After Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur criticised the standard of SA pitches during the New Year’s Test at Newlands, he sought out Evan Flint, the groundsman, to explain himself. “Mickey … came to me on the fourth morning after he saw how his comments had blown up and things had got a little out of hand,” said Flint. “He said he was just calling it as he sees it, and, well, I completely agree with him. I think Wanderers was probably the best out of the three. Myself [Newlands] and Centurion were definitely far too early. You can’t have uneven bounce on day two of the Test match. “The easy argument would have been to look at the score and how well SA were batting, but with okes getting hit on the gloves and with all the stoppages … it certainly wasn’t my best pitch.” It would be hard to find anyone who would not describe Flint as a good guy. He has a disarming honesty that has stood him in good stead as he has progressed from an assistant groundsman at Kingsmead to head up the field at N...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.