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Pitch has Proteas in a spin
09/04/2008 22:08 - (SA)
Jaco van der Merwe , Beeld
Kapur - South Africa may employ two spinners when the deciding third cricket Test match against India starts here on Friday.
The Indians have been given the spinners paradise they were hoping for after being beaten in three days in the second Test in Ahmedabad.
The Green Park wicket here is bone dry and the cracked surface shows that it will soon turn in favour of the spinners.
However, the Proteas have not decided whether to field two spinners, in which case fast bowler Morne Morkel will have to stand down for left-arm spinner Robbie Peterson.
"We have the option of playing two spinners," Proteas' coach Mickey Arthur said on Wednesday.
"We'll watch the conditions a little longer and make the decision closer to the start of the match.
"Robbie did well when he replaced Paul Harris in Bangladesh and we won't hesitate to include him if we feel two spinners will hold the key on this wicket."
Arthur said the wicket looked exactly as he had expected it to be. He started preparing himself for the worse when the Proteas were still in Ahmedabad.
"It seems the pitch will break up quickly and we are confident that our attack will also benefit from it.
Uneven bounce
Spinners are not the only bowlers who can achieve success on this wicket. It may be a different matter to face fast bowlers of the calibre we have.
"It the top layer breaks up as quickly as I suspect it will do, uneven bounce will play a major role," Arthur explained.
The toss will have a major influence on the match. The captain who has the right to choose, will certainly bat first in an effort to get as many runs on the board as possible while the pitch is still in a reasonable condition.
To score runs on the last two days will certainly be hard.
A lot of people will have their heart in their throat when that coins goes up," Arthur said.
"Sometimes it's rather sad that the toss can be so crucial. That is why it can be a gamble for the home side to prepare a wicket of this nature."
Large numbers of police officers have arrived with the teams in Kanpur. A local newspaper has reported that 4 000 officers have been deployed as part of the security measures.
- Beeld
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