Photo Credit: Bangladesh Cricket Board
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that the pitch for the second Test of the ICC World Test Championship series between Bangladesh and New Zealand at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur has been rated as “unsatisfactory” under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.
ICC Match Referee, David Boon, submitted his report to the ICC expressing the concerns of the match officials and after consulting with the captains of both teams. Following the assessment, the venue has received one demerit point.
The report has been forwarded to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), who now have 14 days if they wish to appeal against the sanction.
Mr Boon said: “The outfield was very good and held up extremely well with the rain. However, it appeared that the pitch may have been under prepared, as it was not hard and was covered in grass clippings on day one. From the first session onwards, throughout the remainder of the match the bounce was inconsistent with numerous balls bursting the surface. Deliveries from spin bowlers often went over the batter’s shoulder when playing forward and then occasionally stayed very low.”
NOTES
- In the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, if a pitch or outfield is rated as being substandard, that venue will be allocated a number of demerit points.
- One demerit point will be awarded to venues whose pitches and outfields are rated by the match referees as unsatisfactory, while three demerit points will be awarded to venues whose pitches and outfields are marked as unfit.
- Demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period.
- When a venue accumulates six demerit points (or crosses that threshold), it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for 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.
