Australian legend Ian Healy terms Nagpur pitch situation 'pathetic'
Nagpur pitch in focus [Twitter]
The Australian cricket team's efforts to gain further insight into the conditions at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur, where they suffered a humbling defeat in the first Test match, were thwarted by the ground staff. The tourists were eager to take advantage of the opportunity to train on the same surface, in a bid to make amends for their innings loss.
However, their plans were abruptly cancelled mere hours before the scheduled training session, after it was discovered that the pitch had been watered a mere few hours after the conclusion of play on the third day.
The Australians had requested that the pitch be kept in its original state, in order to facilitate their training session immediately following their loss on Saturday. Whether it was a matter of miscommunication or a deliberate disregard of their request, remains unclear.
Former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy, speaking on SEN, did not mince his words in expressing his disappointment at the situation. He characterized the situation as "pathetic" and called for ICC to step in.
“It’s really embarrassing the scuppering of our plans to get some practice sessions on that Nagpur wicket,” Healy said.
“That’s not good, that’s just not good for cricket. The ICC needs to step in here. For them to water the wicket unceremoniously when it was requested for practice is horrible and that has to improve,” the Australian veteran concluded.
With the upcoming second Border-Gavaskar Test set to begin on Friday, February 17 at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, both teams will vie for advantage with the hosts aiming to sustain their winning streak and the visitors determined to recoup from their devastating loss.
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