsmen. Did we ever see Gavaskar, Viswanath or Vengsarkar employing premeditated sweep shots against spinners on a turning track?
If the idea was to have turners against visiting teams, why did the BCCI experiment with green tops in Ranji matches? This clearly indicates a communication gap between the Indian team management and the two BCCI committees.
With a 13-Test home season, India is fortunate that both Ashwin and Jadeja are fit to bowl long spells with great penetration. At the rapid rate with which Ashwin is bowling in international cricket, he might exceed Anil Kumble’s 600 overs and reach 800 in one season! He stands the risk of injuring the rotator cuff. Didn’t Kumble suffer a similar injury?
Spin is India’s strength wherever we play. At the moment, India can boast of only two top-quality international spinners. The rest are incapable of running through teams.
A few seasons ago, some BCCI officials contemplated playing all domestic tournaments on uncovered pitches. This suggestion was not accepted as the technical committee felt it wasn’t in accordance with the conditions laid down by the ICC.
The advantage of playing on uncovered pitches is that it tightens technique. Players learn to adapt.
On such pitches in the morning, a bowler is effective because of the dew. Especially during the Indian winter, it gives him an added advantage. This is tricky for batsmen to negotiate. From the third day, even the spinners get to be more penetrative. Therefore, the quality of cricket is enhanced.
Former India opener and Wankhede stadium curator Sudhir Naik says, “We always practised at 7 in the morning when the pitch had dew. It taught us how to deal with all sorts of bowling. Modern batsmen are unwilling to bat on a practice pitch which is a little damp. They just don’t want to be out of their comfort zone. I feel Indian cricket should be played on uncovered pitches at all levels.”
With covered pitches at the junior and senior level of cricket of BCCI, batsmen are deep in their comfort zone.
When a majority of local Indian cricket is played on uncovered pitches, why shouldn’t the BCCI conduct its matches on such pitches? In fact, if one analyses the technique of Indian batsmen, they were better equipped when they were not playing on covered pitches.
Sometimes, the old ways provide the best solutions. Going back to uncovered pitches will certainly change the face of Indian cricket.
