- ICC rated the Rawalpindi pitch “below average”
- PCB spokeperson updated about ICC decision
Ranjan Madugalle Match referee rated the pitch in the Rawalpindi Test between Pakistan and Australia as “below average” after the five days of Australia’s first Test in Pakistan since 1998. Pakistan declared on 476/4 in the first innings after choosing bat first; then the Australian team scored 459 runs, and Pakistan finished the game with a score of 252/0 in 77 overs.
Madugalle said“ The character of the pitch hardly changed over the course of five days and that there has been no deterioration apart from the bounce getting slightly lower. The pitch did not have a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the seamers nor assisted the spinners as the match progressed. In my view this does not represent an even contest between bat and ball. Therefore, in keeping with the ICC guidelines I rate this pitch as below average.”
“We note and accept the ICC’s decision,” PCB spokesperson said. “This is the first time any Pakistan venue has received a demerit point. The PCB wants to see and prepare pitches that provide even and exciting contest between the bat and the ball.
In this regard and in line with the PCB Chairman’s vision, a massive project to overhaul and relay all pitches in Pakistan is already underway.
“The PCB remains confident and optimistic that we will not only see good contests in the Karachi and Lahore Tests but in all future domestic international matches as well.” “when a venue accumulates five demerit points (or crosses that threshold), it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months, while a venue will be suspended from staging any international cricket for 24 months when it reaches the threshold of 10 demerit points.”
In the first Test between Pakistan and Australia, 1187 runs were made over three innings by both teams. The batters had a field day, with Imam-ul-Haq scoring two centuries and Azhar Ali and Abdullah Shafique scoring a century. The bowlers had difficulty taking only 14 wickets over the three innings.
The action now shifts to Karachi, where the two teams will face off in the second game of the three-match Test series, which begins on March 12. In January 2018, ICC updated its pitch and outfield monitoring procedure. According to the guidelines, each pitch that hosts an international game is assigned one of the six ratings: Unfit, Poor, Below Average, Average, Good and Very Good.
For the second test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2021, the Pallekele pitch was the last to receive a ‘below average’ rating.
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