With looming controversy over the pitch and outrageous criticism of the England cricket team, Vivian Richards, one of the greatest sports personalities, was astonished. It all started when India defeated England shockingly in the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad within just two days.
Two of the best Indian spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, tore up the batting prowess that England hoped to exhibit. The visiting team was finished for 112 and 81 in two respective innings. This alarming defeat has led to a bunch of criticisms of the pitch from the England side.
However, this was not the first time that former cricketers in England such as Michael Vaughn and Alastair Cook have been going on and on about the spin-friendly cricket pitches. They even urged the ICC for action against India for unplayable pitch conditions.
Now, amidst such accusations and cribbing, cricket legend Vivian Richards had something to say. When questioned about the ongoing debacle, he said that he was, in fact, quite confused as to why the debate was even happening in the first place.
Richards opines that the moaning and groaning regarding the wicket and track are absurd. He went on to explain that sometimes players receive seaming track. It is the one where the ball bounces a good length, and most people think of it as a tough situation for batsmen. Now, the other side is the spinning track.
He also explained that the name of the “Test match” was in fact related to the testing of the minds of these cricketers when they played in different pitches across the globe. It all falls under the competitive aspect of the sport.
Viv went onto say that these people might have forgotten the location of their competitions. It is quite normal to expect spinning tracks in India. When the match is occurring on the”spin land”, cricketers must be prepared for this.
He further added his opinion and said that all this groaning and moaning needs to stop. Also, he praised the Indian cricket team and proposed that the England team needs to come out of the comfort zone and face the track.
The 4th Test, is scheduled at the Narendra Modi Stadium, located in Ahmedabad. Here, Richards pointed out that India should stick with the pitch of the previous two matches.
He further elaborated that in his personal opinion, England has got an enormous option to analyze things and set on a different path. They need to deal with the fact that they will be getting the same pitch in the fourth Test, and practice accordingly. Vivian Richards was quite vocal with his support. He also said that if he was representing India or anything like that, he wouldn’t have changed the pitch.
Apart from Vivian Richards, Nathan Lyon, an Australian off-spinner, was astonished by the increasing pitch criticism. He was quick to say that while no one is particularly unhappy about seaming pitches, spin tracks seem to bring out all the cry, negativity, and blame game.
All these conversations have ultimately increased the hype for the fourth test match between India and England.