Former Australian cricketer apologises to Ranchi pitch curator

It was dark, there was no hope, there appeared to be a conspiracy, it was doctored, a systematically planned debacle plotted against them SB Singh was made the villain well before his creation was even tested. The look that the pitch at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi bore was enough for the Australian media and captain to term it the worst pitch they have seen.

Australian captain Steve Smith won the toss and decided to bat first since batting first is always the right decision on Indian wickets. When I tell you India started with the two pacers and by the 7th over Ravichandran Ashwin was in the attack the next thing you would think is and the ball was turning. But no, it wasn’t. There was no turn for the spinners.

Former Australian cricketer and now a journalist for the Fox Sports Brett Geeves in his column apologised. He wrote: “On behalf of the Australian media, public, our current team of representatives and its football team of support staff, I would like to apologise to Mr SB Singh, the head curator of the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.”

“For an entire week, we questioned your integrity by believing the reports that flew out of India with regard the offering of surfaces for the wicket selection ceremony. We were told that this is where King Kohli would perform the wicket blessing by setting them all on fire and then hand pick the most burnt one; which goes against Australian traditions of throwing the most burnt one out.” Geeves added.

Smith scored a magnificent 178* and Australia posted 451. India replied with even more solidity with Cheteshwar Pujara constructing a wall of 203 runs with 525 bricks and he toiled for 668 minutes. That was onto day 4, but it would certainly break on the last day you would say. To aid any such claim, there was a huge rough created by the right-arm pacers for Ravindra Jadeja’s assistance.

He is a bowler lethal enough to rip the batsmen even without such a patch on the pitch but it stayed true. Yes, batting as well as bowling were tested on skill but it was just that kind of wicket which keeps both the parties engaged an involved for all the five days. In the fourth inning, Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb batted for 197 and 200 balls respectively to score half centuries and save the game for their team.

Geeves admitted that the reports they relied on weren’t authentic. “Those reports were delivered with murky messages of corruption and a need for the BCCI to control your destiny as a professional, and also your venues future as a player on the Test match schedule well into the future. We believed the conspiracies that Kohli had demanded that this wicket spin and break more than the previous two wickets, which would guarantee an Indian triumph.”

After such a show, the complete opposite of what the theories suggested reactions were expected. Mr Singh a humble individual who is dedicated to his craft and to his doctorate on pitches didn’t come out bashing anyone rather hasn’t been in news at all. But the Australian media has owned their mistake.

“We judged you unfairly and are guilty of believing that you would be easily swayed by the lure of having Indian players know your name – and believe it or not, there are places where everybody knows your name, Mr SB Singh. It is not a dream existence.

If you have, in fact, delivered a perfect Test match wicket as a direct snub to the demands of the BCCI, you are no longer just the man that prepared the perfect Indian cricket wicket – you are my hero.” The former Australian cricketer wrote.