Pitching for trouble

The pitch at Newlands was a victim of modern society - an ever-increasing desire for instant gratification; in a cricketing sense, an increasing desire for fast-paced play; and in a test-cricket sense, an increasing need for a result. ... One of the great nuances of test cricket is that a win is something of such reasonable rarity that it is undeniably an occasion for celebration. It should take days of hard toil, or be due to a performance of exceptional quality and be accompanied by a feeling of real accomplishment. There is nothing wrong with a draw if both teams have played so well or so poorly as to arrive at stalemate.

Click here to read Mark Richardson's pitch for better wickets