Cricket: Pitch is under fire from all quarters

By RICHARD BOOCK

It is hard to figure out who is under the most fire in Sri Lanka - the ruling minority Government, or the Premedasa Stadium groundsman.

At a time when Sri Lanka's political situation has proved typically volatile, the man in charge of preparing the Colombo arena's pitch has been copping more than his share of flak.

Devoid of any grass and resembling a nuclear wasteland, Premedasa's pitch block has so far offered a marked advantage for the teams batting first, placing an unhealthy emphasis on the toss.

Sri Lanka beat New Zealand in the opening match of the Coca Cola Cup triangular tournament last week after batting first, and the Kiwis rebounded against India on Friday after Stephen Fleming called correctly.

India coach and former New Zealand captain John Wright heaped scorn on the surface afterwards, as did Indian captain Sourav Ganguly and New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle, whose 10th ODI century set his side up for victory.

Wright said the nature of the pitch meant batting first was paramount.

"It's frustrating when, in the second 50 overs, the ball goes through the top and the pitch behaves completely differently," he said.

"It makes batting first a lot more important than it otherwise should be."

Ganguly blamed the pitch for his team's 84-run loss, saying it made batting second a far more difficult proposition, and Astle agreed - suggesting the pitch became slower and more variable as the match progressed.

To make things even trickier for curator Susil Ananda, he now has to cater for an extra three matches after the ODIs scheduled for Dambulla International Stadium this week were transferred to Premedasa.

Ananda said he was confident that pitch conditions would improve.

"The problem was too little grass," he said.

"We will use two wickets for the next four games, but these will have a better grass covering and should allow the batsmen to play more freely."

After an optional training session yesterday, New Zealand headed inland to Kandy, 90km north-east of Colombo, for a two-day break from the capital.

Manager Jeff Crowe emphasised there was nothing sinister in the decision to leave Colombo, scene of violent anti-Government demonstrations on Thursday.

He said the temporary shift simply gave the team a chance to see another part of the country, although training schedules would restrict sightseeing opportunities.

New Zealand, who also received excellent value on Friday night from comeback king Dion Nash and fellow bowlers Kyle Mills, Daryl Tuffey and Chris Harris, play Sri Lanka at Premedasa Stadium on Wednesday, and India at the same venue on Friday.