Andy Atkinson scheduled to visit India in September
The 2011 World Cup is fast approaching and preparations have taken a new start. Along with many other issues, the pitches for the tournament have received a lot of attention. ICC’s pitch consultant Andy Atkinson has scheduled to visit India to inspect the pitches being prepared for the mega event.
Pitches in the sub-continent are known for their lifeless nature. Curators in India and Pakistan normally prepare pitches that only favour the batsman and the bowlers fail to achieve anything. The ICC’s pitch consultant has planned to inspect six venues in India that are destined to host World Cup matches in 2011. His arrival in India is expected in early September. The inspection of Indian pitches by an ICC expert is a positive step and would prevent unfortunate incidents like the one occurred in December, 2009 at Feroze Shah Kotla in Delhi. The match between Sri Lanka and India was stopped due to an unsuitable pitch. The proactive strategy by the ICC is highly appreciated and would ensure an international standard for pitches for the mega event in 2011. Standard pitches will provide all the teams an equal opportunity to employ their strengths whether it is in the bowling or batting department.
The BCCI’s chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty briefed the media about Andy Atkinson’s inspection visit plan. According to him pitch consultant Andy Atkinson is scheduled to reach India in the first week of September and he would stay for a week. The interesting fact of his planned visit is that Andy would not be visiting Mohali and Nagpur. The reasons for ignoring Mohali and Nagpur are yet not known. It is possible that the stadium at Mohali and Nagpur would be already in accordance with world standards and Andy did not think it necessary to inspect them too. Whatever the case may be, his visit would indeed be very fruitful in maintaining world class standards in the preparation of pitches for the World Cup 2011.
Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmadabad are scheduled to host international matches against Australia and New Zealand prior to the World Cup. BCCI’s chief selector also confirmed that Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmadabad are being prepared to host some international matches before the World Cup.
Andy Atkinson had visited India earlier in February to inspect the remedial measures to improve the Feroze Shah Kotla pitch. Atkinson has expressed his satisfaction on the work carried out at the Feroze Shah Kotla under the supervision of the former head of the BCCI curator’s panel. The ground hosted IPL matches during the summer. The inspection of pitches by an ICC expert prior to the World Cup might favour the Australian team with fruitful preparations during the Indian tour.
Good bouncy tracks will enable the Australians to prepare for the forthcoming Ashes in a better way. Ricky Ponting however has raised apprehensions about the utility of playing the series in India prior to the Ashes.
Dead pitches demand a lot of effort by the quicker bowlers and deprive the bowler to prove his dexterity with the ball. The standardization of pitches will increase chances for non sub-continental teams to win the tournament. The equilibrium of home ground advantage would be considerably changed for India with the formation of standard pitches. Only home crowd advantage might help India other than the climatic conditions that may be alien to other teams.