Meeting Over Slow Cricket Pitch

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Meeting Over Slow Cricket Pitch: Faf du Plessis, the Proteas captain is to meet Cricket South Africa (CSA) officials to discuss the strangely slow SuperSport Park pitch which has remained the focus of attention during the second Test match against India.

SA won by 135 runs and the unhappy Proteas captain will engage CSA on the way forward.

Meeting Over Slow Cricket Pitch

Visiting captain Virat Kohli was happy with the pitch as it suited the Indians and provided turn at some stages.

Du Plessis‚ on the other hand‚ was not happy because they expected pace and bounce to assist fast bowlers Vernon Philander‚ Kagiso Rabada‚ Lungi Ngidi and Morne Morkel.

“I was very concerned when I got here leading up to the Test match‚” he said.

“It did not look like the Centurion pitch I know and that is a concern to be honest.

“I am very honest about good things when it is right and this was an opportunity that we missed.”

Du Plessis said it would not help to blame groundsman Byran Bloy but there must be discussions among all the stakeholders to ensure that this situation does not happen again in future.

“We can blame the groundsman but I think we must blame ourselves because we have made the process where we made sure that CSA are the ones who look after the groundsmen to get the right kind of pitches when we play against teams.

“We never wanted it to be ridiculous‚ we just wanted a pitch with pace and bounce.

“I think there is a concern that we are not getting it right.”

Last year against Bangladesh‚ Du Plessis expressed concern about the slow nature of the pitches in Potchefstroom and Bloemfontein and the trend continued in the first and second tests against India in Cape Town and Pretoria.

“I can think of three or four occasions where over the last 12 months and we needed to be better as a collective.

“That is something that I will be taking up to make sure that we improve.”

Proteas fast bowler Morkel is one of the players who made his feelings known about the SuperSport Park and he said it was like bowling in India.

“I have played here at Centurion all my life and I have never seen a wicket like this‚” Morkel said.

“It is really hard work in the heat and conditions are really tough.

“It is right up there with one of the hardest spells I have played.

“It is unheard of that a spinner can bowl so many overs on the first day.

“We even had the option of opening with a spinner before lunch.

“It really has a subcontinent feel to it‚ which is tough for scoring and tough to get people out‚”

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Volunteers Assist Match Preparation

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Volunteers Assist Match Preparation: A football club has been saved thousands of pounds by a number of community volunteers who have helped prepare a stadium for the biggest game in its history.

Highland League outfit Fraserburgh host Premiership giants Rangers at the weekend in the Scottish Cup.

Volunteers Assist Match Preparation

And ever since the draw was made, the town has caught cup fever.

Volunteers have been giving up their free time over the last few weeks to turn up at Bellslea Park every day and help get the ground in tip-top shape.

Finlay Noble, the club’s chairman, said: “It’s great. It’s good we’ve got that level of support.

“It’s all individuals helping to get the ground up to scratch for the game.

“We’re quite humbled really.

“We’ve got a core group of ground staff, and probably a dozen or so people. There’s one or two staff and the rest are volunteers.

“They’re sprucing the place up and putting in new standing areas, removing the grass and putting in more suitable standing area.

“They’ve sorted some of the barriers.”

Finlay said local painter Fred Bruce had been helping to give the grounds a splash of colour.

He added: “We’re very grateful we’ve got his support.”

Most of the hard work has now been done and the finishing touches are being put in place for the David versus Goliath encounter.

Finlay said the help and support from the community had been invaluable ahead of the game, and it would be difficult to put a price on it.

He said: “It would be embarrassing to try and work it out.

“The guys have been here on a daily basis for about three weeks.

“As far as the cost goes it probably runs into a couple of thousand pounds.

“If we paid them minimum wage it would probably be a couple of thousand. They’re supporters of the club so they’re feeling a sense of pride in helping out.”

Finlay added the local chip shop has been doing “a roaring trade” with the volunteers at lunchtime.

“Since the draw was made we quickly identified what we needed, we made a list of jobs and that’s been ticked off on a daily basis,” he said.

“It’s great. It’s warming to see that we’ve got that kind of support.

“We’re not a club that publicises ourselves and we just get on with it.

“Anything we get we really appreciate.

“It’s humbling that the club has that level of support when it’s needed.”

Bars and restaurants in the town have been expecting a boost in trade.

“And the eyes of the nation will be on the Broch come Sunday, with a capacity crowd and the game live on TV.

Finlay said: “Everybody’s excited, understandably.

“Rangers are a big, big club in world football, not just Scottish football.

“To have that level of competition and opposition at the Broch is great.

“It’s good to see the shops and local businesses getting involved and sending good luck messages.”

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idverde And Mixto Partner Up

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idverde And Mixto Partner Up: The UK’s biggest specialist green service provider, idverde, has joined forces with Italian hybrid sports technology brand, Mixto, in a sole distribution agreement for the United Kingdom. The partnership follows the success of the same agreement with idverde France.

Mixto uses hybrid grass technology to create a sports turf system that improves the durability and quality of sports turf, without compromising player experience, and at a price point which makes it accessible for clubs at all levels of the game.

idverde And Mixto Partner Up

idverde’s position as a leading supplier of specialist green services in the UK makes the company the perfect partner for the product, as the company has the right infrastructure, skills and experience to support the installation and maintenance of Mixto throughout the UK.

Nick Temple-Heald, Chairman of idverde, comments:

“We are excited to announce our partnership with Mixto and the expansion of idverde into the sports surface market.  Our teams currently maintain hundreds of sports pitches for clients throughout the UK, making this a natural progression of our portfolio.

“Our colleagues in France have achieved great success with the Mixto product, given its combination of high quality results – it’s used by a number of top clubs – at a price point which makes it accessible to sports clubs at all levels of the game.

We have also been developing the system in the UK over two years with great results. So, we can’t wait to share what Mixto has to offer with the UK.”

idverde launches its partnership with Mixto at this year’s BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) from 23rd to 25th January 2018, at the Harrogate Convention Centre.  Visit Mixto on stand A16 where a mini-pitch will be on display – and in use – for visitors to try out the product for themselves.

For more information, visit: www.idverde.co.uk

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