Stop blaming pitches: Waugh
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Former Australia captain Steve Waugh urged players to concentrate on the World Cup instead of criticising things that are out of their control. His response was directed to South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who termed the pitch at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai “under-prepared, dead and slow” after his side beat Zimbabwe XI at last Saturday’s warm-up tie.
Even Ricky Ponting, after the defending champions’ stunning batting collapse against the Indians on Sunday in Bengaluru, called the Chinnaswamy track as an “unusual ODI wicket.” But Waugh on his part maintained, “There’s no point in complaining about pitches here. You don’t need to study rocket science to understand that tracks in this part of the world offer an extra amount of turn than the ones in UK and Australia. “Thus, it’s for players to accept what has been given to them and concentrate on the tournament.”
He, however, felt that the current edition of the World Cup would be a most even one and would reinvigorate the format, as no team looked certain to come out on top. “It’s really difficult to choose one side as the favourites. India, without doubt, are certainly there but I would keep Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa at par as well.
“Besides, the event could be a great turnaround for Pakistan cricket as a whole provided they do well here. And apart from Pakistan, West Indies too have an outside chance,” Waugh said here on Monday.
For Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men, Waugh’s advice was to take each game at a time instead of thinking straightaway of the title.
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