WTC final: “Like how the police used this” - Wasim Jaffer's coded message for Indian batsmen
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has made his YouTube debut, and in his first video he has shared a coded message for Indian batsmen ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
India and New Zealand are gearing up for the WTC final to be held in Southampton from June 18-22. The Kiwis, on Sunday, defeated England in Edgbaston to clinch their first Test series win in England since 1999.
On his YouTube channel, Jaffer shared a tip for the Indian batsmen to deal with the conditions in England for the WTC final in his trademark coded style. He said:
“I have been on tours to England twice with the Indian team. My coded message for the Indian batsmen is - like our police was famous for this in our old Bollywood movies, use that thing while batting.”
He then asked fans to guess what the answer could be according to them.
A number of replies stated that Jaffer wants the Indian batsmen to play the ball late in England, much like the arrival of the police in the old Bollywood movies.
According to a number of experts, New Zealand will have the upper hand in the WTC final since they have already played two Tests in England ahead of the clash against India.
Southampton curator aiming to produce ‘pacy and bouncy’ pitch for WTC final
Southampton head groundsman Simon Lee has hinted that the surface for the WTC final will have pace and bounce with some help for spinners later in the game. Lee was quoted as telling ESPNcricinfo:
"Pitch preparation for this Test (WTC final) is a little simpler as we are a neutral venue, we are guided by the ICC, but we all want is a good pitch that offers an even contest between the teams. For me personally I just want to get something out that has some pace, bounce and carry in the pitch.”
Lee has promised something for all the bowlers in the pitch.
"It can be a hard thing to do in England as the weather doesn't help us most of the time, but the forecast in the build-up is good with a lot of sun, so we are hopeful that we'll get some pace and a hard pitch without over-rolling it and killing it," he added.
According to Lee, pace just makes red-ball cricket exciting and, being a cricket fan, he wants to produce a pitch where “the cricket lovers have to watch every ball in case they miss something, be that some class batting or an amazing spell of bowling.”
India have not beaten New Zealand in an ICC event since the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. They went down to the Black Caps by 18 runs in the 2019 World Cup semi-final.