In a surprising turn of events at the New Year's Test in Newlands, South Africa grappled with a pitch that raised more questions than answers.
While both the stand-in captain Dean Elgar, and batting consultant Ashwell Prince chose to tread carefully with their words, it was evident that the unusual behaviour of the surface took a toll on the batters of the home side which eventually culminated into mayhem later in the day for Team India as well. Notably, the visiting side after bundling the Proteas cheaply, had a decent start but they ended up losing their last six wickets without troubling the scorers at all.
"It (The pitch) generally plays a little bit slower and as a batter you can adjust to that. This one just seemed to get quicker as the session went on," Elgar told Star Sports during the post-stumps interview.
Meanwhile, Ashwell Prince who was more assertive in his observations, remarked that despite having Cape Town as his base for years now, even he was stunned to find the nature of the surface which he had never witnessed before. Moreover, he also highlighted not only the accelerated pace but also the invariable bounce and seam movement.
"Never seen a Newlands pitch like this before. I remember playing in the UK a few years back, particularly at Nottingham, and the locals saying when construction took place it changed the characteristics of the ground. I don't know whether that has played a role here. There is a lot of construction going on here," Prince said.
Dean Elgar too chimed in with Prince's remarks and cited the inconsistency in bounce which was particularly noticeable at different ends of the pitch.
"There was a lot steeper bounce that way," indicating to the Wynberg End, while the Calvin Grove End witnessed deliveries that reared up. This diversity in bounce added an extra layer of complexity for the batters.
If both line-ups can't bat on the surface, that says a lot: Ashwell Prince
Furthermore, Ashwell Prince also speculated that the seasoned players struggled to pinpoint the exact reason for the unusual behaviour of the pitch. Besides, he also hinted at ongoing construction near the Calvin Grove End and a change in ground personnel as possible factors. Despite the challenges, both Elgar and Prince refrained from outright criticism.
"If both line-ups can't bat on the surface, that says a lot," Prince concluded acknowledging the difficulty faced by the batters on Day 1.
In the aftermath of the match, it still remains to be seen how this unexpected pitch behaves going ahead in the current Test match and if it will influence the approach of teams in future games at Newlands.
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