Curator expects Basin Reserve pitch to provide even contest

Brett Sipthorpe is the man in charge of preparing the pitch at the Basin Reserve for the third Test between New Zealand and South Africa. One look at the Wellington sky will tell you that he has a job on his hands as grim as the clouds above him. The surface has not seen the sun since the past weekend and with rain forecast for Thursday, is likely to remain under covers until the Test starts on Friday.

Luckily, Sipthorpe has seen this all before. The last Test played in Wellington was preceded by four days of rain. That match featured Pakistan and played out in competitive fashion with two first innings scores of over 350 with Pakistan fighting for the draw on the final day to seal the series. The current strip should offer more of the same.

"The pitch is in the same state as it was for the Pakistan Test and it played really well in that match," Sipthorpe told ESPNcricinfo. "We had an idea this weather was coming and so we had the pitch pretty well prepared on Sunday. It was hard enough to play on on Sunday."

Sipthorpe cannot use the same special equipment that is used in South Africa, where a tent is often erected over the pitch and drying equipment used. "If we try any of that, the wind will just blow it away. We had winds up to 130 kph here and if that happens and we have a tent up, it would wash-out everything."

Early preparation is therefore the only option, which is what Sipthorpe has done. He doused talk that the weather will result in a seamer-friendly strip, saying that it is more likely to foster an even contest. "Hopefully we'll have some time to knock any colour out of it. It's nice and hard and even though it may assist fast bowlers, if we have time to work on it, it should play well."

Sipthrope said the home camp had not given them any special instructions on the type of surface they should prepare, and even if they did, it would not be taken as gospel. "The Basin pitch has been very similar the whole time," he said. "We are quite proud of the way it plays and we are not going to change our recipe."

He is not the only one who was forced to change plans because of the weather. Neither team has been able to train outdoors, or even at the Basin, as practises have taken place at the indoor Wellington School of Cricket at the Westpac Stadium instead. Not men to complain, neither Daniel Vettori, nor Morne Morkel said the weather had their respective camps feeling down, but they certainly implied it.

"Obviously it makes it tough not to be able to go outside," Morkel said. "Working indoors is very different to the conditions we will be up against, but at least we get the opportunity to break a sweat and get out of the hotel a bit." While Vettori was a little more dry in his assessment. "It was exiting to get back here. It was not that exciting to train indoors but hopefully we get out at the Basin tomorrow."