While a significant part of its history was celebrated on Thursday, the Wanderers also got a taste of its future with players and coaches expressing their delight after the first use of a drop-in pitch in South Africa went off without a hitch.
Bjorn Fortuin, captain of the Lions, who played on and won the first match on a strip developed adjacent to the playing area, and then dropped into the centre square, gave the pitch a rating of 7.5 out of 10.
His mood was undoubtedly helped by the outcome — a seven-wicket victory for his side against the Dolphins. “It was a bit tacky to start with, a little bit two-paced, but it definitely got better, especially under lights, which is what you expect at the Wanderers,” said Fortuin.
Twenty years ago, the ground hosted the match that ended with the highest aggregate in ODIs — 872 runs — and with hopes of making more history by hosting next year’s World Cup final, the manner in which the One-Day Cup game played out on Wednesday will be a huge fillip for the union’s officials.
The Dolphins scored 239/9, with Lions leg-spinner Nqaba Peter giving himself a major boost picking up 5/38. Zubayr Hamza followed with an unbeaten 119 as the Lions reached the target in the 40th over and earned themselves a bonus point.
“It played really well,” said Lions bowling coach Allan Donald. “There was good bounce, which is traditional for this venue.”
Fortuin said his decision to bowl after winning the toss was simply because of the unknown. “We’ve known for a while we’re going to use the drop-in during the One-Day Cup and nearly did a week ago, but then the match against the Warriors [was] rained out. We might have used it at the start of the competition, but with all the rain around Joburg, the [groundsman Brendon Frost] just wanted to be careful,” said Fortuin.
“Bowling from the Golf Course End the ball kept low, and cross-batted shots in the first innings for the Dolphins were hard. Hitting the ball straight down the ground was the better bet, but that’s the case every time you bat.”
Fortuin added that it played like a typical Wanderers surface, especially under lights, and he and Lions coach Russell Domingo were keen to have their next match, on Sunday against the Titans, played on it as well. “But Frosty wanted to preserve it for a bit.”
The union’s CEO, Jono Leaf-Wright, confirmed the pitch would next be used for the South African women team’s T20 international against India in April.
Development on the drop-in pitches started two years ago, after criticism that centre squares at South Africa’s top venues had become “old and tired”. But with no time to develop entire squares before the World Cup next year, CSA invested in drop-in pitches.
Evan Flint, a former head groundsman at the Wanderers and Newlands, oversaw the process in which a pitch was grown inside a stainless steel tray situated on the boundary edge, before being transported to the centre square. The pitch used on Wednesday was moved to the eastern edge of the square last winter and then to the middle of the square.
“The aim, ultimately, is to have three to four pitches which can be rotated and used as required,” said Flint.
Meanwhile the Wanderers celebrated the 20th anniversary of “the 438 Game” on Thursday morning. South Africa’s captain that day, when they memorably defeated Australia by one wicket chasing a then world-record target, Graeme Smith, said via video link that walking off the field after the Australian innings was a “dark time”.
“As a captain, you’re watching the ball disappear all over the place, and as I walked off I was feeling pretty despondent,” said Smith.
But after he and Herschelle Gibbs shared a partnership that put the Proteas on course for victory, followed by Makhaya Ntini’s unforgettable single off Brett Lee and then Mark Boucher hitting the winning boundary, his mood and that of the country flipped.
“If I could [bottle] those 10 minutes immediately after we won — the emotion and excitement of the players and the crowd — I would be a very lucky man,” said Smith, currently the commissioner of the SA20 League.
