ICC referee rates Nagpur pitch 'poor'

Bengaluru, Dec 2, 2015, dhns:

In an embarrassment to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the International Cricket Council (ICC) has rated the pitch for the third Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur as “poor”.

A review of the performance of the pitch will now be carried out under the ICC Pitch Monitoring Process. 

In accordance with Clause 3 of the Process, Match Referee Jeff Crowe submitted his report to the ICC expressing concerns of the match officials over the performance of the pitch. This report has been forwarded to the BCCI, which has 14 days to respond.

After the BCCI submits its response, ICC’s general manager of cricket Geoff Allardice and chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle will consider all the evidence before deciding on whether the pitch was poor and if so, whether a penalty should be imposed. 

If the ICC agrees with the referee’s claims, then the Vidarbha Cricket Association, the host, may be fined $15,000 or could get away with a warning for first-time offence.  

The ICC said it will make no further comments until Allardice and Madugalle arrive at a decision. ICC president Shashank Manohar finds himself in a tricky situation as not only is he the president of the BCCI, but he is also the representative of the VCA in the Board. 

The Test ended inside three days with spinners claiming 33 of the 40 wickets on a pitch that had variable bounce, pace and turn from day one.  India managed to score 215 and 173, while South Africa could muster only 79 and 185. 

Interestingly, the first Test at Mohali, too, ended in three days, while the South Africans were bowled out for 214 on the opening day of the abandoned Bengaluru Test. Several former cricketers had criticised the Nagpur pitch, with some calling it diabolical while others described it as an “akhara” (wrestling venue).

Indian captain Virat Kohli and team director Ravi Shastri, however, had defended it, blaming the low scores to lack of application and grafting by the batsmen.