| The Ground Realities |
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| Written by Jatin Thakkar | ||||||
| Tuesday, 24 April 2007 | ||||||
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One of the key factors that influences the
outcome of most cricket matches, but one that has been the most mystifying this
World Cup, are the pitches and the ground conditions. With several of the
games being played on new grounds, and on relaid pitches, even the teams
playing have been left with little clue as to which way the rub of the green is
going to go (no pun intended), and combined with very moderate crowd support,
has effectively robbed the Windies of all ‘home advantage’.
However, with most of the World Cup behind us by now, we have some history to go by and try and see how the ground and pitch conditions, arguably the third biggest factor after the two teams themselves, might play in this semi-final. Sabina Park, Kingston is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful grounds we have seen this World Cup. Although the stadium went through several problems and moments of doubt during its preparation for the tournament, the core features remain the same as before. It’s a delight for bowlers and hell for batsmen, if the bowlers manage to hit their rhythm. The ground seems to favour teams batting second, as only 31% of the matches have been won by the team batting first on this ground. Also, considering the fact that the pitch is likely to be hard and fast, the Bond factor assumes greater importance, and remains a big worry for the Lankans. Ideally, the team winning the toss would want to put the opposition in. On an average, in matches where test playing nations are involved, the team batting first put up a total of around 222 for the loss of 9 wickets, which gets chased more often then not, considering the average for team batting second is 230 for a loss of 7 wickets. Given the stats for the ground, Kiwis would prefer bowling first with Bond firing on all cylinders. If early wickets are taken they will hold a great edge, given that they have the potential to chase keeping their calm and composure. However, with Muralitharan and Jayasuriya in the side, bowling second may not be such a huge problem to Lanka’s bowling attack. However, if the Lankans win the toss and put the Kiwis in to bat, the all blacks will have to hold their wickets and thus, Styris and Fleming continue to remain the key to their performance. If they deliver, the Kiwis may well be able to negate the advantage and set Bond up with a comfortable total to defend.
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