South African team coach Mickey Arthur said that the Green
Park pitch was not ideal for Test cricket.
Arthur also said that he expected India to prepare such a track as
they were trailing 0-1 in the series.
'There
is always something happening on the wicket. It is behaving like a
fifth day pitch on the second day. It played a little better than
expected, but is not ideal for Test cricket,' Arthur told reporters
here.
'We would have left grass in South African wickets in this
situation. We would have played to our strength. We expected India to
prepare a wicket like this. In a funny sort of way, a wicket like this
will provide a very exciting result.'
India, replying to South Africa's 265, were 288 for nine at stumps
Saturday.
Many people felt that the pitch was prepared to help Indian spinners
and that it would crack early.
Arthur also supported captain Graeme Smith for calling it an
under-prepared pitch.
'Graeme
is right that it is under-prepared wicket. India prepared a surface
that suits them best. The wicket at Ahmedabad was perfect for cricket.
'The
Ahmedabad wicket had a little bit of juice for the bowlers in the first
session. The batsmen could have cashed in after that. And from day
three, there were signs of turn. If the game had gone on, spinners
would have come in play.'
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