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.
Da`
Roar Rookie
Casper, the point you make above is probably the most salient point in the whole debate. There is no point in a team whose bowling attack is based around quick bouncy bowling when playing another side with quick bouncy bowling (with both teams claiming the world's best quick bowlers) to make a pitch that is flat and unsuitable to quick bowling. Furthermore, if it was so unsuitable for fast bowling, teams could always play more spinners in the lineup. The difference in results in the two tests seemed more to do with a difference in batting than bowling anyway. I also gather that it's usually a much flatter, deader pitch anyway. Thus the claims about doctoring would seem to be as ridiculous as claiming the SCG and MCG are "doctored" because they don't bounce like the 'Gabba or WACA.
Buk
Guest
Exactly Pom You play India in India, you expect a dustbowl, batters who score hundreds, and tricky spinners You play Australia at Perth or the Gabba, you expect a fast bouncy pitch, and pace bowlers You play England in England you expect some rain, and some Derek Underwood, or Darren Gough swing bowler somewhere in the mix You play NZ in NZ you expect them to put you down in Invercargill or Dunedin in freezing conditions to start the series Makes it all much more interesting
Buk
Guest
Thanks for the background David. Somewhat envious that you can walk to the ground. Hope you can walk back ok after downing a few !
Parisbok
Guest
Oh how I miss Cape Town! I am stuck here in Paris and the French don't even know that the game of cricket exists. I tried to explain what it was and why this series is important to me, but I gave up. They're not even good at rugby so they don't understand the passion of a South African when it comes to sport. Enjoy the match, wish I could be there. I will have to find a live streaming site.
David Baker
Roar Pro
Its clearing now but the wind is blowing hard. Wind tomorrow could help and harm the bowlers. The pitch is also only going to get a bit dryer with this wind
David Baker
Roar Pro
Thanks Darren. Actually the reason why I like watching Smith is exactly the reason you reference. He is a fighter. Aussies may love to hate him but they love his guts In recent times - Smith at Newlands 2011/2012 - where he and Amla did the deed - Smith at Perth 2012/2013 - again with Amla. Scored at a hell of a rate Just to name 2. When Smith scores well, particularly in the 2nd innings SA almost never fails Yes he isnt pretty. Having said that he is the guy you want on your side and not on the other. I agree with your assessment of Clarke and Watson. I would imagine Aussies would feel relief about Clarke like I did about Amla in PE. They are both too good to go without runs for long. I am happy for one of them to come good. Not both please. Kallis - Again I share your view. In recent years its been the batting order that has been the downfall of others. Even of our openers failed you had Amla, Kallis and de Villiers all in a row and more recently a determined Faf. No Kallis weakens that order substantially and you dont get a couple of wickets and a decent holding bowler
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Great article David. Well done and enjoy the Test match live! I'll be cheering on from Durbs!
jason8
Guest
Its overcast and a tad humid today in Cape Town ( very different to what we have had).... if it lasts i think we might see some swing for whoever bowls first up.
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
Preparing a pitch to suit the home team is common sense. Why are we even discussing it? That's the challenge for the away team. I believe the decision of the toss-winning captain holds far more sway in determining the outcome of the match anyway. At the end of the day, it's still 11 v 11, so you pick your best team to cope with the (expected) conditions. If you don't like it, I ask you this. Would you prefer it if we used artificial pitches that are identical from country to country, to ensure a level playing field (if you excuse the pun)? Of course not!
Hughster
Guest
Nice piece
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
Warner's main point is that the Aussies aren't good at the dark art of getting the ball into the right condition to swing. I'd agree with him there. The fine is cricket at its hypocritical best. If he gets a fine for suggesting it, why wasn't Faf given a match ban for doing it?
casper
Guest
I think we aussies have to take a deep breath before accusing others of doctoring pitches. Giving credit where it's due, i think most countries that tour Australia understand they'll get bouncy wickets in brisbane & perth, a road in adelaide and consistent pitches in the other cities. From what I can see, SA was far less culpable than england in preparing pitches to suit their own bowling attack. While england aimed to produce spinning pitches because of the perceived ineptitude of aussie batting against spin, they probably wouldn't have been concerned about the australian pitches suiting pace attacks when they arrived with Anderson, Broad & their support supposedly well on top of our batsmen. Enter Mitchell Johnson to ruin their party. In the current SA tour, we both claimed to have the best quick bowling attacks in the world, so how do you advantage your home side if the other team are like you. In the end, one side used the conditions better. Eventually, the luck australia had in getting out of trouble via the tail had to eventually fail, and it did. I look forward to the 3rd test as it will be two good but not great sides going up against each other with a bit to prove, for different reasons. Please let's not be sour losers, we only just learned how to win.
Darren
Guest
I'm sure what you are writing is spot on. My experience of watching Newlands suggests that there will be a bit in it for the bowlers. If there is less so maybe the dryness leading in is why - but then it shouldn't be too different. Re players to watch - agree on Amla,De Viliiers, Warner and Clarke. Can't agree on G.Smith. Great fighter but shocking technique and not that good to watch. I's prefer Du Plessis and S.Smith. Clarke is definitely due and I've got a sneaky suspicion that Watson will have a blinder with bat and ball and prove the difference - speaking of which if Kallis was still playing I don't think it would be a contest.
SteveOL
Roar Pro
A good read that. Thanks, Dave. It takes a hell of a lot to change the nature of a pitch and of course variety is the spice of life.
Nice article David, enjoy the test, I will be watching on TV, and also the U19 world cup final, hopefully it is a good cricketing weekend for both our teams.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
It's both cheating and normal.
Harvey Neil
Guest
Looking at it from another point of view, are Australia incapable of winning if the pitch has not been "doctored" to ensure pace and bounce?
David Baker
Roar Pro
My point was that St George's was normal compared to the usual St George's You couldn't have made St George's bouncy if you wanted to do so. And Newlands will be normal compared to the usual pitch. When I said drier and dustier I said that because of the hot and windy weather. You quoted a partial sentence. It will still suit the seamers up front. It will then be a fairly fast but good batting wicket. Then it will take spin. Like always. Centurion wasn't a surprise or out of the ordinary St George's wasn't a surprise or out of he ordinary New lands won't be a surprise or out of the ordinary
matthew_gently
Guest
Great to have a level-headed, local opinion. I totally agree that South Africa had a blip in the first match, then Australia had a blip in the second. This is why a 5-test series should always preferred. It's winner-takes-all week. Bring it on!
AlanKC
Guest
Thanks for the article David, enjoy the beer and lets hope it's a cracker of a test!