Lord’s and Lahore pitches rated ‘unsatisfactory’ by ICC; receive one demerit point each

In a massive blow to two historic cricket grounds, the Lord's (in England) and the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the ICC has officially penalised both after rating their recently-used wickets as ‘unsatisfactory’ following the conclusion of a Test match between England and New Zealand (at Lord’s) and an ODI between Pakistan and Australia in Lahore. The two venues have also received a demerit point each under ICC’s Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

The match referees at the two grounds, Andy Pycroft (Lord’s) and Graeme La Brooy (Gaddafi Stadium), have expressed concerns raised by team captains and match officials in their submitted reports.

On the Lord’s pitch, Pycroft said, “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 the ball against the bat caused by the pitch."

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Similarly, about the Gaddafi Stadium pitch, La Brooy reported, "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."

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The apex body has also forwarded the two reports to the respective boards, with the ECB and the PCB having 14 days to appeal against the sanction.

Meanwhile, per ICC rules, the demerit points acquired remain active for a rolling five-year period. When a venue receives six demerit points (or surpasses that number), the ICC suspends it from hosting any international match for 12 months. However, upon accumulating 12 demerit points, the particular venue faces a 24-month suspension from staging an international game.

The two venues in question here, the Lord’s and the Gaddafi Stadium, have no previous demerit points on their records.

Gautam Sodhi

Meet Gautam, a seasoned journalist with over eight years of experience in covering the world of sports. I am a self-proclaimed cricket fanatic, having a deep passion for the game a...Read More

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