Regional fast bowlers need help

– ICC pitch consultant

Acknowledging the once rich fast bowling legacy, ICC Pitch Consultant Andy Atkinson feels that Caribbean pitches today represent a disservice to the speedsters.

Stabroek Sport caught up with the 55-year-old Atkinson yesterday at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence where he is currently conducting training seminars for the stadium’s groundsmen with just 98 days left for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup beginning on April 30.

He believes the region has genuine pacers but they can become irrelevant if they have to struggle on docile Caribbean pitches.

“Unfortunately in Guyana they have been playing on bare pitches (without any green) and not just here but most places and that was always the tradition to produce good batting pitches. What you really need especially since the West Indies has some pretty decent fast bowlers you want to give them a bit of help because you can’t have these wickets where batsmen are scoring 700 runs because the bowlers will burn out,” Atkinson posited.The curator, who first worked at the MCC at Lords from 1978-1980, said the ICC is trying to encourage curators around the world to prepare more balanced pitches.

Moreover, in a period where the once-overwhelming support for Test cricket is waning, he believes that groundsmen  have to prepare pitches to ensure an even contest with bat and ball with a result in the end unless there is rain or any other hindrances to the game.

“If on the first day of the match the pacers can move the ball and get some pace and bounce and then eventually it turns into a good batting wicket on the second and third days the pitch will start to wear and then the spinners can take over. So everybody in the game gets a chance,” he explained. He stated that the ICC is pleased that for the past two years curators outside of the Caribbean region have been producing wickets that are bringing more results. He made reference to the recently-concluded Test matches in Bangladesh and India,  places where the pitches normally suit spinners but benefited all players.

He noted that the ICC is willing to help all boards but the boards have to want the governing body’s help since it is not the ICC’s policy to intrude. “It is pleasing to see that curators are preparing pitches that are more in favour of result cricket. You have three distinctions of cricket – One-Day, Twenty20 and Test cricket – and if you prepare a one-day pitch for a Test match that is when you have scores of 500 and 600 and it doesn’t deteriorate,” Atkinson said.
Football at the stadium

Football is constantly played at the stadium that was initially built for the 2007 ICC One-Day World Cup and Stabroek Sport asked whether he would advise such a move. Atkinson said he would not advise this but he understands the position of the administrators to have different events played here because of the huge cost to maintain a facility such as a stadium.

He observed that in a perfect world life would be better without football at the stadium and it doesn’t make sense ideally to have the stadium and not utilize it.