Bad news from Nagpur: Curator says no to turner

MUMBAI: The Vidarbha Cricket Association president has promised a sporting wicket with pace and bounce to the Indians and Australians when they lock horns in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on October 26. And with India trailing 0-1, this is bad news for Ganguly.
"Firstly I have got no instructions from either the Board of Control for Cricket in India or the Indian team management.Even if I do, I''m not going to oblige them," Shashank Manohar said from Nagpur on Thursday.
A Mumbai eveninger reported on Thursday that a green top is being prepared in Nagpur. ‘‘There''s just a hint of green in the wicket. You can''t call it a green top," said Manohar.
The VCA president is miffed at the kind of tracks the teams had to play on in the first two Tests in Bangalore and Chennai respectively. ‘‘Those were very poor wickets," he felt. "A little bit of grass here will help the pitch get some pace and it''ll prevent it from breaking up."
Manohar also reckons that with the short boundaries there will be plenty of scope for exciting batting. ‘‘In addition to the short boundaries the wicket has even bounce, something that should suit quality batsmen. If the Indians think of themselves as a good batting unit they should not worry."
The VCA president is of the opinion that tracks should not favour the home team to an extent that it becomes unfair to their opponents. ‘‘Let''s have the match on even turf. If you are a cricket lover, you want the best team to win and not your home team (to win) at the cost of quality cricket."
Manohar also dispels the notion that the wicket won''t aid spin. ‘‘Did I say that? There will be turn but that will only be from Day 3."
Turn. That''s something that Sourav Ganguly will be hoping happens earlier than Day 3. And we''re not just talking about the ball turning here. A turnaround in fortunes will also be welcome for the skipper. For if the fiver doesn''t roll his way, the final frontier could well be surrendered.