Man of the Series - 'The Pitch'?

       The recently concluded India-SA series was an interesting one and in the end I think the team better suited to the conditions won. India had some good spinners and a couple of batsmen who could play spinners better than their counterparts. SA on the other hand, did pretty well and should be pleased with the lessons they learnt on playing quality spinners on spinner friendly tracks. 

       One thing that was discussed a lot, was the quality of the pitches used for the series, especially the one in Nagpur. One of the key arguments against the pitch was that it was turning square right from day one of the test. While this in itself is not a problem, the fact that both teams did not manage a score in excess of 220 was seen as a consequence of it. I believe any pitch that exaggerates the effort of the bowler in a helpful way, while still being consistent, should be deemed a good pitch. For example,
a pitch that offers a lot of bounce or a lot of swing is generally deemed as a good test wicket. A really fast bowler or a very good swing bowler can put his craft to good effect on these pitches due to the assistance he gets from them. Using the same argument, a pitch that turns square irrespective of the day of the test, should also be considered a good one . Test cricket is all about the battle between the wits of the bowler and the tenacity of the batsmen. A pitch can have an exaggerated swing/bounce or spin but if the behavior in either aspect is consistent and predictable, the pitch alone cannot help the bowlers get 20 wickets in a test. This assistance from the pitch has to be coupled with the wiliness of the bowler to generate the element of surprise that usually gets him a wicket. Be it the odd yorker in the middle of a series of short pitch balls, or a subtle inswinger mixed in with a set of big outswingers, or the doosra or googly in the middle of a mundane spell of regular off or leg spin. The ability to execute these tricks accurately is what distinguishes the great bowlers from the rank and file ones, and the pitch alone seldom contributes to a win or loss. The only pitches that are bad for cricket are the ones that either offer uneven bounce or make the ball seam or spin unexpectedly due to bad surface conditions, without the bowler's skill involved. Other than that, any pitch that is consistent in it's assistance to the bowler should be deemed a good pitch. 

       While the excessive turn offered by the Nagpur pitch was well within the parameters of how a good Test wicket should behave, I think there were enough occasions where, the trajectory and flight of the ball were sole functions of the condition of the pitch and the bowler was a mere spectator, rather a happy one. That I think is the sole reason that makes the Nagpur pitch a questionable candidate for hosting international matches.