 With eight days out of the last ten having seen rain in Edgbaston, the
head groundsman of the ground, Steve Rouse is worried that the pitch may
not be well-prepared in time for England's third Ashes test match against Australia.
This is the second successive occasion on which the Edgbaston pitch has faced
issues with rains causing problems in terms of the preparation time, and the pitch,
according to the curator feels like jelly.
Rouse said, "I have got to dry that out between now and next Wednesday,
because the wicket has to be ready roughly a day in advance, and the chances
of getting that solid three or four inches down, there's no chance, not with
the weather coming in."
A similar incident had occurred in the 2005 Ashes game as well, when
a torrential downpour had left the pitch wet and the outfield full of puddles.
This meant that the game had seen a moist and a soft wicket but it had led to
a very exciting game that had had the English team triumphing by a slender margin
of two runs.
England's record in Birmingham is excellent and they have won 22 of the 43
Tests played and losing only eight, with 13 draws.
However, England has a good news in the form of the Brett Lee
injury which hasn't healed properly yet. Lee admitted that he will not be fit
in time for this third Edgbaston test match and that he will try to get himself
going for the fourth game.
He said, "I would be lying if I said I was available for the third Test
because it's going to be very, very tight."
That will essentially mean that Mitchell Johnson may be continued to
be played in the third test match as well, despite given the fact that the left-arm
medium pace bowler is struggling with his form and has sprayed the ball all
around.
Lee himself had been out of form before the start of the series, but he had
looked to be getting his rhythm back after bagging a five-wicket haul in the
tour game against the England Lions. Lee signed off by saying that he
needed a full two weeks of bowling to get to full pace. He said, "So I
need a week and a half or two weeks to get myself ready. The way I've planned
it is I hope to start bowling in the next day or two, which will leave me exactly
two weeks of bowling to get up to full pace again. That is an ample amount of
time to ensure I'll be available for the fourth Test"
|
