Newlands track likely to favour batsmen, says curator

The third Test between South Africa and India will be played "on a good pitch that will last five days," Evan Flint, the Newlands groundsman, told ESPNcricinfo. With the series level at one-all, the Cape Town Test, beginning on January 2, will be the decider in the three-match series.

Newlands traditionally boasts a flat wicket that is batsman-friendly. It has the highest average score, 338.2, for any ground in the country that has hosted more than one Test. That's close to 24 runs greater than the average score at next-highest run-scoring ground in South Africa, Kingsmead in Durban. Flint said the trend is set to continue. "The pitch won't change too much from previous years." It will come as welcome news to the batsmen from both camps, who have had a tough time adjusting to the conditions in the previous two Tests.

Both the Centurion and Durban tracks were lively surfaces that favoured the bowlers initially. The track at SuperSport Park flattened as the sun came out and became excellent for batting. The surface at Kingsmead also became better for batting as the match wore on but there was something in it for the bowlers throughout. The conditions in Newlands will be vastly different.

"I would love to get the same bounce as grounds like SuperSport Park and the Wanderers," Flint said. "The type of bounce we get is different; it's more of a tennis-ball bounce." Flint said his ground offered more of a traditional South African Test-match wicket that was good for batting, particularly on days two and three and turned in favour of the spinners on days four and five.

Flint recognised that South Africa generally "want to get pace and bounce" out of their pitches at home and said he was aware of the home team's desire to exploit their own conditions. "I would like to create a surface that South Africa can get a good result on, but I've just got to do the best I can, and hopefully South Africa can play to their strengths."

There is still a bit of work to do on the surface because the weather has not, up to now, assisted Flint as much as he hoped it would. "It's still not 100%, which is a little bit disappointing. It's been very windy and quite cloudy; a bit cooler than usual, but we still need another really good day of sun." Some showers are forecast for New Year's Day but sunshine is expected to dominate the Test.

Newlands is a fortress for South Africa, where they have won 14 out of 21 Tests since readmission and lost just three, all against Australia. South Africa have beaten India twice in Cape Town, most recently in 2007. On that occasion, the match was also a series decider and South Africa's victory allowed them to clinch the series 2-1.

The one difference between the 2007 match and this one is that three years ago, South Africa went into the game having won the Boxing Day Test after losing the first Test. This season, the opposite has happened. South Africa are under pressure to bounce back after the defeat in Durban, while India are coming off a confidence-boosting win. The stage is set for a grand finale and, fittingly, the first day of the Test match is sold out.

WADA asks ICC to comply by November 2011

Cricinfo staff

Text size: A | A

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) today asked the ICC to give a final push to convince its member boards to accept the contentious whereabouts clause by November 2011, failing which it would be declared non-compliant to the WADA code.

"We don't set deadlines. Being a signatory, we expect the ICC and cricket to remain committed to the WADA Code. The ICC has done a lot in the last three years, now they just need to give the final push," WADA director general David Howman told reporters.

The whereabouts clause requires cricketers to furnish details of their location three months in advance. India's cricketers, backed by the BCCI, rejected the WADA code because of this clause, saying it represented a violation of privacy and a security threat. Howman said that it was up to the ICC to convince BCCI and other member boards ahead of the November 2011 deadline.

"The ICC is responsible for its member boards. ICC's job is to ensure that member boards comply with the WADA Code. We are going to have our next review in November 2011 and by that time if ICC fails to convince its member boards to comply with the Code, we will declare them non-compliant in our report to the International Olympic Committee. We don't have the purview to take actions against any non-complaint member, it is IOC and respective Olympic Council's prerogative," Howman said.

Howman defended the whereabouts clause with the logic that India's cricketers were on the road for a major part of the year, during which their whereabouts were public knowledge, and hence disclosing the same for the remaining days in the year was not a security threat.

"Let me say 'why', and I don't identify any one player here. But if I were living in this country, I would know where these players were, probably, for 250 days a year. So, if it's going to be a security issue for 250 days of a year, I know how to breach that security because I know where they are. So if this information is pertaining to the other 115 days (of the year), where's the breach?" he asked.

Howman also hit out at Indian cricketers who sought to take refuge in Indian constitution's 'freedom to privacy' clause. "If I tend to the issue of the (Indian) constitution, that's nonsense. There's no breach of the Indian constitution in acquiring the 'whereabouts' information. I just think it's a red-herring and the red-herring should be caught, dried, smoked and eaten. And then we get rid of it," he said.

Cricket is set to make its debut in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, and pending acceptance of the code, India's participation in the event could be under jeopardy. Howman said it would be up to the Olympic Council of Asia to take a call on the issue.

Howman insisted that the whereabouts clause was not an infringement on privacy, citing the example of the large number of professional sportspeople who have accepted it. "More than 13,000 athletes are giving their whereabouts, so it is not a big deal. There are no constitutional problems, no breach of privacy but I will be more than happy to engage in discussion with cricketers," he said.

"We will ask BCCI to liaise with the National Anti-Doping Agency to form an anti-doping programme fit for India. Anil Kumble is a member of WADA and understands the rule. He is not concerned by it," Howman said.

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.