All posts tagged: curator

MCG curator in ‘state of shock’ after Ashes Test ends in two days

MCG curator in ‘state of shock’ after Ashes Test ends in two days

Published by Webster

Melbourne Cricket Ground curator Matthew Page admitted that he was in a state of shock over how the pitch his team had prepared, played out in the fourth Test of the Ashes series. The Test match lasted for a grand total of two days with 36 wickets falling in total.   This was the second two-day finish of a Test match in this Ashes series with the opener in Perth also being short-lived. Cricket Australia have estimated that the cost of the shortened Test match would cost the organisation around 10 million Australian dollars.   “I’ve never been involved in a Test match like it and hopefully I’m not involved in a Test match like it again,” Page said to the media. “We know this hasn’t gone as we planned. We will look at what we need to do to improve.”   England captain Ben Stokes was clear in his disappointment at the pitch, saying that similar two-day results in other parts of the world would have raised eyebrows and questions.   Page said that …

‘People saying Gautam Gambhir, Gautam Gambhir’: Sitanshu Kotak says coach took blame, shielded Eden Gardens curator | Cricket News

‘People saying Gautam Gambhir, Gautam Gambhir’: Sitanshu Kotak says coach took blame, shielded Eden Gardens curator | Cricket News

Published by Webster

What happened in Kolkata could have remained in Kolkata, but Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Thursday opted for a striking revision of events from the Eden Gardens Test ahead of the second match against South Africa in Guwahati. Responding to a question on the weakening defences of his team’s batters on turning tracks, the 53-year-old first recounted last weekend’s horrors to slip in the team’s collective change in stance. Defending the nature of the pitch that handed them a stunning 30-run defeat in the series opener, head coach Gautam Gambhir had lamented India’s poor batting exhibition rather than pointing fingers at the pitch and its preparation last Sunday. But Kotak went into an “honest” recall of events on day three in Kolkata, jumping to Gambhir’s defence and shifting the base of the blame game elsewhere. “At the press conference after the last match, Gautam (Gambhir) took all the blame on himself. He did that because he felt the blame should not fall on the curator,” Kotak told reporters at the Barsapara Stadium on …

Pakistan Accused Of Mismanagement During Champions Trophy: “Curator Sold His Motorbike For…”

Pakistan Accused Of Mismanagement During Champions Trophy: “Curator Sold His Motorbike For…”

Published by Webster

A local journalist has accused the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of financial mismanagement during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The journalist, Shahid Hashmi, didn’t mince his words while criticising the board for the mess it created during the recently-concluded event. Hashmi also made a shocking revelation, claiming that a pitch curator sold his motorbike to arrange fertilisers for the maintenance of the pitch in Rawalpindi, one of three venues in Pakistan, as the PCB refused to co-operate. The allegations made by Hashmi come at a time when PCB is already going through a turmoil, following the national team’s poor outing in the tournament as well as the recent bilateral events. “I learned something very strange yesterday. Fertilisers were needed for maintenance of Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, so budget and expenses for it were sent to the PCB. But it just stayed hidden in some file. The curator sold his personal motorbike to arrange fertilisers for the stadium,” Hashmi said on Samaa TV. “What can be worse? You were given a budget for fertilisers, but …

Gujarat Titans Official Supports Eden Gardens Curator In ‘Pitch’ Row, Sends Brutal Message To KKR

Gujarat Titans Official Supports Eden Gardens Curator In ‘Pitch’ Row, Sends Brutal Message To KKR

Published by Webster

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane© AFP There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the pitch at Eden Gardens in Kolkata during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane commented about the lack of ‘home advantage’ for his side and reports claimed a rift between the team officials and Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee. Following the loss against Lucknow Super Giants, Rahane once again hinted at the lack of advantage in a sly dig at the curator. However, GT COO Colonel Arvinder Singh believes that there should not be any controversy surrounding the surface and even sided with the pitch curator. “Look, the rules and regulations on this are very clear and not just from this season. They have been clear right from the very beginning. The rules of the game are very clear and they are common for everybody. No franchise has any right to say,’ I want this kind of a pitch. ‘ That’s not something that the rules allow you to do,” he told Times …

We asked for good pitches but got challenging ones; need to talk to curator: RCB’s Karthik

We asked for good pitches but got challenging ones; need to talk to curator: RCB’s Karthik

Published by Parlour News

Bengaluru, Royal Challengers Bengaluru mentor Dinesh Karthik conceded that his side has received a “challenging” pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium this season despite asking for a batting friendly surface, adding that the management will have a chat with the curator soon. We asked for good pitches but got challenging ones; need to talk to curator: RCB’s Karthik RCB’s power-packed batting line-up rendered ineffective on a sluggish deck in their two home games while getting restricted to 169/8 and 163/7 against Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals respectively, losing both the fixtures. Karthik thinks the 22-yard strip has deprived RCB of the home advantage at a venue where matches have traditionally been high-scoring. “In the first two games, we have asked for good pitches. But it’s turned out in this way where it’s been challenging to bat on. So, we try to do the best with whatever we get. But we will obviously have a chat with him . We trust him to do his job,” said Karthik in the post-match press conference. “So, definitely, this is …

“Asked Curator For…”: RCB Mentor Dinesh Karthik Adds Fuel To IPL Pitch Controversy

“Asked Curator For…”: RCB Mentor Dinesh Karthik Adds Fuel To IPL Pitch Controversy

Published by Webster

The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises vs curator battle has now reached the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. As the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered a 6-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals, the home franchise’s mentor Dinesh Karthik turned his attention towards the pitch curator, openly claiming that this is not the sort of pitch that his team wanted. Karthik, in the post-match press conference on Thursday, said that the curator was asked to prepare a ‘good wicket’ that would aid batters for the first two matches. However, that wasn’t the case. Speaking to media after his team’s second successive home defeat, Karthik said that it was a tricky wicket that his side hadn’t expected as the instructions to the curator were clear on preparing a batting-friendly track. “I think the way T20 cricket is, the more runs are there, the better it is for the broadcaster, the better it is for the fans. They all like to see boundaries,” Karthik said. “In the first two games, we have asked for good pitches. But …

‘Looked like it was Punjab curator out here’

‘Looked like it was Punjab curator out here’

Published by Webster

After Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) eight-wicket defeat to the Punjab Kings at home, LSG mentor Zaheer Khan slammed the pitch curator at Lucknow’s Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium for the 22-yard strip. Batting first, the hosts LSG managed to score 171 runs which Punjab chased down with eight wickets in hand and 22 balls to spare. LSG captain Rishabh Pant admitted at the post-match presentation that they were expecting the pitch to be slower. But team mentor Zaheer went a step further with his comments. “What was a little disappointing for me here. Considering it’s a home game and in IPL you’ve seen how teams have looked at taking a little bit of home advantage, from that point of view you’ve seen the curator is not really thinking that it’s a home game. I think maybe it looked like, you know, it was Punjab curator out here,” LSG’s Zaheer said at the press conference. “So that’s something which we will figure. It’s a new set-up also for me, but I hope …

Eden Gardens pitch debate: ‘Nothing new with curator not listening to home captain,’ says former Bengal player Shreevats Goswami | Cricket News

Eden Gardens pitch debate: ‘Nothing new with curator not listening to home captain,’ says former Bengal player Shreevats Goswami | Cricket News

Published by Webster

It’s not a new development in the Indian Premier League, and in the 2025 edition, it hasn’t taken long for the debate around the Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata to resurface. Defending champions KKR lost the tournament opener at home last Saturday against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but got back to winning ways in Guwahati on a track that assisted their slower bowlers. “We’d love to see the pitch helping the spin bowlers,” captain Ajinkya Rahane had said with a smile after the RCB defeat, “but this was pitch under cover for a day and a half, and there was some moisture. Again, we’d love to see some spin, but no complaints. Both spinners can do well on any kind of wicket.” Reportedly, Eden Gardens curator Sujan Mukherjee has once again said he will not alter the nature of the pitch to suit a franchise’s preferences. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), former Bengal wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami said it is nothing new for KKR’s curator to be at loggerheads with the demands of a skipper leading a …

‘Move the franchise away… if (Eden Gardens) curator is not paying heed’

‘Move the franchise away… if (Eden Gardens) curator is not paying heed’

Published by Webster

The Kolkata Knight Riders finally got some momentum into their Indian Premier League title defence after KKR rebounded from a opening game defeat to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens by beating the Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets at Guwahati’s ACA Stadium. Ironically, while the Kolkata Knight Riders were denied favourable conditions at their home ground in Eden Gardens, they thrived in Guwahati when presented with conditions that suited their line-up. It was an unbeaten 97 from Quinton de Kock that spurred KKR’s eight-wicket victory over the Rajasthan franchise. But more importantly, it was their spinners Moeen Ali and Varun Chakaravarthy who managed to rein in the Royals batters in the first innings for just 151 runs. During the first game vs RCB, news reports had suggested that Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee had denied requests from KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane for the pitch to support more spin. Story continues below this ad To this, a belligerent Mukherjee had said that the pitch would not change “as long as I’m here”. Cricketer-turned-analyst …

MCG curator dismisses India’s practice pitch theory, hints at leaving more moisture for Day 1

MCG curator dismisses India’s practice pitch theory, hints at leaving more moisture for Day 1

Published by Parlour News

Boxing Day Test: After two players, including captain Rohit Sharma, were struck while batting in the nets ahead of Thursday’s Boxing Day Test, India may have felt aggrieved that they were given worn pitches to practice on. However, the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s chief curator Matt Page defended the practice pitches, insisting he had followed the years-old protocol. In the lead-up to the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit was struck on the knee and had to pause his practice session for treatment. Later, Akash Deep was also hit, with the bowler citing variable bounce as the reason. Akash Deep suggested India were practising on the wickets used by Big Bash sides. “We keep getting hit in the nets. That is fine. I think this wicket was for white ball, which is why the ball kept low at times. But these blows are common in training,” Akash Deep said. However, Page said that was not the case. “For us, three days out, we prepare Test match pitches for here. If teams come and train …