Stories

‘Where’s the pitch?’ – Green wicket in New Zealand’s first-class tournament shocks fans

by Wisden Staff October 20, 2020 - 7:03am 2-minute read

Fans were left surprised by the green pitch used for the first round Plunket Shield – New Zealand’s first-class competition – encounter between Canterbury and Wellington at Basin Reserve.

The lush green pitch at the venue would have caused ripples of excitement among quicks on both the sides but unluckily for Wellington, the hosts, they were put in to bat first by Canterbury captain Cole McConchie and were bowled out for a paltry 65.

In New Zealand’s Plunket Shield, Canterbury have just bowled out Wellington for 65. Looking at the pitch, that’s probably about par… pic.twitter.com/5lFvdQTMXp

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) October 19, 2020

A look at the pitch, however, left many wondering whether 65 was actually above par score on the ground, with a fan claiming that even 40 was enough to put up a fight!

A score of 40 looks good on that wicket. No wonder we struggle to produce good spinners. Listening to a podcast with Dipak Patel on it recently and yeah the game in NZ just isn’t conducive to anything other than seam

— Liddle’ Hamberder-Covfefe (@T_dogNZ) October 20, 2020

Some fans couldn’t even spot the strip – “Where is the pitch?” they asked. “It’s green everywhere”. Others were, quite rightfully, surprised that only three slips were in place. Surely a wicket like this demands a nine-man cordon! Another gentleman drew similarities between the Basin Reserve pitch and the lush green courts at Wimbledon.

While there were questions raised on the groundsman and the instructions passed on to him, one fan was kind enough to think about whether the groundsman lost his lawnmower during the lockdown. But still there were hordes of fans who just didn’t seem to spot the wicket! We wonder why.