The pitch for next week’s Ashes test has been described as soft with an elastic consistency due to the presence of extended pre-match bad weather. Or in other words, ‘Jelly.’
Steve Rouse, the groundsman, poured forth his worries in a bout of pessimism that, if well-founded means the surface will be slow and low, lacking in bounce and pace.
Interestingly, this really gives one a sense of deja vu.
Back in 2005 the same pitch was said by Rouse to have experienced a ‘tornado’ in the week before the match. Having lived in Birmingham for some time in the early part of this century, I was mildly surprised by that announcement at the time.
Birmingham weather could be described as dreary, wet and depressingly cold. But a tornado? Very unusual!
That pronouncement in 2005 may have influenced Ponting to send in the opposition, despite winning the toss. The ground appeared to weather the ‘tornado’ rather well, with scores of 407, 308, 182 and 279.
So what should Ponting do should he win the toss?
It would be convenient if had some sort of reliable and scientific method for assessing the pitch to fall back on. That is, finding out just how much jelly is in that pitch.
Currently, instruments exist for measuring bounce and moisture in a surface. I’m not sure if a device exists for measuring turn.
But given how clever Aussies are at inventing stuff, I am sure someone can come up with something.
The really clever idea might be to take measurements of the pitch before an innings, then correlate that data with scores from the pitch. Ideally, you might be able to get some sort of predictive power from a statistical analysis of the data.
That would be Jelly science, indeed.
dave
Guest
Ha ha, recovering? I think I probably suffer from it all year round! You've seen the summer here so far? So no, not bitter, although I do remember quite a few of my neighbours being more than miffed at the damage the tornado caused. Brummies dealing with extreme weather conditions like those of a tornado is definately a new experience for all of us! I do agree with your points of not taking advantage of technology for help with judging and maintaining the pitch, let's just hope the staff get it right, that the rain holds off and no more tornado's hit birmingham, I don't fancy wearing my waterproofs all day at the start of august. Best of luck Dave
David Boots
Guest
I am surprised there was a tornado in the midlands of England. You might agree that the region is not exactly reknowned for them. I remember many balmy evenings walking along the beautifull canals of Birmingham. A much underestimated city! I guess my point is quite subtle. I find it quite interesting that the grounds man could get the condition of the pitch so wrong (but kudos for producing a pitch in those conditions!). Should captains rely on what the grounds man opines? The key point is that there seems to be a remarkable lack of objective criteria available for a captain to use with which to base a decision on. This is even more astonishing considering the relative availability of some of the technology that could be used. I think the 'car key' in the pitch test is about as sophisticated as it has ever gotten. Then again I may be unaware of background processes in this regard. Dave - you sound rather bitter - I hope youre not recovering from SAD?
Dave
Guest
"Back in 2005 the same pitch was said by Rouse to have experienced a ‘tornado’ in the week before the match. Having lived in Birmingham for some time in the early part of this century, I was mildly surprised by that announcement at the time." Sounds odd i admit, but check your facts mate, it happened. I lived a stumble away from the ground at the time and there was indeed a tornado. Still, any excuse will do for you boys eh?