Ian Healy slams India’s latest ‘pathetic’ act to thwart Aussies

Australian cricket great Ian Healy has slammed another “horrible” move by the hosts in a series that is turning ugly.

Groundskeepers are seen preparing the pitch prior to a Australia training session at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground on February 8. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

The Nagpur curators have rubbed salt into the wounds of the battered Australians, with a request by the tourists to practice on the same wicket that dumbfounded them over the course of three days going begging.

Cricket.com.au’s Louis Cameron reported that a member of the VCA Stadium ground staff in Nagpur was seen watering down the pitch on Saturday afternoon, soon after India’s innings victory to go 1-0 up in the series.

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The Australians planned to practice on what would have been day four of the Test, and requested that the usual post-Test watering of pitches be delayed in order for them to continue to familiarise themselves with Indian conditions.

It was set to be an optional session, with five players in the squad wanting to head back to the VCA Stadium.

India comprehensively demolished Australia by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur to go 1-0 up in the series. (Photo by Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP) /

The VCA said in a statement that both teams would train the next day.

Coach Andrew McDonald, speaking to SEN, insisted the session, not usual for the day after a Test, was not a “naughty boy net”, but instead an opportunity for the Australian batting unit to acclimate to the “extreme” conditions.

Former Test wicketkeeper Ian Healy, also speaking to SEN, described it as “a pathetic effort” from the hosts.

“It’s really embarrassing the scuppering of our plans to get some practice sessions on that Nagpur wicket,” Healy said.

“That’s not good, that’s just not good for cricket. The ICC needs to step in here.

“For them to water the wicket unceremoniously when it was requested for practice is horrible and that has to improve.”

Pat Cummins’ men, despite winning the toss and batting first in Nagpur, were comprehensively rolled for 177 and 91 in the first Test.

It comes after pre-Test speculation the Nagpur curators were selectively watering and rolling the surface ahead of day one.

Interesting treatment of the pitch in Nagpur. The groundstaff watered the entire centre of the surface & only the length areas outside the left-hander’s leg stump & then rolled only the centre, stopping short every time they got to the good length areas at both ends #IndvAuspic.twitter.com/Myr2ZblqCg

— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) February 7, 2023

News Corp’s Robert Craddock said before the Test that it was “blatant pitch doctoring”.

“When the Gabba pitch had too much grass left on it, people were saying, ‘Yes it was not a great wicket, but it was the same for everyone’.

“But you can’t say that about this pitch, Australia has six left-handers in their top eight, so if you start multi-preparing parts of the deck that’s straight-up pitch doctoring, it’s poor.”

Former Test bowler Jason Gillespie told SEN he thought “the Indian curators are looking at a way for India to have an advantage”.

Dealing with Indian pitches will be critical for Pat Cummins and his men. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP)

Ravichandran Ashwin, who was the chief destroyer for India alongside Ravindra Jadeja, taking eight wickets for the match, asked captain Rohit Sharma whether he was playing on a different pitch, after the skipper scored a magnificent 120 in the Indian first innings.

“Same pitch,” Sharma replied.

“It’s beyond my understanding why there is so much talk about the pitch.

“It’s sad to see there is not enough talk about skills, of the bowler, of the batter.”

Dealing with the batting conditions will be key if Australia are to stay in the series, with the Australians mulling over whether to recall axed in-form batter Travis Head, who despite having never played in India, was dropped on the basis of his poor average in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Steve Smith (pictured) said before the Test that he expected the wicket to take a lot of turn. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Coach Andrew McDonald said the South Australian had not agreed with the decision, but signalled changes may well be on the way for the second Test in Delhi.

“We valued others’ skillsets in those extreme conditions,” said McDonald.

“I think the discussion point that we went through in the process will be different to the hindsight.

“The hindsight is that those people that you would compare for places around didn’t perform the way that we’d probably expected.”