- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Well, I am not quite at Newlands and am instead 3.5km away. It’s walking distance for me on Test days because the beer consumption precludes any driving.
I haven’t missed a Newlands Test since South Africa emerged from isolation and Newlands is certainly the best place for me to watch cricket. This is aided by having Members tickets which facilitate a great, picturesque view in the shade plus easy access to the aforementioned beer.
Some years back, Newlands employed a new curator, Evan Flynt. Evan inherited a poor outfield and an unpredictable pitch.
In almost no time matters improved and now the Newlands pitch is good and fairly dependable. The outfield is beautiful and the pitch is a bit more bouncy.
Cape Town is a tricky place to maintain a cricket field since it rains at the wrong time of the year (winter) and doesn’t rain much in summer. You can irrigate but you can’t stop the wind blowing.
St Georges Park, Port Elizabeth is also fairly predictable which is why I took issue with Ronan O’Connell’s article a few days back.
Ronan insinuated that St George’s Park was doctored and speculated whether South Africa would doctor the Newlands pitch.
Considering his thought was based on the false premise that St George’s was doctored I suggested that Ronan was purveying click-bait.
The comments degenerated a bit and some of the comments on both sides of the ocean started to resemble what one expects in tabloids. Warner’s comments were defended vigorously as proof of cheating. The ICC have seen this differently and Warner has been fined.
The first Test delivered a fairly typical Centurion pitch. Fast and bouncy, as always.
The second Test St Georges Park was similar to others in the past. Low, slow and not a lot of life but not so lifeless to allow the Aussies to get big scores.
I have followed cricket in South Africa since the mid 70s and St Georges has always been low and slow. Sure this was slightly more than average but not radically different. That is why I dismissed the St George’s doctoring as either click-bait or poor sportmanship.
Newlands, in recent years has been a good batting wicket with something there for the seamers in the morning. On the fourth and fifth day the spinners usually come into play.
This means that if the batting side can get through the morning session only one down they are set up for a good score. However if Johnson, Steyn or Philander wreak havoc then the batting side can be on the back foot very early on.
Cape Town has been warmer and windier than normal so I think the pitch will be drier and dustier than normal. It will be a little slower than normal but nowhere near as slow as St Georges Park.
In recent times our curators have been panned for not preparing pitches to suit Steyn, Morkel and Philander. Just look at Wanderers in December.
Returning to the present, I cannot wait for Saturday. I think both the first and second Test results were anomalies. South Africa are not as bad as they were in the first Test and Australia won’t be as bad as they were in the second Test.
The idea of Steyn and Johnson trying to demolish the opposition fills me with anticipation. On the batting side, I find Smith, Amla, de Villiers, Warner and Clarke great to watch when they are on form.
The series has been played with great spirit. Long may that continue. Regardless of the result I still feel short changed by only 3 Tests.
As always, may the best side win and of course I hope that will be the Proteas. And Ronan, I predict that Newlands will not be low and slow. It won’t be bowler friendly either except maybe early in the day.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.