Television, sometimes a questionable influence on sport, could yet come to the rescue of SA's pitch imperfect Test series in India.
If all three matches played had gone the distance, fans would have seen 15 days of cricket. Instead, they have had to make do with seven days.
Nothing could be done about rain robbing the match in Bangalore of four days' play. But the loss of three days each in Mohali and Nagpur was self-inflicted by the preparation of pitches heavily skewed in favour of spin bowling.
Consequently, the contest between bat and ball has been severely compromised.
India have already won the series, but it could be in their best interests to prepare a raging turner in Delhi.
Anything else would leave them open to charges of dishonesty for insisting that the surfaces in Mohali and Nagpur were reflections of India's natural conditions.
However, Star Sports would seem to hold a sharply opposite view. They have lost 75 hours of broadcast time in the series - which has reportedly cost them the equivalent of R172.4-million in advertising revenue.
"This is bad for cricket and bad for us," an unnamed network official told the Hindustan Times.
Whether Star will be able to put enough pressure on cricket officials to force a return to less extreme playing conditions in Delhi remains to be seen.
