Test to resume despite 'dangerous' Wanderers pitch
Updated | By AFP
The Third Test between South Africa and India will resume despite fears over the Wanderers pitch which was described as "dangerous" and caused an early stoppage on Friday.
Umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould, in consultation with match referee Andy Pycroft, took the players off the field earlier than scheduled on the third day after South African opener Dean Elgar was hit on the grille of his helmet by a short ball from India’s Jasprit Bumrah.
"The on-field umpires, in consultation with the match referee, and after speaking with both the captains and groundsmen, have decided that the Johannesburg Test will resume on time on Saturday," said an International Cricket Council statement.
The pitch had come under severe scrutiny over the first three days with a series of batsmen taking hits.
There had been several discussions between the umpires earlier in the day because of unusual bounce and deviation on a pitch which former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar described as "dangerous".
Both captains were called into a meeting with Pycroft and the umpires in accordance with ICC regulations.
Indian manager Sunil Subramanian made it clear that India wanted play to resume with his team in a strong position with South Africa 17 for one after being set to make 241 to win.
South Africa coach Ottis Gibson, whose team are chasing a 3-0 whitwewash, said he accepted the decision to resume the Test.
"We are here to play cricket,” said Gibson. "We still want to play cricket. The match referee’s decision will be based around player safety, they won’t call it off if they don’t think it is safe. If the match referee comes tomorrow and says ‘game on’ then we are going to play.
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