After the first semi-final in T20 World Cup, the wicket is again in Kathgarh. This time, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott criticized the wicket of Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad. Observers have also been critical. But the Afghan coach’s words in the press conference revealed his displeasure with the wicket.
When asked about the pitch, he initially kept the ICC punishment in mind and said, ‘I don’t want to get myself into any trouble. Nor do grapes sour – this kind of content doesn’t want to be either. But you don’t want to play a match like that on a pitch like this. Especially the semi-finals of the World Cup. The fight must be balanced.’
So you are not talking about flat pitch. Seeing the batters being in danger, he said, ‘I am not saying it will be completely flat or there will be no spin, seam movement. What I am saying is that it is not right to have a situation where the batsmen have to be afraid to play forward, the ball going over their heads. In these cases it is necessary to be confident in the movement of the feet. Then going to the line of the ball, it is possible to hit using skill.’
The real fun of T20 is not found without seeing that happening. Trott thinks, ‘T20 is about attack, run game, wicket game. It’s not just a game of struggle and survival.’
But South Africa played on dangerous wickets throughout the tournament. They were not sporting at all. Unprepared drop in pitches like in New York, extra spin friendly wickets in Kingstown or excessive uneven bounce and seam movement like today. When South Africa captain Aiden Markram was asked the same question, he said, ‘Yes, that’s right, T20 cricket is entertainment. The wickets I played on throughout the tournament were challenging. Today’s wicket also turned out to be another challenging affair. But it is hard to say that the wicket was not good. Because, cricket cannot always be a game of batters. But talking about the wicket, we are happy to know that we don’t have to play here again.
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