Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be “below average” as per the ICC guidelines", Andy Pycroft, the match referee was quoted as saying by the ICC.
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The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium pitch, which was used for the first match of the ICC World Test Championship series between Pakistan and England, was rated “below average” by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, and the venue received one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process. This is the venue’s second demerit point, following the rating of “below average” for the pitch used for the first Test between Pakistan and Australia in March of this year.
“It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler. That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals. The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be “below average” as per the ICC guidelines”, Andy Pycroft, the match referee was quoted as saying by the ICC.
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The current rating comes after the first Test between Pakistan and England earlier this month, when England scored a record 506 runs on day one to set up a 74-run victory. Despite the fact that the match was won, the bowlers had little joy, especially in the first two innings, which yielded seven hundreds and totals of 657 and 579. England scored at a rate far above a run per ball in both innings.
When Rawalpindi hosted the first Test of Australia’s tour to Pakistan in March, the bat overpowered the ball to the tune of 1187 runs for the loss of only 14 wickets in five days. That pitch had also been rated “below ordinary,” with match referee Ranjan Madugalle commenting that the Test match did not “reflect an even duel between bat and ball.” Rawalpindi has now received demerit points in three consecutive Tests.
Demerit points are valid for a five-year rolling term, and a site that accumulates five demerit points will be barred from hosting international cricket for five years. A rating of “below average” gives a venue one demerit point, while ratings of “poor” and “unfit” receive three and five demerits points, respectively.
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