Playing conditions have a vital role to play in the game of cricket, be it the weather or the kind of pitch on which the match is being played. While overcast conditions and a seaming pitch can prove to be a batsman’s nightmare, the bowlers can have a long day in the office if a flat pitch combines with a bright and sunny day.
Talking about pitches, there is another extreme type which is commonly referred to as a ‘rank turner’. From day one of a Test match, these tracks tend to provide a lot of assistance to the spinners and it only gets better for them as the match progresses.
Most of the rank turners these days are generally prepared on the request of the host team, primarily in the Indian sub-continent. However, there are a few venues where the pitches have always been that way and the tweakers do not need to put in much effort to give the ball a rip.
Let’s take a look at 5 pitches with prodigious turn across the world:
#1 Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo (Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka is a team which has always relied on its spinners to do the job for them in the bowling department. The obvious reason behind this is the fact that their pitches have always provided support to spin bowling. The pitch at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, in particular, has been an extremely favourable one for the spinners.
The most recent proof of this was seen during Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka last month when Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath grabbed a 13-wicket match haul to send the Kangaroos packing and help his team complete a 3-0 whitewash. The diminutive bowler has a total of 73 wickets at the SSC in just 12 Tests.
This venue has also been among the most fruitful ones for the highest wicket-taker of all time, Muttiah Muralitharan. The 800-man has exceptional statistics on the ground with a mind-boggling tally of 166 wickets in merely 24 Tests including 14 five-wicket hauls.
However, the SSC track has also been helpful for the seamers to some extent with ace Sri Lankan pacer Chaminda Vaas having taken 80 wickets in 21 matches at the venue.
#2 Green Park Stadium, Kanpur (India)
It is difficult to find a cricketing venue in India where a pitch does not have something in it for the spinners. However, there are certain grounds where the track offers a greater amount of turn compared to others. On these pitches, it is not an uncommon sight to see the ball turning square from the first day itself.
The Green Park Stadium in Kanpur possesses one of the most spin-friendly pitches in world cricket. Jasubhai Patel’s epic spell of 9 for 69, the best figures by an Indian bowler before Anil Kumble’s 10-wicket haul, came at this very venue back in the year 1959.
The Indian spin duo of Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, too, had a great time bowling at Kanpur and have a combined tally of 41 wickets in 7 matches here. Even though there have been a large number of drawn matches at the Green Park, the batsmen certainly do not enjoy tackling spinners on the pitch.
#3 Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai (UAE)
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the UAE has been a home away from home for the Pakistan cricket team for the past few years. And from what we have seen in terms of results, the sub-continent team seems to have taken a liking towards this highly modern and most beautiful cricket ground.
The pitch at perhaps one of the newest hubs in world cricket has been highly supportive of the spinners, especially those from Pakistan. While off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is the leading wicket-taker here with 37 wickets in 6 Tests, leggie Yasir Shah has impressed with 22 wickets in just 3 games.
The England team has struggled the most at the Dubai ground with the Pakistani spinners pushing them to 3 defeats in as many Tests. Even tweakers from touring countries have enjoyed bowling on this pitch such as Imran Tahir who picked 8 wickets in his only Test and Monty Panesar who took 7 in a match.
#4 Galle International Stadium, Galle (Sri Lanka)
In terms of offering prodigious turn, the pitch at the Galle International Stadium in Sri Lanka certainly vies for the top spot. Even batsmen from teams like India, which boasts of possessing the best players of spin, have faltered at the hands of the Sri Lankan spinners at this ground.
The legendary Muttiah Muralitharan’s wizardry worked wonders at Galle as he managed to claim 111 wickets in just 15 games including his iconic 800th wicket against the Indians in 2010. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, too, has been mighty impressive on this ground picking 84 scalps in 15 matches.
Among opposition spinners, though, only Shane Warne was successful in holding his own at this fortress for the home side with 13 wickets from 2 matches. The Sri Lankans have continued to build on their Galle legacy by thrashing Australia at the venue by 229 runs last month.
#5 Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi (India)
There is hardly another pitch which has offered more assistance to the spin bowlers than the 22-yard strip at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. Easily one of the oldest venues in India, the Kotla has become a fort for the home team which no opposition has been able to breach in more than 2 decades.
While most Indian spinners have excelled at the ground, the great Anil Kumble’s record is particularly enviable. The leg-break bowler grabbed 58 wickets in a mere 7 Tests that he played including his magical innings figures of 10 for 74 against Pakistan in 1999.
Offie Ravichandran Ashwin seems to be following in Kumble’s footsteps as he already has 23 wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in just 3 matches. In their last Test at the venue, the Indians hammered the touring South African team by 337 runs courtesy of five-wicket hauls from Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin in the two innings respectively.
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