Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris feels India opener Rohit Sharma might find it difficult to negotiate the swinging ball during the World Test Championship final against the Kiwis, beginning in Southampton on June 18.
Head groundsman at Southampton, Simon Lee has made it clear that they are aiming to produce a fast and bouncy pitch
“It is pitch dependent... I think I can’t stress that enough. I think if the ball is moving around then Rohit will have his struggles...,” Styris said during Star Sports’ show ‘Game Plan’.
“Rohit doesn’t really moves his feet a lot early in his innings. If that’s the case, then the swinging ball could be a problem for him.”
Styris also highlighted New Zealand’s pace attack and singled out Neil Wagner’s role in the mix.
“There is no secret to New Zealand’s fast bowling plan if you like and that is Southee, Boult and either Jamieson or de Grandhomme will be the third seamer and they bowled till about the 22nd to 28th over with a new ball,” he said.
“And then Neil Wagner comes into the equation. So, when you talk about Wagner, it’s his ability to be aggressive and be a genuine wicket-taking option for somebody like (Virat) Kohli in those middle overs till the new ball comes around.”
India will have their task cut out as they hardly had any time to train ahead of the final and New Zealand are coming into the match after a rare Test series win in England.
Former India wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel says Kohli might need to give himself sometime.
“I think probably he will have to give himself a bit of time and try to think what he did in 2018 – where he got number of hundreds,” Parthiv said.
“So, probably he is better equipped than what he was in 2014, but there will be challenges and there will be challenges of variety of fast bowlers. Reason being – it is not a one-dimensional fast bowling attack.”
Curator at the stadium, Lee is aiming to produce a pacy and bouncy pitch for the World Test Championship final with some assistance for spinners later on in the game.
“Pitch preparation for this Test is a little simpler as we are a neutral venue, we are guided by the ICC, but we all want is a good pitch that offers an even contest between the teams,” Lee told ESPNcricinfo.
“For me personally I just want to get something out that has some pace, bounce and carry in the pitch.
“It can be a hard thing to do in England as the weather doesn’t help us most of the time, but the forecast in the build-up is good with a lot of sun, so we are hopeful that we’ll get some pace and a hard pitch without over-rolling it and killing it.”
Both the teams have high quality pace bowlers and Lee wants them to be in the game at all times.
“Pace just makes red-ball cricket exciting, I’m a cricket fan and I want to produce a pitch where the cricket lovers have to watch every ball in case they miss something, be that some class batting or an amazing spell of bowling.
“A maiden over can be quite exciting if it’s a battle of skill between both bowler and batter. So, yeah, if we can get some pace and bounce in the pitch, but not too one-sided towards seam movement, we’ll be happy,” he said.
With PTI inputs
The final will be played between India and New Zealand from June 18 and broadcast on the Star Sports network in India.
