The ICC has rated the pitches at Lord’s Cricket Ground and Gaddafi Stadium as “Unsatisfactory” and handed both venues one demerit point under its Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.
The sanction for Lord’s relates to the first Test between England cricket team and New Zealand cricket team. Gaddafi Stadium received its demerit point for the third ODI between Pakistan cricket team and Australia cricket team.
Match referees Andy Pycroft and Graeme La Brooy submitted the reports that led to the sanctions.
Pycroft raised concerns about the Lord’s surface after a match dominated by bowlers. More than 30 wickets fell across the first two days, including 16 on the opening day and 17 on day two.
“There was plenty of excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions,” Pycroft said in the ICC release.
“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.”
While Lord’s came under scrutiny for offering excessive assistance to bowlers, the criticism of Gaddafi Stadium focused on a surface that failed to produce a balanced ODI contest.
“The pitch was slow and low and made scoring runs very difficult,” La Brooy said.
“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 ICC has forwarded the reports to both the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Neither venue carried any previous demerit points before these rulings.
Under the ICC monitoring system, venues receive demerit points when pitches or outfields fail to meet required standards. A venue that accumulates three demerit points risks losing its ability to host international cricket until the points expire.
