Michael Holding disappointed with the Wanderers Pitch

Michael Holding, popularly revered as the “Whispering Death”, taunted many lineups with his metronomic accuracy and unbelievable pace. He alongside the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, and Sir Andy Roberts induced a fear factor in the opposition camp like no one else. Batsmen would always be in two minds facing them, no matter how flat the pitch is.

The game has changed drastically over the course of time and the type of pitch provided plays a crucial role in deciding the outcome. Sometimes the hosting teams tend to create surfaces which are too much in their favor and the Indians over the years have been criticized profusely in this aspect.

The Indians are getting a taste of their own medicine right now at the Wanderers in the ongoing 3rd Test against South Africa. The hosts laid a surface which many failed to segregate from the outfield. It was a complete green track and the ball has been doing a lot of things. Both teams entered the game with five fast bowlers, which explains how good the track was for the seamers.

This is not a cricket pitch, this is dangerous – Holding

The cracks have opened up quite viciously on the third day. There was a moment when Murali Vijay got hit by a treacherous bouncer off Kagiso Rabada, which clearly could’ve done a lot of harm. The play was stopped for a while to ensure Vijay received some treatment and Kohli was spotted complaining to the on-field umpires about the pitch’s bad condition. 

Windies legend Michael Holding believes the game should be called off and the umpires should take this decision immediately. He used the word “S**t” to describe the pitch, which explains his frustration explicitly. The Umpires are the sole judges to decide if a pitch is fit enough to go ahead and they are the ones who hold the power to call off the game or change the pitch if both captains consent.

“Two out of 100 [is my rating for the pitch]. It’s a s**t pitch. You can interpret that. They should have called it off when Vijay got hit. This is not a cricket pitch, this is dangerous,” Holding said when asked by ESPNcricinfo.

“Call it off, forget it. You can’t play cricket on that. I have no idea what has gone wrong but I know it’s not a good cricket pitch. The last time I saw something like this, the match was abandoned – in Jamaica 1998, and it didn’t even last this long,” He added.