The pitch on the Rawalpindi stadium has been receiving unfavourable reactions from all corners however the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) doesn’t assume that the ICC will charge it ‘poor’ or ‘not on top of things’ for Test cricket.
The Test between hosts Pakistan and Australia led to a high-scoring draw however visiting skipper Pat Cummins and high batter Steve Smith weren’t impressed with the standard of the strip.
“Turning up to a pitch that’s probably not a traditional pitch you would get here in Rawalpindi, and it’s probably clear they’ve made an effort to try and nullify the pace bowling,” Cummins mentioned.
On the fourth day, Smith, who made 78, described the pitch as “dead”.
It’s been an awesome week. Milestones have been achieved by our boys and a few really superb recollections have been made right here in Rawalpindi
Once once more, thanks @CricketAus for being in #BoysReadyHain l #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/oAOyUAK6Sm— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 8, 2022
“There’s not a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the seamers, that’s for sure,” mentioned Smith.
It has been reported that the ICC match referee, Ranjan Madugalle may report it to the world physique for not being as much as Test cricket requirements.
^ “Not a super-fair contest between bat & ball… Similar to MCG (2017) & Ranchi (2017)” – Pat Cummins’ evaluation of the Rawalpindi pitch.
Ranchi, 2017: AUS 451 & 204/6 vs. IND 603/9d
MCG, 2017: AUS 327 & 263/4d vs. ENG 491
Pindi, 2022: PAK 476/4d & 252/0 vs. AUS 459#PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/Lj3pmZB5a4— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) March 8, 2022
However a PCB supply did not see it taking place.
“The ICC takes notices when a pitch is deemed dangerous and unfit for Test cricket,” the supply mentioned.
Pakistan scored 476 runs of their first innings for lack of simply 4 wickets. In response, Australia scored 459. Pakistan then hammered 252 runs for no loss within the second essay, with out dropping a wicket.
The batters scored at a mean of 84.09 runs per wicket which is the best recorded because the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Test in Galle in 2013 (84.89).
Steve Smith speaks on the Rawalpindi wicket. #PAKvAUS , #WTC23 , #GreenTeam , #OurGameOurPassion , #KhelKaJunoon pic.twitter.com/qfTH15ELZR
— Green Team (@GreenTeam1992) March 7, 2022
According to ICC pointers, a Test pitch ought to have a seam, bounce, spin, and carry at totally different phases to make an equal match for the batters and bowlers, barely favoring the bowlers extra.
A pitch is taken into account “poor” if it deprives the bowlers of a good contest between bat and ball.
After the brand new ICC guidelines, the Wanderers Test pitch in South Africa was thought of “poor” in 2018. That had performed reverse of the Rawalpindi observe and was harmful for the batsman.
According to some Pakistan media reviews, the pitch on the Pindi Cricket Stadium could come below the radar of the ICC as solely 11 wickets fell within the first 4 days of the match.
Ranjan Madugalle has beforehand rated a pitch ‘poor’ for being unacceptable on the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the course of the 2017 Ashes Test.
Under ICC legal guidelines if the pitch is rated poor by the match referee, the Pindi Cricket Stadium will obtain three demerit factors.
Any floor that receives 5 demerit factors in 5 years is suspended from internet hosting worldwide cricket for 12 months.
,
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
