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Originally Posted by Rachael That means Razzaq (known for rather Flintoff-esque long-handled ODI batting) must have started that over having scored 27 runs off 101 deliveries without a single boundary. The contributions of the others suggest everyone except Dishan really struggled... |
I don't think Razzaq "struggled" at any time through his innings, if by that we mean he was fighting to save his wicket. One could argue that he struggled to 'impose' himself on the bowlers, but that did not seem to be his intention anyway; his aim was to play everything with the straightest bat possible, and not take any risks. According to the
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Originally Posted by Cricinfo Razzaq arrived at the crease with the clearest of gameplans: all good balls were solidly blocked and anything loose was pushed for a single or, very occasionally, stroked into the deep for a two. Murali tossed the ball up temptingly with inviting gaps in the off side, but Razzaq stuck steadfastly to his dour method. |
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Originally Posted by Mike What interests me is will the ICC pitch inspectors judge the pitch on what they see before the match or after the match is played out? If the match is played and the pitch encourages a good contest on what basis will they impose a fine for a sub-standard pitch? The pitch will either be good for batting or bowling if one dominates the other |
When was the last time you heard the ICC caring about a pitch being too batsmen friendly, even in Tests, let alone ODIs! If Sri Lanka are to be reprimanded for producing the Premadasa sand-pit, then surely consistency demands that South Africa are too, for the Wanderers concrete-strip?
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Originally Posted by Mike Surely, they won't hand out a penalty should the wicket spin on day 1. |
One should hope not, but I think they probably will! The last time we had a real turner for a Test match was the India v Aus Test at Bombay a couple of years ago, where the game was over in literally two days. Instead of accepting defeat gracefully and admitting his team's batting needed some work, Ponting blamed the defeat solely on what he thought was a 'sub-standard' pitch - as if it is the home board's responsibility to manufacture a pitch which suits the strengths of the tourists!