The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has been given a demerit point after the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday declared the pitch of the first Test match between Pakistan and England below average.
England won the Test by 74 runs after declaring 657 all out in the first innings and 264-7 in the second. Pakistan scored 579 runs in the first innings while in the second innings they collapsed for 268 runs.
“It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no help to any type of bowler. That was the main reason why the batsmen scored so quickly and both sides posted huge totals.” Andy Pycroft of the governing body’s elite panel of match referees said.
“The pitch hardly deteriorated during the match. As it had very little for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be ‘below average’ as per ICC guidelines.
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ramiz Raja termed the pitch as shameful and said that it is not a good advertisement for cricket.
It was the venue’s second demerit point after the pitch used for the first Test between Pakistan and Australia in March was also rated as “below average”. That match ended in a draw.
Venues can be suspended for one year if they receive five demerit points and for two years if they receive 10. Demerit points remain active for five years.
