Cricket Uncut
A group blog run by professional cricket writers from across the world
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Happy cows
If an enterprising corporation (or cowporation) decided to have a contest that would get a huge response from cows, they would do well to offer this first prize: the license to graze at your heart's content at the PCA cricket stadium in Mohali. The outfield here is a luscious deep green, the kind one doesn't see often at Indian grounds. And it isn't just the field that has grass on it; the pitch does too.
The curator at Mohali, a gentleman named Daljit Singh, who is also the father of the gorgeous television actress, Simone Singh, takes members of the press for a tour of the pitch. It is covered with a layer of thin, soft grass, with two bald patches that are behind and beside where the batsman stands, and therefore not in play. There are also a few cracks.
Will the pitch support the spinners at all, Daljit is asked. "It depends on the temperature," he says. "If the next few days are hot, the pitch will certainly break a bit and assist spin. A good pitch should do just that."
"Will the grass be shaved off by any chance, before the Test begins?"
"No," replies Daljit. "we will roll it, but we will certainly not mow it."
"And what about the Indian captain?" someone else asks. "Has [Sourav] Ganguly seen this pitch."
"He saw it this morning," says Daljit. "He loved it."
Try telling that to the cows.
The curator at Mohali, a gentleman named Daljit Singh, who is also the father of the gorgeous television actress, Simone Singh, takes members of the press for a tour of the pitch. It is covered with a layer of thin, soft grass, with two bald patches that are behind and beside where the batsman stands, and therefore not in play. There are also a few cracks.
Will the pitch support the spinners at all, Daljit is asked. "It depends on the temperature," he says. "If the next few days are hot, the pitch will certainly break a bit and assist spin. A good pitch should do just that."
"Will the grass be shaved off by any chance, before the Test begins?"
"No," replies Daljit. "we will roll it, but we will certainly not mow it."
"And what about the Indian captain?" someone else asks. "Has [Sourav] Ganguly seen this pitch."
"He saw it this morning," says Daljit. "He loved it."
Try telling that to the cows.
