Former Wankhede stadium curator Nadeem Memon welcomes Eden Gardens pitch in-charge Prabir Mukherjee's decision not to alter the nature of the wicket on BCCI's alleged request
Nadeem Memon had his share of infamy when the pitches he prepared for two Test matches at the Wankhede Stadium (India vs South Africa in 2000 and India vs Australia in 2001) led to the games ending inside three days in the visitors' favour. 
<table style="width: 173px; height: 42px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="173" align="right" border="1">
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SA pacer Allan Donald celebrates as he clean bowls Rahul Dravid on Day One of the 2000 Wankhede Test against India. PIC/AFP</td></tr></tbody></table>Memon's image took a beating and he was not involved in pitch preparation at the Wankhede when the new bunch of office bearers took over the running of the Mumbai Cricket Association. It's 10 years to the month for the India vs South Africa Test which Hansie Cronje's men won by four wickets. Incidentally, just like a decade ago, there is a pitch-related drama before the forthcoming Kolkata Test. It was reported yesterday that the Eden Gardens curator Prabir Mukherjee was advised by a Board of Control for India official to prepare a turner which would help India get back in the series. Mukherjee refused to oblige. Memon was delighted to see a curator sticking to his guns. "I admire him for this guts. People must remember that a curator kicks off his preparation well in advance. Altering the nature of the wicket can be disastrous. We have seen what happened at the Kotla against Sri Lanka in December. "This interference by the hosts should stop. The curator should be allowed to do his job. I too was asked to prepare a pitch to India's advantage and I politely refused. A member of the Indian team asked me before the South Africa Test to shave off all the grass. I remember Krishnamachari Srikkanth (current chairman of selectors) was on the pitch committee at that time and he told me to just concentrate on preparing a fair wicket. I appreciated Srikkanth's policy." When reminded that the Test match got over in three days thanks to the nature of the pitch, Memon said: "Look, the South Africans had good fast bowlers.u00a0 Even captain Cronje bowled superbly. They utilised the conditions better than India. Don't forget, we took the first innings lead in that Test and Javagal Srinath bowled well too," he argued. Memon emphasised that host teams only want to play on wickets that don't assist fast bowlers. "They want one-day cricket tracks for Test matchesu00a0-- ones which will produce proper runs. "Test cricket should be riveting. People in the stands should not move from their seats. "That's when you know when the action is gripping," said Memon.

Former Wankhede stadium curator Nadeem Memon welcomes Eden Gardens pitch in-charge Prabir Mukherjee's decision not to alter the nature of the wicket on BCCI's alleged request

Former Wankhede curator Memon hails Eden counterpart

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Former Wankhede curator Memon hails Eden counterpart

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