Wet pitch upsets Fletcher
January 30, 2012 13:17:36 UK
India's head coach Duncan Fletcher is upset with the venue of his team's final training session and wants to move from the ANZ Stadium to the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The first T20 match between India and Australia is scheduled to take place on Wednesday at Olympic headquarters, but when the visiting team arrived at ANZ for training on Monday morning, the pitch was so wet that playing on it was impossible.
Australia are 1.61 to defeat India in the first T20 match while the tourists are 2.30 to get the win.
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As a result, Fletcher was forced to limit his players to simple fielding drills, which was followed by a practice match of football. On the other hand, their Australian counterparts found everything according to their liking at the SCG, where they engaged in an intense two-hour practice session without any problems at all.
This latest episode of controversy angered the Indian coach, who now wants his team's practice session to be shifted to the SCG as well.
"There was a bit of a concern with the practice pitches this morning. The centre pitch dried out beautifully, but the ones in the pocket don't get as much sun or air flow and hold a bit more (water). There were some concerns from the Indians. I spoke with Duncan Fletcher, he understood the predicament, but obviously he was disappointed and rightfully so," said the ANZ Stadium curator Les Burdett.
"He wanted firm pitches, but with the elements and the rain around, we were unable to deliver. Duncan in the end used (the session) as an orientation. He was disappointed because he wanted a decent workout with his players, but used it to get a feel for the ground and an understanding of what it is like to field here."
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