India vs England Third Test - Bad pitches tend to ruin every form of Cricket...

I was looking forward a lot to the third Test between India and England in Ahmedabad at the new Motera Stadium, but the match was ludicrously over within a day and a half. Neither team scored more than 200 runs in the game, and England wasn't able to survive the barrage of spin bowling that from India that was aided by a cricket pitch, that seemed impossible to play on.

Now fair play to India for playing the difficult conditions better than the English team did, but not one batsman was able to make a decent score, and the fact that Joe Root, a part time spinner got 5 wickets in a test for the first time for the loss of just 8 runs says it all. Bowl in the right place, and world class batsmen had no chance whatsoever.

Now, the sceptic in me might suggest that the state of the last two pitches in India was influenced by England's dominant batting performance in the First Test in Chennai, and that a "conscious decision" was made to make things much more in favour for the home team, but in doing so, I think it has demeaned the game, and made Test Cricket look silly and totally unfair.

A good pitch where both batters and bowlers can have a chance to shine is absolutely necessary for Cricket as a worldwide sport and spectacle, and I think that sanctions should be aimed at those nations that produce sub-standard pitches such as those seen at the last two Test Matches in India. I bet the ICC won't lift a finger, as India is one of the dominant nations in the game, but my view is that they should do, lest home advantage may ruin the whole ethos and enjoyment of the game.

You know, I feel for the paying spectators who wanted to see 5 days of Test Cricket, the broadcasters who pay good money to show the sport only for them to have to rearrange at short notice 3 days of programming. I feel for the sponsors who lost advertising time, as well as the impression of the sport that this game gave the kids watching, on whom the future of this wonderful sport survives.

I just hope that the last Test Match between India and England is a better spectacle and a more competitive game than this one was...

Picture - https://pixabay.com/photos/county-cricket-wicket-crease-2639131/