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| March 16, 2003 | Sunday | Muharram 12, 1424 |
More Aussies fear pitch for semifinal
DURBAN, March 15: Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist has become the latest member of the reigning champions’ World Cup squad to express concerns over the state of the Port Elizabeth pitch where Ricky Ponting’s men are due to play their World Cup semifinal against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Australia have had two narrow escapes on the St George’s Park strip edging England by two wickets and surviving a six-wicket burst from New Zealand’s Shane Bond before recording a 96-run Super Six win.
The pitch is being reviewed by the tournament organisers and Gilchrist has said using another part of the square may be the way to get more pace and bounce into the surface
“I think the wicket we played South Africa on last year was on a different side of the square,” said Gilchrist.
“It might be that that side of the wicket is more conducive to a the one-day game and better suited to a showpiece occasion such as the World Cup semifinal.”
Gilchrist’s team-mate Darren Lehmann, following on from criticism of the strip by skipper Ponting, said urgent action was required.
“The authorities had better have a good look at the Port Elizabeth pitch. Against New Zealand, it was a slight improvement on the strip on which we played England but it was still substandard,” Lehmann said.
“We are playing a semifinal there and for everyone’s sake — not least the crowd who want to see 250-plus scores — we’re hoping for a big improvement,” the middle-order batsman told the BBC.—AFP
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