There has been a lot of bickering over the Multan pitch. The people in charge have palmed off the blame on International Cricket Council-recognised pitch expert Andy Atkinson for preparing a docile wicket.
The Essex-based consultant cleared the air at the Gaddafi Stadium yesterday. "A day before the Test, Inzamam-ul-Haq and manager Haroon Rasheed asked me to remove the grass on the wicket, which I did and the entire blame came on me.
"All the things attributed to me have been a lie," said Atkinson, who looked hurt.
He added the Pakistan skipper was 'very much worried' about the grass on the wicket, as Inzamam felt that his batsmen will not be able to stand up to the Indian bowlers.
"He (Inzamam) said he wants a hard and fast wicket not a seaming one, so we had to remove the grass.
"Shoaib Akhtar and the other Pakistan bowlers asked me to leave some grass on the wicket but the captain didn't want it so I went with what the captain wanted," Atkinson said.
Blaming the Pakistan cricketers for putting up a poor show, Atkinson said, "I did not bowl long hops, I did not play bad shots nor did I have the bat in the wrong hand while running."
There were reports here that Atkinson was summoned by Board chief Shaharyar Khan to Lahore on the second day of the Test to give an explanation why the wicket had turned out to be so benign when it should have been the other way round.
He claimed that he was not 'summoned' and he flew down to start preparing the wicket for the second Test that starts on Monday. With the dust raised in Multan still to settle down, the Pakistan Cricket Board has barred the media from entering the ground.
"No journalist will be allowed to see the wicket," was the official word when one tried to have a close look last evening.
Comments
Comments are closed.