Pitch and weather throw up selection headaches

It is difficult to escape the fact that the pitch at the Gabba is green. Allied to Brisbane's predominantly overcast conditions, both Australia and India will have to think twice when they pick their final XI ahead of the curtain-raiser of the CB Series on Sunday.

The cue for the teams then is to pick their best fast bowlers as conditions are likely to aid swing. Australian captain Ricky Ponting said that the Gabba was the "best one-day pitch in the country" but didn't commit on his final XI. It remains to be seen if Australia will go in with an extra seamer instead of spinner Brad Hogg.

For India it is likely that they will field a four-bowler combination of Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma and the lone spinner in Harbhajan Singh. However, given the conditions, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the management might be tempted to think about allrounder Praveen Kumar ahead of Harbhajan.

Kevin Mitchell, the Gabba groundsman, said that even though the pitch is going to be a pacy one, the greenness is pronounced by the prevailing monsoons. "It's because of the sub-tropical conditions around," Mitchell reasoned. "If you look at the surrounding pitches they are all covered with the green turf and all this grass is because of the rains in the last few days." Mitchell said there won't be any further mowing as "the grass now is of a leafy nature and there's hardly anything left to be trimmed".

This is dependent on, of course, whether the sun smiles first. Even if it's a dampener for the cricket, the rains will be welcomed by Queenslanders who have borne the brunt of a severe drought for about seven years.

Mitchell, who has worked at the ground since taking over from his dad 23 years ago, believes that this week's matches will be rain-affected. "It's been one of those wet summers with the rains being monsoonal rather than off-season showers", he says.

Showers are forecast for the next few days and Mitchell remains sceptical about a complete 50-over game. Should it rain, however, the Gabba's excellent drainage facilities will ensure a minimal amount of play is lost. "If there is a 100 millimetres of rainfall in an hour we can easily dry the ground in about 30 minutes," said Mitchell.