Cook asks what’s all the fuss about on Ashes pitch choice

MELBOURNE - England vice-captain Alastair Cook has said that he cannot understand the fuss over reports that pitches for the remaining two Ashes Tests have been prepared to suit Australian fast bowlers.

Melbourne curator Cameron Hodgkins’ pitch decision to use the moister of the two drop-in wickets prepared for the Boxing Test Day has led to English press sparking outrage claiming it as pitch doctoring.

Cook said it was nothing new for England to request a Test match surface that is suited to their team, which occurred in the final Test of the 2009 Ashes series at the Oval and he has no qualms with Australia doing the same thing.

“I think that’s the beauty of home conditions isn’t it, you can prepare a pitch to hopefully suit the home side,” Fox Sports quoted Cook, as saying.

He added: “That’s what we try and do in England in certain cases and there’s no reason why I would expect Australia not to do it.

“If you went to India, they played three spinners and produced a green seamer you’d be wondering what’s going on, so that is what home advantage is and you’d expect everyone to do it,” Cook said.

He added: “The pitch is out of our control and that’s the beauty of cricket that conditions change from week to week and it’s how you adapt to those that determines how successful you are. The challenge is making sure we are ready and adapting to those conditions.” (ANI)