Spinning track or pacy for Ind-Aus semis? Curator Tom Parker, who seldom listens to the Aussie skipper, has kept cards close to his chest
The tales of the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground are as intriguing as the venue itself. Acquired in 1924 and weighing 2,500 kg, the Barford & Perkins roller is still the primary one used to prepare the 22-yard strip at the iconic venue. Prior to that, horse-drawn rollers were in use. One such horse, intriguingly named 'Boxer', wore special padded shoes so that he didn't damage the wicket. Boxer's roller occupies pride of place behind the MA Noble Stand. And in all these 148 years, the pitch has been commanded by just eight curators. From 1867 to 1940, curators lived onsite. The Curator's Cottage was located behind the Members Pavilion before it was demolished in 1944. Bill Stuart, who was in charge of the pitch for 29 years, was the last curator to live in the cottage.
Tom Parker has been in the hot seat since 1997. It's but natural that Parker finds himself in the news ahead of Thursday's semifinal contest between Australia and India. A visit to the SCG on Saturday didn't yield fruit because Parker was probably enjoying a jug of beer at home. Also, the sky was pregnant with dark clouds all day before it finally rained late in the evening.
So what will Parker dish out this time? In tournaments hosted by the International Cricket Council, the governing body asks its man to work hand in glove with the local curator. So Parker will have Andy Atkinson, the ICC's chief pitch inspector, for company.
It's obvious that Michael Clarke wants a strip that will help his fiery line-up of pacers boasting a pair of left-arm Mitchells. The Australia skipper said as much after his team's quarterfinal victory over Pakistan in Adelaide on Friday.
Bur Clarke could be in for a rude shock. That's because: a) Parker seldom listens to him; and b) the SCG wicket has traditionally been a spinner's delight. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. So suggests the manner in which Sri Lanka crumbled against the leg-breaks of Imran Tahir and the part-time off-spin of hat-trick hero JP Duminy in the first quarterfinal on Wednesday.
While the pitch conditions won't be known till the eve of the match, Clarke is convinced that he has the bowling attack to trouble the powerful Indian batting line-up regardless of the environment. And should the curator prepare a spin-friendly track, Clarke believes he has the bowlers to get the job done.
MS Dhoni will probably laugh at the suggestion that Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith can trouble India. With their part-time spin that is. He will instead ask Clarke to start bothering about R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Dhoni will take heart from the fact that Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq tipped India to do well against Australia.
"India have got a chance because they are playing in Sydney and the Sydney pitch, everybody knows it's a little bit (favourable) to the spinners and both of India's spinners are bowling really well," Misbah said. "And the (India) batting is really in good form so it will be a tough match. Australia have a very balanced team but I think playing in Sydney they might miss a good spinner. That could be a difference there because what I've seen in the past games and when we played against England there (in a pre-tournament warm-up fixture) spinners got a lot of success on that pitch and Imran Tahir got some wickets against Sri Lanka. So that could be a problem (for Australia) and also playing against spin they might just be in trouble there. But overall they've got good all-rounders and the bowlers are doing well so I think that will be really a tough match."
Australia do have a specialist spinner in Xavier Doherty but indications are that Clarke won't play him on Thursday.
Over to Mr Parker and his 2.5-tonne roller.
Ind vs Aus at SCG
Date Result
Jan 26, 2015 NR
Feb 26, 2012 Aus won by 87 runs
March 2, 2008 India won by 6 wickets
Feb 2, 2008 Australia won by 18 runs
Feb 8, 2004 Australia won by 208 runs
Jan 22, 2004 Australia won by 2 wicket
Jan 14, 2000 Australia won by 5 wickets
Jan 20, 1992 Australia won by 6 runs
Jan 14, 1992 Australia won by 9 wickets
Feb 5, 1986 Australia won by 11 runs
Jan 21, 1986 Australia won by 100 runs
Jan 15, 1981 Australia won by 27 runs
Jan 8, 1981 Australia won by 9 wickets
Dec 18, 1980 Australia won by 9 wickets
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