Totals in excess of 350 have come quite regularly in the ongoing World Cup. Andy Atkinson, the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s head curator, thinks the overall nature of Indian pitches has improved from what it was in the past.
Atkinson is in town to oversee the pitch preparation at Eden Gardens for Sunday’s big-ticket clash between India and South Africa.
“Oh, there’s a huge difference. They (pitches in India) are much better than they were before,” Atkinson told The Telegraph at the ITC Sonar on Friday.
“There used to be some decent ones previously, but it was a struggle because playing after the IPL (which usually gets over around May end), we basically had to try and prepare a pitch at every ground. But now there are nice grounds with full grass-covered wickets, you can prepare a nice, decent pitch I suppose.
Groundsmen busy pulling the covers at Eden Gardens on Friday. PTI photo
“And almost every pitch we have played so far in this World Cup has been good. There has been a proper balance between the bat and ball. In fact, this balance was something I had spoken of (during the curators’ seminar in Mumbai) when I came to India back in August,” he said.
Atkinson was effusive in his praise for the Eden wicket, terming it “excellent”.
“It used to be slow and flat, but at present, it’s a lot more sporting... Been easy for me because of the hard work put in by the ground staff here as they were prepared for all situations. You can sense the hard work.”
The India coaching staff — head coach Rahul Dravid, Vikram Rathour (batting), Paras Mhambrey (bowling) and T. Dilip (fielding) — visited the Eden following the team’s arrival on Friday evening. They seemed “pleased” after having a look at the wicket.
