The pitch has been the focal point of many discussions during the current India-Australia series. If the Pune wicket was termed 'poor' by match referee Chris Broad, Bangalore got 'below average' marks
Arthur Falcao in England
The pitch has been the focal point of many discussions during the current India-Australia series. If the Pune wicket was termed 'poor' by match referee Chris Broad, Bangalore got 'below average' marks.
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The curators in both instances had to bear the brunt. But Pune curator Pandurang Salgaoncar told mid-day that he was instructed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) pitch committee to prepare a rank turner that boomeranged on the hosts.
Free hand for curators
So, do all cricket boards interfere with local curators while preparing a pitch for a match? The answer is no if Stanmore Cricket Club's (ECB's Premier League county team) curator Arthur Falcao is to be believed.
Falcao, a middle-order batsman who played club cricket in Mumbai, went to England at the age of 16 to get exposed to playing in English conditions. Thereafter, he started playing for club as an overseas cricketer. But his passion for preparing pitches helped him to meet Kenton CC's (Middlesex County league team) curator Alan Digby, who taught him the art of groundsmanship.
Falcao, who is a curator in England from the last 15 years, told mid-day that no one forces curators to prepare a specific kind of surface.
"In England, they (ECB) will never force their opinion. They will, at best, ask the curator what can be expected from a given pitch. You cannot force somebody to get things done your way," said the ECB-certified curator.
'BCCI interferes too much'
"The problem with the BCCI is that they interfere too much in the preparation of a wicket. It is a bit confusing, because normally you prepare a pitch as per the weather conditions. You can't keep on telling the curator what to do because the conditions may not support your pitch preparation. The local curator who knows the weather conditions, the nature of the soil and grass, is undoubtedly the right person to prepare a pitch," said the 39-year-old Falcao.
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