Lara calls for pitch inquiry

JOHANNESBURG: WEST Indies cricket captain Brian Lara has severely criticised the state of the wicket at the new Wanderers Stadium following his team’s 189-run defeat against hosts South Africa on Tuesday. The Trinidadian left-hander who scored a double-century on the crumbling pitch to save the follow on felt that winning the toss played a too important part in the outcome of the First Test of the four-match rubber. But the South African win over the Caribbean players in the Castle Lager/MTN Test match was a comprehensive one, despite Lara’s dark mumblings that the pitch had more influence than it should have on the last day.

With the heat that has baked down on Johannesburg over the five days of the Test, with nary a cloud in sight, there were always going to be cracks, and Smith acknowledged that the toss did play a role and that the wicket did have “a little in it.” South Africa used the bounce and carry of the wicket better than the West Indies did, as Smith took his first win at home as captain, on the ground where he began his provincial career. “Before we left for England we sent a notice to the press that we wanted to become the people’s team. It’s very special (to win at the Wanderers). It was a fantastic team performance and that makes it even more special.  “The guys toiled for five days. It was a good Test wicket. It obviously cracked up towards the end which made batting a little more difficult, but I thought it was a really good Test wicket,” said Smith. Lara was full of fire for a man who is captain of a team that is dipping further into their reserve players than they really should at the beginning of a series. He suggested that the South African authorities look into the state of the pitch at the Wanderers as days four and five were difficult. 

However it seemed a strange and unnecessary statement from a man who has played as much around the world as he has. Aren’t Test wickets supposed to deteriorate as the match goes on? “It was a difficult pitch. The groundsman will say he had difficulty with the heat and humidity, and the fact that it’s going to crack. It’s tough on the team batting second and fourth. The toss at the Wanderers is much more important,” said Lara. The West Indian steelband that had sat patiently throughout the four-and-a-half days of the match were still going strong at the end of the Test, playing their side on to the bus as they headed off to their hotel and then to East London. The West Indies had lost, sure, but they had not lost all that badly, which is a sad indictment on the state of Caribbean cricket and a good confirmation of the application of the South Africans. “One of the differences is that we normally crumble way before the last day, way before the last innings in our bowling and in our fielding. This Test match we waited until the last day, which is a good sign. It means that we are maturing and are playing better as a team. We are going to take a lot of positives out of this match into Durban,” said Lara.

December 16, 2003 may just go down in the history of cricket as one of the more significant days in the sport in the 21st century. It was a day when Australia were finally felled at home, India emerged as a new power in the making, and South Africa continued their development under Graeme Smith. It may be premature to say that the balance of strength is shifting, but it has been noted that Australia are an ageing side, while India and South Africa are looking more and more like the teams that will be best-equipped to challenge them in the years to come.  Some of South Africa’s players will head off back to their unions to play some one-day stuff before meeting again before Christmas to prepare for the Second Test of the series. Smith will be hoping his bowlers continue to shine as they did in this Test. With any luck this win will bring in a bigger crowd in Durban after the fans stayed away from the Wanderers.