'Nobody praises us for the pitches': Nadeem Memon

Few observers who saw both games could pinpoint any significant differences in the way the pitch at the Motera stadium played in this Test and the way it behaved in the match against England a year and a half ago. Which would not be surprising, except for the fact that Ahmedabad was one of the venues that was evaluated by the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute. The institute then passed on its recommendations to the Indian board for implementation, and the pitch was re-laid in accordance with them.

The institute's main suggestions were to decrease the depth of the wicket from 2.5 feet, which was the norm in India, to 1.5 feet, and to replace the soil to facilitate bounce. "But how can we prepare bouncy wickets for Test matches in India?" asks, rhetorically, Nadeem Memon, curator at Motera. "So that is why the pitch is playing more or less the same way it did in the last Test."

Matches that have been played here since the surface has been re-laid, Memon says, have all seen outright results. "Both seamers and spinners have found help. But you should not compare a first-class wicket with a Test wicket.

"When India play at home, they automatically want the advantage of home conditions. They don't want grass or bounce," says Memon. "We want the wicket to last five days, to maximise the take from admissions, so we have to roll it, keep it clear of grass, and factor in the heat. This will naturally be the result."

This pitch, Memon predicts, will not break at all. "People think it will, but it won't. But you can't say there is no turn. Daniel Vettori bowled well and turned the ball on the very first day. Our spinners just did not bowl well or aggressively enough. Had Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna or BS Chandrasekhar been here, they would have opened up this side by now, on this wicket." Both turn and bounce is available here, Memon insists. "Matthew Hayden just got 380 at Perth, but that does not mean it is a batting wicket. Our spinners just have to bowl line and length to get wickets, and they did not do that."

The surface, one gathers, would have behaved rather differently had Memon been allowed to follow his heart. "Our cricketers must understand that all over the world, grass is present on the wicket. In Australia, there is dampness in the pitch until the third day; you can stick a key in it even then. If we do that here, though, we will be painted as villains.

"Unless we have a free hand," Memon continues, "this attitude will persist." He has, it appears, heard some rumours that there were complaints from the Indian camp from the very first day about this wicket, and is not surprised. "Nobody even waited for a few days to say how it would play; they automatically criticised it as a dead wicket. Stephen Fleming told me this was the best-looking ground in India, but nobody here praises us even if the ground looks good. Our groundsmen work on nominal salaries, and yet we are always criticised. Even when we have prepared a wicket that will aid an Indian win, nobody will come to say 'Thank you.' They are all just concerned with how many runs they will score or how many wickets they will take."