DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) issued the much-awaited pitch ratings for this year’s Men’s T20 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States of America (USA) and the West Indies.
As per the apex cricketing body, the pitch for the first two matches at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York and the surface for the first semi-final of the global event between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka at the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba was “unsatisfactory”.
The assessment of the pitches was issued two months after the conclusion of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 which saw India coming from behind to down South Africa and clinch their second title.
In the first two matches in New York, Sri Lanka were bowled out on just 77 by South Africa on June 3 while in another fixture, two days later, Ireland were booked on 96 by eventual champions India.
In the second of the aforementioned fixtures, a handful of players from both sides suffered blows due to the uncertain bounce of the pitch.
India captain Rohit Sharma was forced to retire out as a precautionary measure after being hit on the forearm by pacer Josh Little.
Wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant was also struck by one of Little’s deliveries while Ireland batter Harry Tector coped with a blow on his finger, courtesy of a short ball by Jasprit Bumrah.
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The pitches being used for the T20 World Cup 2024, drew criticism from cricket pundits with former Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Flower terming the New Zealand pitch “bordering on dangerous” while Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan coined it “shocking”.
However, the pitch used for the semi-final between South Africa and Afghanistan came under tighter scrutiny which saw the Asian side bundling out on a meagre 56.
Some of the deliveries kept low while some bumped up from similar spots, clearly indicating the uneven bounce the surface possessed.
Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott, following his team’s defeat in the semi-final, expressed his dissatisfaction and stated, “That’s not a pitch you want to play a semi-final on.”
For the unversed, the ICC rates pitches and outfields of all international matches on a scale that ranges from very good to unfit: very good, good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory and unfit.
The surface used for the second T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final between India and defending champions England received “satisfactory” rating while the Kensington Oval’s pitch for the final between India and South Africa was rated “very good”.
The ICC was largely impressed by the outfields of the T20 World Cup 2024 as only New York and Guyana were rated “satisfactory” while the rest were “very good”.
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