Pak-SA Test Series: Jacques Kallis laments flat cricket pitches in UAE
While Pakistan breathes a sigh of relief after drawing its two-Test series against South Africa, there are certain participants of the series who have come under fiery criticism from all quarters: the cricket pitches in Dubai and
in Abu Dhabi.
It was generally observed that the pitches used in both games were very flat, therefore not presenting much opportunity for the bowlers. South Africa possessed a strong crop of pace and spin bowlers in their arsenal and so were
clearly unhappy with the way the pitches behaved in the series.
Since it was a home series for Pakistan, the pitches were made according to Pakistan’s preference. Although http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 also had the world’s best bowlers in their camp, it was because of the poor performance of their batting line-up
that they had opted for a flat wicket.
In both matches, it was clearly visible that the wicket simply died in the second innings, which meant that the team bowling last had little hope of knocking the opposition out.
South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis has come out criticising the Abu Dhabi pitch, where South Africa gave Pakistan a target of 354 runs but managed to get only three wickets.
After the match Kallis said, “The groundsman needs to ensure the game of Test cricket stays healthy and produces a good contest between bat and ball. It didn’t really live up (to expectations) and you can probably play another
Test match straight away and not get a result. The pitch was really flat.”
Kallis went on to say, “Our spinners bowled well but there was absolutely no turn in that pitch and no pace either. Any team would have struggled to take ten wickets today, out there.”
The veteran all-rounder’s disappointment may be hurting all the more because http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 could not win despite the two centuries he scored in the series. Nevertheless, his team has had a good practice run and should be pleased
with its performance. Both matches may have drawn, but South Africa dominated each match in terms of both bat and ball. The series may also have given South Africa a chance to work on some of its weaknesses before its Test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 at the Centurion,
starting 16th December. Kallis said that his batsmen have gotten some good runs under their belt, which will boost their confidence, and that although the bowlers might not have gotten as many wickets as they would have hoped for, it was still a
valuable experience for them to test their ability to bowl longer spells in the Arabian heat.
Kallis didn’t take any credit away from Misbah-ul-Haq's men for managing to save the series. The South African was very impressed by the youngsters in the Pakistani squad and said that his side had the Pakistanis under pressure
in both games and it was the younger guys who came to rescue Pakistan. It is always a good sign for any team when its youngsters perform well internationally. Even on those flat pitches, the Pakistani batsmen displayed patience and refrained from giving away
wickets by playing rash shots – a sign of emerging maturity in the Pakistani batting line-up.
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