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Chief curator of the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup, Kent Crawfton, acknowledged that the pitch preparation for the opening semifinal between South Africa and Afghanistan went wrong, but he also said that the ground staff made a deliberate effort to provide something for both bowlers and batters.
“The intention was to produce good cricket pitches, with something in there for bowlers to work with,” Kent Crawfton, who oversaw the pitches in the Caribbean leg of the tournament, told on Saturday, a week after the tournament concluded with India lifting the trophy.
About the strip for the first semifinal at the Brian Lara Academy ground in Trinidad, that ended up being a nightmare for the batters, Crawfton admitted that the pitch was not adequately prepared. “The first semi-final pitch ended up being too one-sided. The preparation programme was not carried out as planned. Thus, it became a cracked surface causing too much variation in pace, bounce, and sideways movement,” he said.
Afghanistan were bowled out for 56 in 11.5 overs, the lowest score in a T20 World Cup last four game, and were beaten by nine wickets with South Africa knocking off the target in less than nine overs. “It was ugly really. The pitch just deteriorated and it led to not a great spectacle for a T20 game. It would have been fascinating on day five of a Test match but for a T20, it wasn’t up to scratch,” former England pacer Stephen Finn said on BBC Test Match Special, the commentary of which was used on the ICC website.
“I don’t want to get myself into trouble and I don’t want to come across as bitter or it being a case of sour grapes but that’s not the pitch that you want to have a match, a semi-final of a World Cup”on, plain and simple,” Jonathan Trott, the coach of Afghanistan, said after the match. “It should be a fair contest. I’m not saying it should be flat completely with no spin and no seam movement, I’m saying you shouldn’t have batsmen worrying about going forward.”
Crafton also talked on the fact that certain fields were covered in grass, but others, like the pitch at the final site at Barbados’ Kensington Oval, had a brownish appearance.
“The aim was to have all pitches to be prepared with live grass, and all six venues were fully grassed ahead of detailed pitch presentation,” Crawfton said. “The management of the squares during the tournament, especially at the Kensington Oval, where their matches span from June 2 to 29, is the outstanding reason. Excessive covering and not sufficient moisture retained in the pitch block. The green pitches were managed better than the bare ones.”