Sir Viv Richards slams pitch critics, says 'England should've come better prepared'

Former West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards is the latest from the cricketing fraternity to come out in support of the much-hyped Ahmedabad pitch. Sir Richards said those who are ''moaning'' and ''groaning'' about the surface should remember there are going to be seaming tracks as well. Sir Richards, in a Facebook video post, defended Motera's spinning pitch and said England should have known beforehand what to expect. 

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The West Indies great said it is a well-established fact that Indian surfaces are spinner-friendly. He said English players and the team should have prepared for the conditions knowing what to expect. "People seem to forget that if you’re going to India, you should expect that. You are going to spin land. You should basically prepare yourself to know what you’re going to encounter,'' Sir Richards said. 

Read: 'Bring That Curator To SCG': Australian Spin Legend Nathan Lyon Defends Ahmedabad Pitch

India wrapped-up the pink-ball Test match against England within two days, winning the game by 10 wickets. The pitch played a vital role in the low-scoring game, igniting a debate around the spinning surface. The cricketing world seemed divided about the track as some lambasted curators for preparing an unplayable pitch, while others blamed players' under-par performance for the poor show. 

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What's the debate?

Critics argue that the quality of the pitch was never meant to support a five-day Test match, which they say is unfair to the longest format of the game. Critics say that a Test match is a game between the bat and the ball, and pitches should be prepared in such a way that it benefits both batsmen and bowlers. 

The third Test match between India and England saw batsmen crumble like a house of cards. Only Indian opener Rohit Sharma and English batsman Jack Crawley managed to pass the fifty-run mark in their respective first innings. Some of the great players of spin, including Joe Root and Virat Kohli, couldn't score big in the game, with the English captain getting dismissed for a single-digit score in both his innings. 

But, backers of the pitch argue that the surface should not matter as both teams come out to play in the same conditions. They say that rather than criticising the pitch, experts should assess players' performances and other important aspects of the game. Australian spin legend Nathan Lyon asked why nobody complains when batsmen crumble on seaming pitches. 

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