By Revatha S. Silva
[caption id="attachment_160087" align="alignleft" width="421"]
Fast-bowler Dushmantha Chameera (on left) celebrates taking wicket with Chamika Karunaratne as leg-break bowler Wanindu Hasaranga looks on in the third and deciding ODI against South Africa at R. Premadasa on Tuesday (7). Have Sri Lanka used their home advantage to the maximum, and if not why? Photo Pradeep Dambarage[/caption]
For yet another time, Sri Lanka did almost lose their home advantage in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup Super League One-day International (ODI) series against South Africa, that ended on Tuesday (7) at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
Sri Lanka managed to win the deciding match of the three-match series by 78 runs on Tuesday after totalling 203/9 yet, had Sri Lanka chased a target that day, it could have been equally tough for the hosts as well, and the result of the match and the series could have gone either way.
Why couldn’t Sri Lankan bowlers extract similar amount of spin in the first two games, as they did in the third one? Did anything fishy happen in preparing those pitches?
Someone else is pleased!
The host country preparing the wickets to suit THEIR bowlers and conditions is a usual practice followed by every country. A quite legitimate ploy.
The recent white-ball series between Bangladesh and New Zealand, played in Bangladesh, is only one example of how home pitches can be made to suite to the home-team bowlers.
Do Sri Lanka curators do it? If not, why? Are they doing their work to meet Sri Lanka’s demands or someone else’s demands?
Questions are raised again as to how pitches behaved much differently, particularly in the first two ODIs, than it was expected by the authorities.
Great suspicionsA highly-placed source from the Sri Lanka team told the Morning Sports yesterday (8) that the type of tracks that were requested had not been provided for the Protea ODIs, even though the authorities concerned had pledged that they would do so. Fishy? Obviously.
It was not so long ago that allegations of pitch-fixing surfaced in the local cricket discourse. Similar suspicions had reportedly been raised during last April’s Bangladesh home Test series played at Pallekele.
Is somebody making the pitches to satisfy a third party which wants to nullify Sri Lanka’s home advantage and make it advantageous to the opposition? Or, has someone turned the curator or pitch preparing job a gold mine that can make you filthy rich?
Making slow, low turners
Bangladesh gained home advantage to the maximum against both Australia and New Zealand in their most recent T20I series, which they could win quite handsomely in August and September.
The two series were their last before the T20I World Cup, coming up next month mostly likely on similar type of dry pitches that will take more spin rather than pace.
By making slow, low, dry turners at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, they beat Australia 4-1 and then Kiwis by 2-1.
No high scores
Those Mirpur tracks took turn with heavily uneven bounce from the very first delivery of each match and the home team had made it habit to open bowling with their spinners during the two series.
No time did any team could cross 150 in the entire eight games whereas the Aussies were once bundled out for 62 before the New Zealanders were all out for 60 runs in their first match.
Country before self
Incidentally, such trouncing took place mostly as their Board President Nazmul Hasan Papon, who is also a parliamentarian in Bangladesh, watched action from the VIP boxes at the stadium, which is home of Bangladesh Cricket Board or BCB.
That is how our neighbouring countries make use of their home advantage to the maximum and prepare their team for the World Cup.
Why are our Cricket Board officials silent when someone plunders our home advantage, under their watch?
Is it because “the culprits” here are carrying a large number of club votes that often decide their fate in the periodical Cricket Board elections?
Is it self-sustain or the country’s course? Time to decide!