Well said. If it is a green pitch or one which assists the quicks it is considered a good pitch. If it turns and is slow, it is a diabolical one! No one complaiedn about the pitch in the Sydney test which Australia won (or more accurately Pakistan lost on their tour Down Under a couple of years ago), but if the match had ended that quickly on a turning pitch, the knives would have out for the groundsman. What would Ricky have said about the Chennai pitch on which England beat SA by six runs yesterday?

Well said!! I was hoping that somebody would point out the patent dislike for turning pitches in the recent years...Even in the warm-up match against India at Bangalore,it was simply very poor technique against spin that cost Aus the game.. I was really surprised when Punter called it a rank turner and no one even questioned it.. the downside to such comments is that spinning wickets are generally frowned upon(mostly in India) and we get pitches where 330 plays 330.. what a gripping encounter the Chennai track produced!!

REALLY NICE REPLY TO PONTINGS COMMENT

Very true ... Ricky's been more whiny than usual this WC

Wonderful article Michael..agreed to each one of your words...

couldnt have said it any better. Never really clicked in the past to ask this question while i was growing up. But always wondered why faster tracks were preferred over spinners. Great article!.. loved every word!

A well written piece Michael, it's about time the cricket world accepted that turning tracks can provide absorbing cricket that involves a set of skills that require practice and training just like what is required to face quality pace on bouncy decks. Just like you mention in your article I am tired of non sub continent teams complaining of turning tracks and rather than do something about like trying to acquire the skills to be able to cope with it. There is no sympathy for teams that struggle against bounce and pace and it is considered an inadequacy on their part if they can't counter it, the same should apply for being weak against spin.
Remember cricket is a global game and the players should be able to display their wares on all playing surfaces as professionals. What if we rocked up to our day jobs an said we are only good at working when the weather was comfortable and if people spoke English without an accent? We certainly would be given our marching orders...

Spot-on!!!

Lovely Article.I would like to say that more than Ponting its Smith who has been complaining about dry turning pitches.Smith complains after their warmup match and then again after yesterday's loss against england.

Hello Michael, I concur with every word in your article and I'm really glad that you have the b***s to actually write about on here.

If u ask me what kills cricket esp test cricket its not the turners but the horribly flat roads in countries like India, although this discussion would be for another day.

i fully agree with ricky ponting.cricket should always be played on fast bouncy pithes.fast bowling is one field where you require maximum skill and ability. a batsman's true class is only measured against top class fast bowling.plus howmany great spinners are playing test cricket except ofcourse greme swann.the other spinners are like fish out of water while bowling on wickets which are not doctored.what ricky ponting said is absolutely true.

Spot on mate! Really glad to see someone question ponting's terrible whinging. Like someone else pointed out there's more than the usual whinging from the aussie quaters this time probably 'cause they've realized that the going is tough this time around. spin and pace are both part of the game and you need skill to counter both. looks like ponting has little faith in his men handling the spin.

Finally!!!!!
More relevant to Test Cricket but great points. I have never understood why we allow the English,Ausralian and S African teams complaint about spinning tracks and we ( subcontinent teams) stay mum when we are dished out fast and bouncy tracks.

Great article Michael !!! Agree with every word you say...

I think the greater problem is that, if captain's keep moaning about such wickets, we might see an effort by the ICC to homogenize wickets across the world. If you come to India and Sri Lanka and don't expect it to spin, then please don't turn up. Even at Chennai, both sets of captains said it wasn't an ideal one day wicket ( It went into the 99th over, and made for great viewing and some batsmen were made to look silly on tele). I cannot understand the fuss. I hope it spins throughout the WC because the fans will see a contest between bat and ball. We get curators feted for providing us wickets on which close to nine hundred runs are scored but give em a turner and they all start blaming it. Even twelve to fifteen years back when teams were touring India, Sl and Pak they weren't complaining. It is only the modern day cricketer who is reared on flat decks who is complaining.

One of the best articles on cricket I have been fortunate to read.

No sane , rational or reasonable person can disagree with a word you have said Michael.I doubt any one , including members of the Aussie team ( except Ponting) will disagree with your comments.

On the subject of pitches , when Warne took lots of wickets when the aussies beat the Lankans 3-0 in Sri Lanka , there wasn''t a murmur of protest by the then captain Waugh.

Michel , don''t you think the pitches in Perth have been made slower in the recent past and its not a 'flyer ' any more . This perhaps explains why Asian teams , specially India did well in the past few years as opposed to earlier.Probably , the marketing guys/ tv channels influenced the ACB to ensure the matches will last 5 days on the aussie pitches ? What are your thoughts?

well said Michael...

Excellent post! Author has nailed this to perfection.It makes no sense to complain,you have to play whatever is given to you.I wish it never rained, it would have been nice to see how the aussies played the spin.Mr.Ponting has been under the scanner recently for sure, he has definetly not made news for the right reasons.Australian FANS,haven't forgotten the Ashes Defeat ,not winning the world cup will surely cost him dearly.

I'm not sure I'm in wholehearted agreement with you there. A one day wicket should offer similar conditions to both sides and by the look at the wicket for this game it would have deteriorated significantly by the end of the match. I don't think that's good for the game, whoever has to bat on it last.

Very well written Michael, punter should better be preparing to face the challenge n adapt according to condition than whining n complaining.

Michael makes a very good point about the Mumbai test. At the end of the third innings, with Australia needing 107 to win, all talk was about how great the Australian team was in all conditions and how 'at all times someone or the other put their hand up to perform' (in this case Clarke) and all that tripe. After the match, though, suddenly, the pitch is under-prepared and a disgrace - no mention of Murali Kartik's excellent spell. Apparently when you win, it is how well you did and how excellent you are, but when we do it, it's just because of the pitch. How very convenient.

I must say I've always been very proud of sub-continental teams touring overseas. Not once have I heard them seriously complain about pitches - complaints that we hear almost every time Australia/South Africa comes over and collapses to spin.

It's not hard to see why Ponting is not well-liked in the subcontinent. Excellent batsman, but poor, poor sportsman.

Why id the 4th Paragraph repeated.

I think you're generally projecting an argument onto things ponting said. All he did was confirm it was a spinning pitch by noting the Sri Lankans picked 3 spinners. Basically what he is saying is 'stupid question', of course it was a spinning pitch.

I agree with the premise of the article, I just think what ponting has said is nothing to do with what you're trying to argue.

Why is 'rolled mud' offensive? Is 'green top' offensive too?

Like they say, variety is the spice of life! Fast & bouncy, low, slow and spinning, green tops, swinging & seaming wickets, all make cricket really unique.
The fact is that Ricky Ponting has lost his mojo as one of the most dynamic of modern batsman. And he can't seem to accept this. He has become grumpy and unsportsmanlike.....its about time that some tough match refree had the guts to pull him up!

Well i think Ricky wasn't very polite in description of pitch.But i also think it was not about slower or faster pitch but how bowlers use unbalanced bumpy pitches to spin the bowl to their advantage rather then using their own skills. Its just a opinion.

Wow, an anti-Ponting article from Michael Jeh. There's a shocker.

I wholly agree with your comments. In fact, some of the great Australian bastmen of the past like Ian and Greg Chappel where great players of spin bowling and they never complained about playing on turning tracks. I'm sure someone like a Matthew Hayden would have enjoyed batting on that particular pitch. I feel the inability of these inexperienced Australian players of handing spin is being exposed in these turning tracks which makes them complain every time they play on these tracks. I think what makes a player like a Zaheer Abbas, Ian Chappel or a VVS Laxman truly great was the way they handled quality spin on the so called "rolled mud."

Pretty straightforward. Aussies have zero quality spinners in the country. Just a smart psychological ploy by a captain to influence groundsmen to prepare wickets that will give his pacers a good chance. nothing else. Invariably some groundsmen swallow this bait :(

I love the aussie pace attack and their aggression. They no longer last the distance in test matches (in the last 3 years), but ODIs is a different ball game. Would love to see another team take the world cup this time. For that to happen, the winner will have end the 12-year world cup unbeaten streak of a champion team. That's 12 freakin years.

Writing an article attacking Ricky Ponting for a is both monstrously brave and exceedingly original.

Admittedly, I didn't finish reading the article - your fault, not mine - but surely even you could do better.

Teams like Aus,Eng,SA,NZ their mentalility never going to change.
They are cry babies.If you don't like to play in sub continet then just get the hell out form here.For cricket entertainment purpose we don't need you.Subcontinent teams are enough for us to show us real cricket.

Wow Biggus, one look at the wicket and you can predict how it would behave by the end of the day. I think you should become an integral part of the Australian and S.African team to aid them during toss time. If you look at the Chennai match, the ball was gripping and turning from the very first over and was consistent throughout the match, no complaints from Smith and co when Amla and Himself were going along steadily or even upto the point when 3 wickets had fallen, Smith was looking pretty cocky in the dressing room assuming the match was in the bag, till Anderson reverse swung to take Devillers and the S.Africans collapsed unable to handle the pressure.
Expect the aussies and proteas to whine everytime they get beaten.

Well said Michael.
'Rolled Mud' indeed - who knows exactly what Ponting meant but it certainly made absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Consider the India v NZ Series (2002/03 in NZ); no where near as much noise were made about those pitches than is made today about turning pitches.

Whilst the article had some good points, I really think Michael must of got out of the bed on the wrong side. The comments Punter made are pretty tame. Regarding the SCG tests, I remember them fondly, but bear in mind that the other grounds were tailor made for the WINDIES & the SCG was & still is regarded a spinning track. The biggest issue I thought Punter had was the contrast between the pitch used the day before & the one they played on. @Rizwan - the WACA pitch was re-laid about 6 years ago. Its still bouncy - but is not as quick, I am led to beleive it will quicken.

Hi Pete. Fair comment mate. Agree with your point. The word "rolled mud" itself is not offensive if it was meant merely as a descriptive term. I'm not convinced that Ponting said it in those neutral terms but if he did, then your point is well made.

Also have to agree that many of my examples relate to Test cricket so that dilutes my point somewhat. The point of the article was meant to highlight the fact that no team should be massively surprised (or indignant) if pitches away from home suit the home team. Prepare adequately for it, choose your team accordingly and then let your skills do the talking. From a PR and morale perspective, Ponting might have said something like "shame it rained. We were looking forward to playing the Sri Lankan spinners on that track. It would have been a great challenge blah blah blah". Now he sounds a bit fearful.

article is verry correct.I would think this comment of ponting is not only his view,but all other assui officials as well.Cricket is any ones game.Its international. BUT some still thinks that this game should cammand as to their own aspirations.

Superb article.....

He never bagged the pitch. How is "rolled mud" offensive? That is what it was. I enjoyed the wicket, as I enjoy "hard wickets". That, too, isn't offensive.

i agree with Pete on this.. i don't see any link to what Michael has mentioned with what Ricky had to say... these days everything that the aussies (especially their captain) say or do is blown out of proportions ....

This article has been written by one of the many people that hate Australian cricketers.

Ponting likened the pitch to 'rolled mud'. It was obvious from the couple of overs that Kerjza bowled that this likening wasn't unfounded. He was ripping the ball massively.

The problem with a pitch like this is that it doesn't last 100 overs. Pitches deteriorate over the course of a match. It was well acknowledged by both sides that before this game was played the toss would be crucial, and the team to bat first had a distinct advantage. In my eyes, that's just not cricket.

It seems a bit stupid that the result of a match can hinge so closely on who can win the toss.

Also, I'd just like to remind everyone that Australia has won the last three World Cup's. Stop accusing us of whining, and concentrate on your own teams shortcomings.

What a lot of rubbish, Punter said it as it is, did`nt sound anything like whining or moaning to me. certainly not compared with the over the top whining about Punter written in this blog. The jealousy is clear to see in your dribble, Go on, keep the garbage about Punter coming, he will make you all pay by having to watch him take us to FOUR in a row.

One of the funiest articles I have ever read, followed up by more garbage from the bloggers. Really, the anti Ricky tone in this article is over the top.

A great article.Somebody must tell ricky ponting to read this,that might help him to stop moaning when he's gonna play his next match on a turner.

Great article, very well written. Please send a copy to all English, Australian and the other "clicheic" cricket commentators. The greats such as Viv, Sobers, Miandad, Gavaskar,Headley,Hobbs did not mind what you bowled them on. Likewise great bowlers like Roberts, Marshal, Dev, Khan did well on any surface.
Pouty Ponting just play the game and shut up.
It is cricket, we love it.

Hi Pete. Fair comment mate. Agree with your point. The word "rolled mud" itself is not offensive if it was meant merely as a descriptive term. I'm not convinced that Ponting said it in those neutral terms but if he did, then your point is well made.

Also have to agree that many of my examples relate to Test cricket so that dilutes my point somewhat. The point of the article was meant to highlight the fact that no team should be massively surprised (or indignant) if pitches away from home suit the home team. Prepare adequately for it, choose your team accordingly and then let your skills do the talking. From a PR and morale perspective, Ponting might have said something like "shame it rained. We were looking forward to playing the Sri Lankan spinners on that track. It would have been a great challenge blah blah blah". Now he sounds a bit fearful.

So Ricky whined again... surprise, surprise. Whats new? He's having his thirtieth childhood. Everytime he loses or fears he will, he has something to whine about. Someone get him some limburger cheese to go with it. Atleast it won't damage the TV when he chucks it.

Micheal..i agree with each and every word of yours....i saw PRASAD commenting above...PRASAD U R A DUD MAN.....A good team is one which can adapt itself to any kind of pitch and play well....

and when did ricky say he was offended by rolled mud? ask any curator the best way to make a good spinning pitch and they will tell you to reroll a pitch recently been used. all pitches used previously at this ground were newly rolled pitches for the game against australia they rerolled a previously used pitch. well tough for australia. you jeh, would do well to quote verbatim what complaining he does instead of this passive aggressive assumption of emotions you say is behind his words, " rolled mud". for a sports physchologist ricky seems to be doing a far better job getting into your head than you do getting into his. perhaps it is you throwing your toys out of your cradle, after all your the one complaining now.

@Gauatm-You are entitled to your opinions as am I. Frankly I do think it would have deteriorated significantly by the end and I guess you would assert the opposite. Surely you have no more proof that it would have remained consistent throughout than I have to assert that it would have not. So perhaps there's a job as a pitch consultant for the Indian team waiting for you too mate.

Excellent article, Michael! A point that needed to be made.

Those defending Ponting either did not see his interviews or are pretending they didn't... there was nothing innocent about his remarks after either this game or the game in Bangalore. His smirk made his insinuation perfectly clear.

Anyone with half a brain who has watched Ponting since November knows that he is a man feeling tremendous stress. And from time to time he seems to be trying to externalize the blame for his or his team's dip... be it remonstrating with umpires, or blaming his spinner, or (since landing for the WC) dissing the pitches.

Australia are still good enough in ODIs to lift this WC. But their current captain will never be respected for sportsmanship and grace.

“We had a sold-out crowd which would have seen a good match had it continued. I’m really disappointed for the fans,”Ponting

"They had Sangakkara who played particularly well. At that stage of the game, 30 overs in and 140 on the board, we felt like we needed to make another breakthrough before the ball change, or around the ball change.

"... they had batted pretty well and it would have been a difficult run-chase considering the way the wicket was playing. I think it would have been a decent game of cricket. I'm disappointed for the crowd more than anything today."

Ricky Ponting, press conference after the match - pity some people choose to cherry pick 2 words from a presser and then extrapolate them into `throwing toys out of the cradle`, arrogance, and an attack on the integrity of cricket.

Captains are asked by reporters what they thought of the pitch, why get all worked up when they answer.

"Dejected after the six-wicket loss to England in the Champions Trophy, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara slammed the New Wanderers wicket, saying that the track was not good enough for a one-day match."

Ponting and Smith have both been whingeing about spinning pitches since they landed. But why should one be surprised?

Both have poor Test match records against spin in India. Further, Australia have a poor record against SL in SL in ODIs. And now both are probably insecure about failing on challenging spinning tracks... especially since they are supposed to lead with the bat...and given Ponting's horror batting run in the Ashes.

In contrast, Steve Waugh always looked at overseas conditions as a worthy challenge to be overcome. As does Ian Chappell (while on commentary, at least). And all the sub-continent captains also welcome the challenge of playing and performing in alien conditions in England, SA and Australia.

So I say to these skippers... let your bats do the talking! And man up to turning tracks. Or go back home... there are others in your country who would gladly accept the challenge.

Ponting is a rolling stone and he's not gathered any moss over the years. One would think that he would have learnt a bit by now, but nay..Once a whiner always a whiner seems to categorize him well. Wonder what sort of mud he would attribute an eventuell WC win if Oz gets there. Mud-slide?

@Michael Jeh. Can`t believe you`re using the Mumbai test of 2004 to support your argument. That pitch was a complete disgrace, as acknowledged by some fairly knowledgeable men.

Dilip Vengsarkar who is the vice-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association was more to the point:" The match finished in two days and there is no doubt that the pitch was unsuitable for Test cricket.

India was determined to take something out of a series it had already lost but wanted the satisfaction of winning at least one Test. That it had to resort to fixing the wicket to such an extent and so blatantly makes India's win at Mumbai an embarrassment.

"There is really nothing that the ICC can do. Home advantage is the host country's castle. Pakistan will be touring India next year. One hopes that the criticism of the Mumbai wicket will serve as a deterrent and no one takes it in his mind to do a repeat of Mumbai.

More balance, less sarcastic ranting might help your cause.

Another article against the Aussies and Ricky ponting ?????? Whats new.... What ponting said is completely true... IT should be taken in the fair. If the match had continued then by the time aussies batted or were half way through the pitch would have completely deteriorated like in the warm up match ( Clarke's dismissal ) > Just be fair. Not everything ponting says is bad......

Test #1721 and #1726 were completely different scenarios to the disgraceful Mumbai track in Test #1720. Neither of them were first day green tops either as you seem to imply. In Brisbane, NZ were bowled out for 73 on a 4th day pitch by Warne, McGrath, Gillespie, Kasper - a pitch on which Australia had just scored 585 in the previous innings.

In Perth, Pakistan were bowled out for 72 in the 4th innings by the same bowling attack, after Australia had just scored 361-5 in the 3rd.

Completely fair tracks both, as opposed to Mumbai, which as my previous post outlined, was labelled a disgrace by all and sundry.

Ponting is the Charlie Sheen of cricket.

Venkat made a pertinent point. If the ICC decides to standardise (homogenised) wickets to nullify home-town advantage, then we lose the nuances and uncertainty of the game we love. I was at the first ODI D/N played under a roof in Melbourne years ago and it was rubbish. A flat drop-in pitch and no breeze, dew, rain or humidity to influence conditions. The seamers, swingers and spinners could do nothing. May as well have played on a synthetic pitch in an air-conditioned office.
The point that Venkat misses though, is that ODI fans prefer to see the white ball fly fast and long for 100 overs than watch a side routed early by spin (for proof, just check the rock marks on the WI tour bus)

Mr. Ricky Ponting I need you to simply shut up and play. Nobody whines as much as the Aussies about the conditions. It's as if the Aussies don't produce slow low and turning pitches huh!? what about the dry dust bowl that the MCG has become? or the flat highway that Adelaide has become? please stop whining before giving a thought about your own conditions Mr. Ponting. This is a world cup so every team has to adapt in order to win. The Aussies ain't no different.

Couldn't agree with you more michael.. its high time Ponting realize hes acting like a kid..

A very honest article, which really opens up the debate of Bounce and spin. If South Africa can prepare a bouncy track to beat India at Centurion and it is good and Fair cricket, then why counties compalin of spining tracks of Sub-continent.If a team wants to win a world cup coming to other country then they need to be prepared for evety thing that comes their way. Do they think that the hosting teams wants to lose their home advantage by preparing trackes which suit others. If all of us remember the 1999 world cup, Sri Lanks came to the world cup as defending Champions and they exit out of world cup in the First round it self and they played all their matches in the pacy and Swinging Tracks. When they get those tracks playing outside there is no harm in preparing Spin tracks when they play at their home.

Wonder what Ponting would have said if he still had Warne as Aussie spinner on his side working his magic on this smae pitch. Would he have then said Warne is taking wickets on rolled mud or what?

spot on! Absolutely right!

I think Michael is missing the point here.

One day cricket is meant to be the showpiece of cricket where we are able to see the best skills on display not pitches winning matches.

So far this world cup we have seen grubbers getting wickets and the ball turning square from the spinners, pitches with inconsitent bounce and the ball stopping.

In my opinion one day pitches should have a bit in it for the bowlers so if they bowl well they will be rewarded but also the pitch should be good enough that if batsman applies themselves and has the skill they can score runs.

I dont believe the pitches are deliberately prepared to be like we have seen I just think that the groundsmen are not skilled enough to prepare better quality pitches or dont have the right resources to do so which is the real issue.

fortunately we have had some pretty close matches to provide some excitement to the tournament however on these pitches the best side wont always win.

Mr Rolled Mud(Riky) atleast be a rollmodel now after read this articale.....

Mr Rolled Mud(Riky) atleast be a rollmodel now after read this articale.....

just go easy on punter... i am not a great fan of aussie cricket or attitude but i guess calling a pitch rolled mud is upto a cricketer..after all he gives his 100% to entertain us..

Absolutely agree with the argument put forth!. To be considered a real champion team, they must accept any conditions accorded to them and win!. Well said!.

@ Biggus and others re. deteriorating pitch. The unfair nature of the Premadasa pitch becomes obvious if we look at the previous 20 matches played there. The team winning the toss has elected to bat every time and lost only twice (Kenya vs SL, and NZ vs Ind - 2 fairly big mismatches). Surely this points to a pitch which is not consistent over both innings, and in fact deteriorates significantly.

You miss the point Michael. Perth is always going to be quick and bouncy, Brisbane is always a tad green first up, Sydney at that stage (80s and early 90s) was a spinning track and Adelaide has always been flat and dry. You knew what you were in for. The point Ponting makes is that you make a pitch with the conditions you have, not to suit the conditions of the home side. It's a point that has been missed on the subcontinent for years. Ponting merely asks "If the rest of the square has grass, why doesn't this pitch have any? Could it be that the home side has three renowned spinners?". You surely can't justify anything otherwise?

Michael, if you're not watching the World Cup, why are you writing about the World Cup? So Ponting made another ill-judged or sarcastic remark, tell me something I don't know. Ponting has been a spolied brat for years, no news there, also, you are a cricket writer but you haven't watched a ball of the World Cup? What kind of cricket enthusiast are you? That would be like me not watching the football World Cup and calling myself a football writer. And writing about it.

Boll is my new hero. The full context of Ponting's words should embarrass the author of this article.

I'll be careful not to write to much more, lest Michael Jeh fires off another spurious article deliberately misinterpreting what I've said...

It has become fashion to blame sub-continent pitches forgetting that it is their inability to play quality spin that is troubling visiting teams. The same is being said about sub-continent batsmen that they are unable to play on fast tracks when they fail to cope at, say, Durban or Perth. They also can complain but they are being more mature accepting the fact that a professional cricketer has to play on all types of tracks. But Ponting and Smith are aware of the fact but that slowly sub continent teams are learning to play on fast tracks and producing fast bowlers of skill( a la Malinga,Zaheer) who are capable of doing damage in fast pitches and the dominance through fast tracks is slowly eroding. But come to spinning tracks Sub-continent(read Indian and Sl)batsmen are unbeatable like it proved that a spinner of shane warne's calibre could not create a problem. Exactly knowing this coupled with the knowledge of Cricket is no longer dominated by them is the cause all the whines.

@ Sanjeev - ricky ponting is the charlie sheen of cricket? are you saying ricky ponting punches 7g rocks and parties with porn stars? Stupid comment.

@Michael Jeh.
Your comments forget recent happenings in Durban where home team lost a match in less than 2 and half days on a viciously seaming fast track.Of course the result is not what it is intended by SA(India supposed to lose in that match owing to their weakness to play on fast pitches)nobody complained that the pitch is a disgrace.In the previous test in Joh'burg when India lost in a similar time frame on a similar pitch also nobody complained.When a couple of ashes tests concluded in three days the pitches are fine. Nobody complained.It is notable that complaints always come from these two only.It happens to explain the beaten morale of Ponting and Smith to complain. Nothing else. Australia and SA need to learn to cope with defeat also. Finding fault elsewhere to cover their inability to play spin is stupidity.

The issue is not whether a pitch turns, is bouncy or is somewhere in between. The issue is that a pitch should provide for all facets of the game, fast bowling, slow bowling and batting to be performed to a high level if the player is good enough.
What pitches like the one in Colombo do is make ordinary spinners look good, give fast bowlers no chance of taking a wicket unless there is a bad shot or a miracle catch (ie Steve Smith) and provide the team batting second with absolutely no chance of chasing down a target.
Whilst you may say a 'Gabba greentop is just as unfair, you should notice that the ball does actually stop moving after a while. The ball never stops turning.
The best pitch so far in the tournament didn't actually occur in the tournament. THe warm-up between India and Australia provided seam movement, spin and the chance for batsmen like Sehwag to play their shots.
All I ask for is a pitch that is fair for everyone for 100 overs.

Not sure in what context the comment was made and while the Premadasa stadium is notoriously famous for its slow and low bounce as the day wears on, I don't think that, by any stretch of imagination, it was a pitch of "rolled mud". As it turned out, the question is moot, but would Australia have made anything in excess of 230 to win that match ? I doubt very much and as the writer correctly points out, conditions at home are always to the benefit of the host side who , however , were fortunate to win the toss and bat first !

Michael Jeh doesn't know what he is talking about. Fast pitches in Australia and South Africa produces result 9 out of 10 times, but slow batter friendly pitches produces runs and lame draws that waste nothing but time. It hates to see SL vs India with so many high scoring draws in sub-continent pitches.

I don't have a problem with pitches that have a history of playing a particular way. In Australia we used to have wickets that played differently at each of the major venues. What rankles Australians (and anyone else I would presume) is the suspicion that pitches are made to order for the home side.
In recent seasons the pitches at Australia's main grounds have become similar. Not surprisingly our batsmen are strugging on different surfaces. It was one of the tenets of being a good batsman that you adjusted to each surface you played on.
I think this is one of the reason Australian teams have a better win/loss ratio against all teams.

@E man,
Michael Jeh's point is ponting always complains when conditions dont suit him or his team, had warne,hauritz,McGill in team at their career best ponting wudn't have complained of spinning pitch.And there is no question of Draw here, we are talking of ODI world Cups matches. If the pitch is spinning it will be always Low scoring Even in ODI's because ball doesn't come on to bat easily, batsmen really struggle to score runs, it will test batsmen's ability in different dimentions...
what you are talking is of Flat pitches, few pitches in subcontinent are Flat batting track, Even the Johansberg pitch where 434 was chased is a flatest pitch on earth...