News

SL forced to practice indoors after rain affects practice pitches

Weekend rain had seeped through the covers and rendered the practice pitches unusable and there is a chance both teams' training sessions on Tuesday will be affected

Andrew Fidel Fernando and Firdose Moonda
09-Jan-2017
Sri Lanka were forced to train indoors at the Wanderers Stadium on Monday, after weekend rains had seeped through the covers and made the outdoor practice pitches unusable.
Though there was no rain, overcast conditions did little to aid the drying of the surfaces on Monday, and there is a chance both teams' training will be affected on Tuesday as well. The South Africa squad does not officially convene till Tuesday, and as such, have not trained yet in Johannesburg.
"Our guys are working on it," Greg Fredericks, CEO of the Lions, the franchise based at the Wanderers, told ESPNcricinfo. "We had a lot of rain from Friday and through the weekend but we are doing our best."
Groundstaff did provide a centre track for Sri Lanka's bowlers to train on - no one batted there - and will also aim to provide one for South Africa on Tuesday. Additionally it is hoped one of the practice pitches will have dried sufficiently to conduct a nets session on.
Sri Lanka were briefly dismayed at the prospect of training indoors on surfaces they felt may be slower than the outdoor practice pitches, and indeed the Test-match surface. But after talking to groundstaff they are hopeful facilities will improve in the approach to the game.