International pitch consultant Keith McAuliffe has offered his services to help the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) prepare top-class wickets in the country.
International pitch consultant Keith McAuliffe has offered his services to help the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) prepare top-class wickets in the country. McAuliffe is likely to write a letter to the board's Chief Operating Officer, Professor Ratnakar Shetty. The fifth ODI between India and Sri Lanka had to be abandoned after 23.3 overs as match officials and players felt that it was impossible to play on the 'dangerous' Feroze Shah Kotla track on Sunday. Had the BCCI continued the services of hiring foreign pitch consultants, the Kotla fiasco could have been avoided informed a source from the disbanded Picthes and Grounds committee.
"The last time we were trained by them (foreigners) was some six to eight years ago", the source said.
Experts from the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute (NZSTI) were invited to 'study' pitches and give recommendations a few years ago. McAuliffe and William Walmsley were part of that team. In the 21 days McAuliffe stayed in India, he visited 21 grounds. After the visits, a lengthy report and recommendations were submitted to the board, but the NZSTI is still to get a response from the BCCI.
Speaking from Australia, where he is based now, McAuliffe said: "I will be in India in February and March (2010) for performance testing and sign-off of facilities for the Commonwealth Games and I am open to help the Indian cricket board.
"Working with the BCCI was an honour and a great opportunity to assist the world's leading cricketing nation. It has been some years since we worked directly with the BCCI, though we have had some involvement at state level, such as assisting Karnataka State Cricket Association".
McAuliffe is also aware of the Delhi pitch fiasco.
"It will be unfair on my part to comment on the wicket without seeing it. But there are several reasons that attribute to a bad wicket and several factors are to be considered while preparing a good wicket", he said.
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(The writer is a freelancer)
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