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Ian Chappell won’t be swayed into commenting on the questionable pitch management that’s split opinion during the Cricket World Cup, but the former Australian captain has hammered home a view he’s always held.
The legendary skipper said he wouldn’t comment on the accusations that gripped India ahead of its semi-final against New Zealand because he had no idea what took place and did not care, but he insisted the curator should be left to carry out their work uninfluenced by others.
“I think the same as I’ve always thought; that the curator should make the pitch and the players play on it and it should be up to no one else other than the curator, the local curator,” Chappell told Wide World of Sports.
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“I’ve always said about every pitch — don’t worry about World Cups, anything else — the curator makes the pitch and everybody else stays out of it.”
There has been ongoing suspicion that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was influencing the tournament to favour the host nation, and fresh accusations arose when a pitch swap occurred ahead of India’s semi-final against the Black Caps at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
While Wednesday’s clash was originally set to be played on the venue’s pitch seven, a surface unused in the tournament, the match ended up being played on pitch six, which had already been used for two games.
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The match was played on a slower, lower wicket that made the going tougher for New Zealand’s magnificent seam bowlers, with India winning the toss, electing to bat and chalking up a giant total.
There was virtually no assistance in the pitch for Trent Boult, Tim Southee and company, and the Indian batters feasted on the unthreatening deliveries, combining for 397 runs.
Virat Kohli (117) and Shreyas Iyer (105) made centuries, Shubman Gill struck 80 and Rohit Sharma blasted 47.
The Kiwis were then bowled out for 327.
An email from the ICC’s independent pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson, raised concern over the pitch change.
“As a result of these actions, one must speculate if this will be the first-ever ICC CWC [Cricket World Cup] final to have a pitch which has been specifically chosen and prepared to their stipulation at the request of the team management and/or the hierarchy of the home nation board,” Atkinson wrote in an email published by The Daily Mail.
“Or will it be selected or prepared without favouritism for either of the sides competing in the match in the usual manner, and unquestionably because it is the usual pitch for the occasion?”
The ICC released a statement amid the uproar.
“Changes to planned pitch rotations are common towards the end of an event of this length, and has already happened a couple of times,” an ICC spokesperson said.
“This change was made on the recommendation of the venue curator in conjunction with our host. The ICC independent pitch consultant was apprised of the change and has no reason to believe the pitch won’t play well.”
India has also been accused of playing tricks with the coin toss, with Rohit Sharma developing a habit for throwing the coin metres away from where he’s standing with the opposing captain, supposedly ensuring the coin is out of sight when the match referee determines who wins a battle that has often been decisive, even before a ball is bowled, during this World Cup.
India and Australia will contend for the World Cup title at Narendra Modi Stadium in Sunday’s final after Pat Cummins’ men held on to beat South Africa in a thrilling semi-final overnight.
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