Indians peeved over SA rain
Fakir Hassen
The touring Indian cricket squad is frustrated by South Africa's rains, which have for the second time denied them practice ahead of a Test against the hosts.
The scheduled game in East London against
South Africa A passed off without any ball being bowled as the field was too wet too
play on.
The Indians were hoping the game would serve as a warm-up ahead of the
second of three Tests against South Africa that starts on Saturday in Port
Elizabeth.
Earlier, a scheduled game against a South African Invitation XI at
Chatsworth, near Durban, was also abandoned due to rain, allowing
the Indians no practice before the first Test, which they lost.
Left seam bowlers Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan, who joined the
Indian side after the one-day triseries, went into the Test without any practice as a
result of
the Chatsworth game being abandoned.
India coach John Wright said it is possible another newcomer to
the team, opening batsman Connor Williams, might again be left out of the
side for the second Test, as he has had no practice at all.
Williams was out of the first Test amidst concern that he did not have any
practice because of the Chatsworth situation.
"Some members of the team urgently need practice. Harbhajan Singh
and Ajit Agarkar last faced a competitive situation in the one-day
(triangular) series," Wright said.
India lost that series to South Africa, with Kenya as the third side.
But Indian players aren't the only ones frustrated with the truant weather;
the South Africans are just as concerned.
Daryl Cullinan, who has not played for the national side this
season, was hoping his performance in the South African A side would be
noticed by selectors and get him a place in the remaining Tests, or against
Australia after that in a home and away series next month.
Other South African players such as Jacques Rudolph and Charl
Langeveldt had
also wanted to use the opportunity to make their presence felt.
As officials at Chatsworth and East London counted the costs of
abandoned
games, Cricket World Cup 2003 director Ali Bacher gave assurances
that all
the venues for the tournament, to be hosted by South Africa, would
be
provided with facilities to ensure play continued despite rain.
Bacher "guaranteed" what happened at Buffalo Park in East London
would not
happen again. He said the United Cricket Board of South Africa had
budgeted
2.3 million rand to improve drainage at 11 cricket fields across
the
country.
He further said every one of the 54 World Cup venues would have a
"Supersopper" machine operated by batteries. These machines suck
up the
water on the field after a shower, drying the area sufficiently to
allow a
game to continue.
Indo-Asian News Service
India's tour of South Africa : Complete coverage
--Indo-Asian News Service
Mail Cricket Editor
