Captains sweat it out over dew factor choices

MUMBAI: The ‘dew factor’ at the World Cup looks likely to make captains sweat over their choices at the toss, adding a extra factor to think about in the subcontinent for the day/night matches.

The evening dew, quite normal in the subcontinent during this time of the year, might also spoil the chances of more spinners making it into their teams as it gets very difficult for them to grip the ball once it gets wet.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, an off spinner, is well aware of the problems.

“The wicket starts getting little bit better when the dew comes on, so it’s a bit better for batting but the outfield is particularly slippery and difficult to bowl,” Vettori told reporters on Saturday in Chennai.

“We saw that in the warm-up match against Ireland. I think it will influence (the decision of whoever wins) the toss.”

The organisers have scheduled 36 of the 49 matches in the Feb 19-April 2 World Cup as day-night fixtures in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.The knockout stages are all late finishes.

PLACID TRACK
It probably impacted Bangladesh captain Sakib Al Hasan’s decision to field first on a placid track against India in the opening match in Dhaka on Saturday.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had said the ‘dew factor’ would impact his choice of players and it meant India included only one spinner against Bangladesh.

“We will have to see if there is dew on the outfield,” Dhoni had said after their warm-up game in Chennai on Wednesday.

“The last time we toured Bangladesh, it was around January and there was a lot of dew, and now we are close to the end of February.

“Still we need to see if there is dew and pick the best 11 accordingly.”

The organisers mopped up the ground to get rid of the dew during the drinks intervals in Saturday’s match in Dhaka.

Pakistan’s World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan also predicted that the dew factor would play a critical role in the outcome of matches at the tournament.

“Apart from the related strengths and weaknesses of the participating teams I think the ‘dew factor’ in day and night matches will decide results,” Imran told a sports channel.

“I think any team batting second will have a huge advantage as the ball keeps on getting wet, the outfield is wet and bowlers find it hard to grip the ball.

“And in these months I know by experience that the ‘dew factor’ also becomes very important in the subcontinent.”