Pitches in South Africa proving to be a serious threat to batsmen

Ajit Vijaykumar 07:46 04/10/2018
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  • Zimbabwe's Craig Ervine fends off a delivery in Bloemfontein.

    Batting in the second ODI in Bloemfontein between South Africa and Zimbabwe was a nightmare to say the least.

    The up and down nature of the surface meant batsmen couldn’t trust the bounce of the pitch. The Proteas were tottering at 101-7 in the first innings before Dale Steyn fought back with a brave 60 on his ODI comeback to take the team total to 198.

    The indifferent pitch turned into a minefield when South Africa’s lethal attack of Steyn and Lungi Ngidi let loose. Steyn hit Zimbabwe batsman Craig Ervine on the glove and the grille off successive deliveries in the third over. Then Ngidi managed to hit the top of the handle of Brendan Taylor’s bat with the ball flying over the slips.

    Many took to social media to express their concerns over the dangerous nature of the pitch. Former off-spinner Pat Symcox wrote Twitter: “One of the outstanding batting strips in SA gone to the dogs.”

    Match referee Jeff Crow is almost certain to report the pitch. This is the second time this year that a wicket in South Africa has become too dangerous to bat on, with serious threat to the safety of players.

    In the third Test between South Africa and India in Johannesburg, play had to be suspended early on day three with umpires concerned about the safety of players after opener Dean Elgar was hit on the head by a short of length ball from Jasprit Bumrah. Even before that incident, batsmen had been getting hit multiple times from balls rearing off good length even as many balls started to stay low.

    Making a good pitch is an art and sometimes groundsmen get it wrong. Many wickets in the subcontinent have been of substandard quality over the years with the ball exploding off the surface for spinners from the first session of a Test. However, when curators of hard pitches like the ones in South Africa get it wrong, it becomes a matter of safety of life and limb as fast bowlers begin to cause physical harm.

    The Proteas have no shortage of super quick fast bowlers. Unleashing them on dangerous pitches is like playing with fire.

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