Are 642 balls enough? Cape Town pitch presses Test cricket's controversial fast-forward button
Notorious Newlands: Will pitch controversy lead to a shake-up in Test cricket?
“Test cricket is at its best when the balance between bat and ball is pretty even and it is slightly in favour of the ball.” Lamenting the batter-friendly pitches that were the norm in the sub-continent until a few years back, Australian legend Greg Chappell also told this writer sometime back, “When the game itself denigrates the longest form of the game, it is understandable that the public might not be as stimulated by it.”
The straight-talking former India coach wouldn't, one is sure, have enjoyed the action that unfolded over the last day and a half at Newlands, the venue for the second South Africa-India Test. There was no balance between bat and ball, no ‘slightly in favour of the ball.’ It was a lottery, fair and square. As it will be on any pitch where a ball with a batter’s name is just around the corner.
Teams coming to South Africa expect a stern examination – of technique and character. Just as teams visiting India aren’t unaware that their skills against the turning ball will be seriously tested, sides that travel to South Africa expect pace and bounce and seam movement because that’s what makes this country the hardest place to bat in. But when the pace is express, the movement pronounced and the bounce unpredictable, it makes for a potent, dangerous concoction. A concoction that throws up the shortest Test match in terms of the number of balls bowled.
Only 642 deliveries were required to be sent down on Wednesday and Thursday combined for the second Test to end decisively, in India’s favour by seven wickets. That’s a grand total of 107 overs during which 33 wickets fell, some to the ability of the bowlers, many to the vagaries of the track that spit fire, that bruised fingers and egos, that made monsters out of good bowlers who themselves might not have enjoyed the magnification of their craft by extraneous factors.
“It’s a sad state when you need more luck than skill,” South Africa’s quote-a-second, uninhibited coach Shukri Conrad observed. “All the ethics and values of Test cricket goes out the window.” If there is a more damning indictment of a strip by a home coach, that’s not yet been made public.
One of the reasons for the worldwide deterioration of pitches – or the pronounced move towards making tracks that whole-heartedly support the home team while taking the touring side out of the equation – is the quest for World Test Championship points. Australia have managed to retain the core character of the pitches; different decks in different parts of the country play differently. For instance, it has pace and bounce in Perth, where the cracks widen as the match unfolds in the unforgiving heat; it’s a bit more subcontinent-like in Sydney, where spinners come into the picture halfway through the game. England have been forced to lay out flat decks to promote ‘Bazball’, which demands hitting through the line and therefore minimal lateral movement. Others play to their strengths, which is fine, but to what extent does one maximise home advantage? And where is it all right for ability to play second fiddle to fortune?
Indian pitches have traditionally been spin-friendly, though in recent times and especially since Rahul Dravid took over as coach since the end of 2021, they have become significantly so, challenging even Indian batters who no longer play domestic cricket and have therefore lost some of their muscle memory. The brouhaha over the ball turning from the first over in India is something that doesn’t sit well with Rohit Sharma who, after leading his outfit to a series-squaring win, acknowledged that he didn’t mind the challenge thrown up by Newlands. With a rider.
“We all saw what happened in this Test and how the pitch played,” the Mumbaikar observed. “I honestly don’t mind playing on pitches like this. As long as everyone keeps their mouth shut when they come to India. Yes, it is dangerous, it is challenging. When they come to India, it’s challenging as well. You talk about Test cricket being the ultimate prize and pinnacle, you should stand by it. In India, on day one when the pitch (ball) starts turning, they keep talking about the puff of dust, the cracks. It’s important to stay neutral (uniform), especially the match referees. Some of the match referees need to keep their eyes and ears open on how they rate pitches.”
Rohit’s unspoken attention was perhaps trained on Chris Broad, the match referee who has hauled up far less diabolical Indian surfaces. How he rates Newlands should be interesting. Does he really consider this one-and-a-half-day farce a great advertisement for Test cricket?
