During a test match between Pakistan and England held in Rawalpindi’s pitch had a poor appeal and got a demerit point. A month back, the pitch was also deemed as “below average”. The ICC said that a panel reviewed footage of the match after PCB threw them a challenge. After the PCB’s appeal, the demerit point was taken back.
Why did Rawalpindi get a demerit point?
“There were several redeeming features — including the fact that a result was achieved following a compelling game, with 37 out of a possible 39 wickets being taken” the ICC said.
In that field, England amassed 657 runs in their first innings and had a record-breaking score of 506-4 on the first day itself. In the first Test, against England last year, the pitch was an advantage for both the teams as both the teams scored huge runs. PCB’s chairman Ramiz Raja tagged the pitch as “embarrassing”. Andy Pycroft who’s the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees agreed with the statements made by the PCB chief.
In the test, the visitors emerged as victors over the hosts by 74 runs in a 343-run target. “It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler”– Pycroft quoted in an ICC statement. As per ICC rules, if a venue has a total of five demerits in five years, it is banned from hosting international cricket for one year.
The ICC appeal panel reviewed the footage of the Pakistan- England match and discovered ‘redeeming features’. It also included that a result was possible as well as 37 out of 39 wickets were taken. The panel has decided to take back the demerit point and agreed that the field did not deserve to get a “below average” rating.
From 2019 till now, the venue hosted 14 international formats in all three formats.
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