London: The head groundsman of The Oval, Lee Fortis, has promised a bouncy pitch for the World Test Championship final between India and Australia.
The pitch traditionally offers true bounce and is good for batting but there is some uncertainty over its behaviour considering the WTC final will be first ever Test here in June.
On the eve of the game, the pitch wore a green look but the grass could be trimmed going into day one. The overcast conditions are likely to suit Australia more while India would prefer bright sunshine on all five days.
“It will be a good Oval pitch. It will be bouncy that is one thing. It will be bouncy. Let us hope so (there is no rain). English summer for a change,” Fortis told India spinner R Ashwin on the latter’s Youtube channel.
Ashwin is someone who has played County cricket at The Oval, the home of Surrey. Out of the 14 Tests India have played at the venue, they have lost five, drawn seven and won only two.
India are contemplating whether to play both Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja or a fourth pace-bowling option in the high-stake game.
Ahead of the final, India captain Rohit Sharma said his team is not focusing too much on the unusual scheduling of the game.
“We’ve been hearing, not much of cricket is played here in June. County season has been played here. We saw there was a game played a couple of weeks back here. It’s not like it’s the first game of the season happening on this ground.
“We are quite aware of what the conditions are, what is going to happen in the next five days,” said Rohit.
PTI
