New Delhi, December 29: The national capital is on the verge of being disqualified as a 2011 World Cup venue.
A report by International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Alan Hurst, a copy of which is with HT, has classified the pitch “unfit”. The classification is the worst of six possible categories — Very good, Good, Above average, Below average, Poor and Unfit. Had Hurst called the pitch merely “poor”, Delhi could have got away with a fine.
Despite some confident posturing by DDCA officials and attempted damage control by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) brass, the “unfit” status means the venue will attract “a suspension of the status to host international matches for a period between 12 and 24 months”. The ICC’s stringent new rules governing venues came into force this October. Matches the stadium stands to lose
After serving the ban, the Indian cricket board will have to arrange for an inspection by the ICC, at its own cost, to have the ground re-accredited. Only then can the venue host an international match again.
The BCCI has received a notice classifying the pitch as “unfit” and has been given 14 days to respond. The BCCI’s response, along with the match referee’s report, video footage of the abandoned game and other significant documents will be reviewed by the ICC’s chief referee Ranjan Madugalle and its cricket operations manager Dave Richardson, who will decide on the punishment.
However, Hurst’s report makes it clear the BCCI and DDCA should brace themselves for the worst. “This pitch did not meet the requirements for an ODI match. This meant the players were unsure of what the ball would do. Playing shots was risky because of the unpredictable bounce. However, of more concern was the dangerous bounce that occurred randomly and accounted for batsmen being struck on a number of occasions,” wrote Hurst.
“At the other extreme, bounce was often very low. This pitch did not allow players to play with any confidence and was totally unsuitable for International cricket,” his report added.
Hurst also lists 14 points as background and lead-up to the incident and puts in writing eight stages that led to the abandonment. “Early on Saturday morning the fourth umpire Subrat Das went to the ground to check that a number of things were in place.
He reported to me that the wicket was quite green in patches, but the Curator had told him that extra rolling during the day would mean that ‘the green would turn to brown’.
It was still quite green tinged when the umpires and I did our ground inspection later that afternoon,” wrote Hurst.
The match referee records that the Sri Lankan coach (Trevor Bayliss) and manager (Brendon Kuruppu) came to the referee’s room around the 10-over mark and then again around 24 overs, when the game was called off.
The report notes that play had to be stopped on three occasions — at 9.54am, 10.05am and 10.46am — for Sri Lanka’s batsmen to receive medical treatment after being hit by the ball, and injured.
Of all the deliveries that bounced excessively or kept low over 23 overs, the umpires estimated that six were outright
dangerous.
After the players’ complaints, on-field umpires Shavir Tarapore and Marais Erasmus concluded that the pitch was dangerous and conveyed this to the match referee on the walkie talkie. When Hurst walked out to the field the two captains, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, concurred that the pitch was not fit for play.
“At the edge of the ground I spoke with President DCCA Mr Arun Jaitley, Mr Narinder Batra DDCA Treasurer, BCCI Hon Secretary Mr Srinavasan, DCCA Vice-President Mr Chetan Chauhan and other local officials. I was asked whether another prepared pitch on the square could be substituted,” says Hurst.
“I went to the square with Mr Chauhan to look at the option, which had been partially prepared as back-up prior to the game.
Although reasonably hard, it was quite heavily, but unevenly grassed. In keeping with the Playing Conditions, I then spoke with the Captains about this option. Both gave emphatic negatives.”
If the Ferozeshah Kotla is banned for 24 months following Sunday’s pitch fiasco, as it could be under International Cricket Council rules, it will be a huge embarrassment for India and, more personally, for Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who will be ICC president when the World Cup takes place over February-March 2011.
–Agencies–