MELBOURNE: MCG curator Matt Page on Monday fended off allegations of having provided inferior practice pitches to India ahead of the Boxing Day Test, saying that it was “standard procedure” to provide fresh pitches only three days in advance of a Test.
The Indian team took a break on Monday after two consecutive days of intensified nets session, although captain Rohit Sharma had an injury scare on the second of those days. Rohit was hit on the left knee after missing a throwdown. After the incident, pacer Akash Deep, who was also hit on the hand while batting, expressed some dissatisfaction with the pitches in the nets, saying, “The ball was keeping a bit low at times. They look like white-ball pitches.”
Page admitted as much, saying, “For us, three days out, we prepare pitches for here. If teams come and play before that, they get what pitches we’ve had. So today, we’re on fresh pitches (Australia had an optional practice session). If India had trained this (Monday) morning, they would have been on those fresh pitches. It’s stock standard procedure for us, three days out.”
Asked if he was aware of India’s schedule, which was sent out two months in advance, and the need to change the procedure, Page said, “Yes, they gave us the schedule. There has been correspondence between CA and Indian board and the extent of those conversations, I don’t know.”
There have been attempts by sections of the Aussie media to stir up minor controversies around the Indian camp leading into the Test, with Virat Kohli being criticized for stopping a reporter from filming his children and Ravindra Jadeja copping flak for not answering questions in English.
Former player Simon Katich became the latest to join the bandwagon when he suggested “mind games” were being played by India. “Obviously, there’s been a few things unfolding in the last week or so that haven’t gone down well at that (India) camp. It’s probably just the mind games being played, given the enormity of this series,” Katich said.
As for the MCG pitch, Page said it would be a “rinse and repeat job,” meaning pace, bounce and carry if recent trends are anything to go by. Page, however, said it would not be as “lively” as some Sheffield Shield pitches earlier in the season.
“In 2017, we sat down as an organization and discussed where we wanted to go and we agreed that it was about producing wickets for thrilling Test matches. It gives bowlers a chance to come into the game but also batters if they play well. All quick bowlers get excited when they come here now, although it’s not as quick as Perth or Brisbane, but we’ve managed to get some pace on it,” Page said, adding that spinners wouldn’t get much help. “It doesn’t really break for spinners. If you see long-format games over the last four to five years, it has been more seam-friendly than spin.”
There’s a heat wave alert for Boxing Day, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees, but Page said preparations wouldn’t be affected. “It’s been factored in. As we know with Melbourne, the weather can change quite quickly. It might quicken up more than it would if it was 20 degrees. Whether we’ll leave a bit more moisture in it, I can’t say at this stage.”
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