England To Test India With 'Green' Pitch In 1st Test? Leeds Curator Says 'Good' 1st Innings Total Will Be...
India will take on England in the first match of their five-Test series in Leeds on June 20.
- India will face England in the first Test match on June 20 in Leeds.
- Pitch curator says, "The grass will get trimmed down. If they get 300 in the first innings, they'll be good".
- "It's supposed to be like 27-28 degrees, which is very hot for here, so it'll probably flatten out," he added.
India will take on England in the first match of their five-Test series in Leeds on June 20. The chief pitch curator at Headingley said that although the pitch for the match will not be a 'green-top', the spectators can expect a surface that will help both the batters and bowlers. Just days ahead of the start of the encounter, pitch curator Richard Robinson told RevSportz that his aim is to create a pitch that will have a good balance in the match. He went on to add that a 300-run total will be considered good for the team batting first on the surface and batting is expected to get better as time passes.
"It is supposed to be quite a hot forecast so it is good to leave a little bit of moisture to start with and see how it goes," Robinson said about the current status of the wicket.
"The grass will get trimmed down. It has been a very dry summer for us, so we are injecting a lot of water into the pitch so that it holds together for 5 days. Hoping that this will be a 5-day Test match and not a 3-day Test match," he explained.
The curator also said that the wicket will most probably flatten out as the match goes on and as a result, the batter will enjoy some support.
“I think if they get 300 in the first innings, they'll be good, maybe the two innings after that might be slightly higher, we'll see how it goes,” he reckoned. "I'm hoping it'll just be good for both bat and ball. Hopefully, there's a bit in it for everybody. It's supposed to be like 27-28 degrees, which is very hot for here, so it'll probably flatten out as it goes on. It's always a great atmosphere at Headingley anyway, but especially with the Indians here, it's going to be a fantastic atmosphere, especially if both are going at it, really attacking play, it'll be good to watch."
Meanwhile, fast-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana will stay back with the Indian Test team in England, it has been confirmed by sources to IANS. Rana was with the India ‘A' team in England to play two four-day matches against the England Lions and an intra-squad game against the Test team in Beckenham.
“Yes, after a lot of speculation going around, it has now been confirmed that Rana will stay back with the Indian Test team. But it is yet to be known if he will be officially added to the Indian Test squad ahead of the series starting on June 20,” the sources, who are aware of the development, told IANS.
(With IANS inputs)
India Cricket Team
England Cricket Team