Ottis Gibson slams SA pitches

JOHANNESBURG. — Proteas coach Ottis Gibson has joined the chorus of criticism levelled against the pitches for the first two cricket ODIs against Zimbabwe.

While South Africa won the threematch series comfortably (3-0) the wickets for the first two fixtures in Kimberley and then Bloemfontein did not make for good viewing.

The wicket in Kimberley was considered far too slow, while the one that followed in Bloemfontein was incredibly inconsistent with some balls staying low and others shooting up off a length.

And while Gibson said he learnt a lot from Zimbabwe’s visit, he did express his views on the first two pitches.

“You don’t want to be too harsh on groundsman and it’s early season, but from a players’ point of view it’s disappointing because whilst we are creating opportunities, we still need to have decent facilities to play on,” the coach said on Sunday after the 3rd T20I in Benoni was rained out.

“In a place like Kimberley you’re probably going to have one game a year and one opportunity to get it right, and they probably did as well as they could.

“It’s always been a good facility and last year we got 280/0 there. They’ve obviously had some challenges in the winter and that can happen, I guess. The wicket in Bloem looked a good wicket until we played on it.”