Doctorin' the pitch

A few years ago Indian Cricket accused New Zealand Cricket of doctoring pitches during an ill-fated tour of this country. The tour took place in the midst of an experiment in which curators had been asked to prepare pitches with "pace and bounce" to generate more exciting cricket than is seen on the typically low and slow New Zealand wickets. That experiment mostly came to a calamitous halt after the Indian tour thanks to wickets which were successfully spiced with pace, bounce but also with more sideways movement than my manager evading questions about a pay rise. But in one place the experiment was a success - Jade Stadium in Christchurch. And now, just when we really, really don't need it, a fast and hard deck is ready for test cricket. Welcome to New Zealand Brett Lee, we have done everything in our power to make your visit a pleasant one.