COACHES of last week’s finalists in the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/ Grace Shield competition have lamented the standard of the pitch prepared for that match at the Melbourne Cricket Club.

The Old Harbour Road-based Innswood High triumphed by eight wickets over Norman Manley High to secure their second consecutive hold on the title, but neither team managed to reach 200 throughout the scheduled three-day encounter.

Innswood’s coach Kirk Gordon, who will be seeking to take the All-Island Spaulding Cup title away from St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) in a three-day match starting tomorrow, expressed delight at the Grace Shield victory, but criticised the batting surface, which he felt produced abnormal spin from the opening day.

“The pitch was a part of the problem and it wasn’t suitable for a match of this magnitude. There was deterioration from day one and you could see it cracking up and looking dusty. It is no surprise that the spinners dominated the wickets column,” he said.

“I’m hoping that in the future these things are looked into because the situation needs to be improved,” he told the Sunday Observer after the match ended inside two days.

Only Norman Manley captain Kerron Edwards managed to reach 50 runs in the course of the game as batsmen struggled to cope on a surface which appeared to provide plenty of turn and bounce for spinners.

Carl Stephens, coach of Norman Manley, was also critical of the pitch and called on ISSA to put measures in place to prevent a recurrence.

“ISSA should ensure that playing surfaces are up to the right standard for a schoolboy final. From the first day I went there and saw the pitch I knew it was under-prepared for a three-day final.

“I could understand if it was deteriorating on the third day, but that was not the case. After lunch on the opening day it was cracking up and to look like that so early in the match showed it just wasn’t up to standard and it affected both teams,” he said.

However, George Forbes, the competitions officer for ISSA, defended the state of the batting surface in a telephone interview last Friday and countered that the batsmen from both teams were guilty of not applying themselves.

“We were satisfied with the condition of the pitch and I don’t think it held any terrors. Note that it wasn’t fast bowlers doing the damage; it was the spinners.

“The teams just didn’t bat well enough… the batsmen didn’t apply themselves properly and everyone was trying to play shots…,” he said.