Frozen pitch puts Ghana's training on ice

Frozen pitches at Ghana's World Cup training base north of Rustenburg caused their practice session on Thursday to be delayed for two hours. 

The west Africans were scheduled to start a private training session at nine in the morning but were told that the pitches at the Mogwase Stadium would be unfit for use. 

Ghana Football Association vice-president Fred Pappoe told the Ghana website (ghanafa.org): "We were informed early this morning that we had to reschedule training due to the freezing conditions.   

"The pitch is frozen and it has to be cleared." 

Last Friday, the United States were delayed on their way to a pre-match training at Rustenburg's Royal Bafokeng stadium when an elephant crossed the road ahead of the team bus.   

Temperatures in Rustenburg, where Ghana meet Australia on Saturday in a Group D encounter, have fluctuated dramatically in the last week. 

A week ago, in sunny conditions, they reached 25 degrees Celsius, but this week have fallen overnight to minus five as winter has taken a grip on the North-West province.