On Gall(e)ing Pitches

I decided to break my hiatus and post about the recently concluded Galle test, and the questions thrown up by the ICC's reaction to the pitch. But it turns out Rob Steen has done my work for me this morning, and very well at that.

On the subject of dead pitches inexplicably escaping official censure, let's get regional. A good many followers of the game from the subcontinent, including me, have always been resentful of the amount of criticism generally attracted by a typical Asian square turner while at the same there is usually little complaint about tracks elsewhere offering generous bounce and seam movement (with the match usually finishing in 3 or 4 days). Such differences in perception die hard, it would seem.

In recent times, however, my main memories of test cricket in India or Sri Lanka or Pakistan (if not Bangladesh to the same extent)involve shirtfronts, tiring bowlers, 500-plus totals and boredraws. Even though pitches elsewhere have also started to lose their character - most notably in the West Indies and Australia - the perception is not entirely unjustified. If anything, batting success in the subcontinent seems to be even less heralded than it was in the past.

For example, a century in India might look good on the resume of a young Kane Williamson or Alviro Peterson, but Thilan Samaraweera (who has played just 15 out of his 67 tests outside Asia) still doesn't seem to get the respect normally accorded for a test average of 53. And India's successes over the last four years have been a bit diluted by the fact that they have drawn nearly as many matches as they have won. If this is all a bit unfair, a major share of the blame lies with the sort of pitches that have been on offer.

Which is why the Galle wicket was a breath of fresh air. A Murali-less Lanka felt its best chance of beating Australia was to go in for a dry turner, and though it backfired it was an uncharacteristically positive, attacking move and resulted in a memorable test. It would be great if this were repeated every once in a while; if only the ICC agreed.

(Related post by Rohit here)