“The ICC needs to step in here,” Ian Healy furious with Nagpur curators’ ‘pathetic’ act
As the groundsmen watered the pitch, Australia were forced to cancel their plans. Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy was left furious and called their act "pathetic".
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Ian Healy
Pat Cummins and co. wanted to have a practice session at Nagpur’s Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium after the conclusion of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. But their plan was scuppered by the pitch curators who watered the track right after the end of the first Test, on Day 3.
The turning track proved difficult for the visitors to play as they got bundled out for 177 runs in the first innings and could score just 91 in the second innings. That is why they wanted to train on the ground to learn more about the extreme conditions and requested the VCA authorities to delay the watering.
But as the groundsmen watered the pitch, Australia were forced to cancel their plans. Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy was left furious and called their act “pathetic”, and even wanted the intervention of the International Cricket Association (ICC) in this situation.
“It’s really embarrassing the scuppering of our plans to get some practice sessions on that Nagpur wicket,” Healy said on SEN Radio on Monday morning. “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,” he added.
On that same Nagpur pitch, Rohit Sharma scored a ton
Even before the start of the first Test, social media exploded with pitch concerns. The Aussie team has not publicly complained about the pitch but their media did. The debate is continuing with many questioning the visitors’ approach and mindset. None of their batsmen managed to reach the 50-run mark in either innings.
On that same track where Aussie batters fumbled, India captain Rohit Sharma scored a century, while both Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel had played half-century knocks. That match was won by India by an innings and 132 runs.
The Aussie media has also started raising questions about shifting the third Test from Dharamshala to Indore’s Holkar Stadium where Ravichandran Ashwin has recorded the best figures. But it’s worth noting that the venue has hosted just two Test matches so far. Meanwhile, the second Test will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, beginning February 17.
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