India’s thumping ten-wicket win over England in the third Test of the four-match series was not a match that was well received by a majority of cricket fans. The pitch at the brand new Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad favoured spin bowling from the first ball itself and it was a deck that neither side’s batsmen could entirely figure out. Former England cricketers as well as current commentators from around the world said the pitch did not offer up a fair contest between bat and ball. However, many in India have stated that this is just how pitches are in the subcontinent.
It is a view echoed in a way by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who said that people never seem to have an issue with wickets that assist seam bowling yet criticise pitches that offer turn.
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“I was up all night watching it. It was absolutely brilliant. I’m thinking about bringing that curator out to the SCG,” Lyon said.
“We play on seaming wickets around the world and get bowled out for 47, 60. Nobody ever says a thing (about the pitch). But as soon as it starts spinning, everyone in the world seems to start crying about it.
“I don’t get it. I’m all for it, it was entertaining.”
Lyon also took a jab at Australia’s Ashes rivals, talking about how they got their team composition entirely wrong for the match at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
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“The best thing about this Test match that just passed is that England went in with four seamers. That will do me. I don’t need to say any more.”
England are currently preparing for the fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad, where they lost the third match in less than two days. The loss triggered a debate over what a ‘good’ pitch is for Test match cricket.
However, India off-spinner R Ashwin launched a scathing attack on critics of the Motera pitch “I have a question back. What is a good cricket surface?
“The bowlers want to win the game. The batsman needs to bat well to get runs. No question about it. What makes a good surface? Who defines this? Seam on the first day and then bat well and then spin on the last two days,” Ashwin said during a virtual media interaction.
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“Come on! Who makes all these rules, we need to get over it and not talk about whatever picture you want to paint. If you’re asking if it is a good Test surface, I don’t see any of the players coming from England having an issue with the surface.”
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