ICC rates Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium pitch as ‘unsatisfactory’

Staff Report

LAHORE: The pitches used for the first Test between England and New Zealand at Lord’s in London and for the third ODI between Pakistan and Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore have been rated as “Unsatisfactory” and the venues have received one demerit point each under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process. Match Referees Andy Pycroft (Lord’s) and Graeme La Brooy (Gaddafi Stadium) submitted their reports expressing concerns of the match officials and the captains. Andy Pycroft said about the Lord’s pitch: “There was plenty of excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions. The bounce was variable throughout as 16 wickets fell on the first day and 17 on the second. There was simply an over-balance in favour of ball against bat caused by the pitch.”

Graeme La Brooy said about the Gaddafi Stadium pitch: “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.” The reports have been forwarded to the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board, respectively, and they have 14 days to appeal against the sanction. There are no previous demerit points for either venue. When a venue accumulates six 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 12 demerit points.