By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: The International Cricket Council on Tuesday sanctioned two of cricket’s most storied venues, awarding demerit points to Lord’s in London and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium after match referees condemned the pitches used for recent internationals as heavily skewed in favour of bowlers.
The ICC rated both surfaces “unsatisfactory” under its Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, triggering one demerit point each for the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board. Neither venue had accumulated prior demerit points, the governing body said.
The Lord’s censure followed the first Test between England and New Zealand, where match referee Andy Pycroft found the surface had produced excessive seam movement and unpredictable bounce throughout the match. Sixteen wickets fell on the opening day and 17 on the second.
“There was simply an over-balance in favour of ball against bat caused by the pitch,” Pycroft said in his report. “The ball also kept extremely low on several occasions and the bounce was variable throughout.”
The Lahore ground hosted the second and third one-day internationals between Pakistan and Australia, and it was the conditions in the third match that drew the ICC’s scrutiny. Australia were bowled out for 157, a total Pakistan eventually overhauled — though not comfortably — to win by four wickets and take the series 2-1.
Match referee Graeme La Brooy said the Gaddafi Stadium pitch was ill-suited to limited-overs cricket, offering spin from the outset and denying batters the opportunity to settle.
“The pitch was slow and low and made scoring runs very difficult. It did not suit a One Day International game as batters had to spend more time to settle in. It helped spin very early in the match and continued the same way throughout,” La Brooy said.
The entire three-match Pakistan-Australia series had been played on low, turning tracks in Rawalpindi and Lahore, where Australia’s batters struggled throughout. The conditions drew criticism from former players and analysts who argued the surfaces had been tailor-made to neutralise the tourists.
Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi was unapologetic, drawing a pointed comparison with Australia’s own ground preparation tactics.
“When you have to play against such a team like Australia, you have to prepare such pitches because your objective is to win the series,” Shaheen said after clinching the series. He added that when Pakistan toured Australia, they had faced green-top wickets designed to exploit their batters, yet still won the series under Mohammad Rizwan’s captaincy.
Both the PCB and the ECB have 14 days to appeal against their respective sanctions.
Under ICC rules, demerit points remain on a venue’s record for a rolling five-year period. A ground that accumulates six points faces a 12-month ban from hosting international cricket; reaching 12 points triggers a 24-month suspension.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
