The pitches used in the T20 World Cup matches played in New York have not been up to standard and ground staff are working on remedying them for the rest of the tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday.
The temporary Nassau County International Cricket Stadium has hosted two games so far, both of which were low-scoring encounters due to the nature of the drop-in pitch which has made batting extremely difficult due to the movement and bounce.
Fans expecting a run-fest were left disappointed when Sri Lanka were bowled out for 77 – their lowest ever score – against South Africa, while India bowled out Ireland for 96 in Wednesday’s one-sided contest.
“T20 Inc and the ICC recognise that the pitches used so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have not played as consistently as we would have all wanted,” the ICC said in a statement.
“The world-class grounds team have been working hard since the conclusion of yesterday’s game to remedy the situation and deliver the best possible surfaces for the remaining matches.”
The stadium is set to host six more matches, including Sunday’s blockbuster game between arch rivals India and Pakistan. India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour described it as a “challenging wicket” having also played a warm-up match at the venue.
“It is what it is. We need to find a way to deal with it and I think we have enough skills in the team and enough experience in the team to deal with it,” he said.
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New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, whose team open their tournament against Afghanistan in Guyana on Friday, said the balance between bat and ball was important at any competition.
“They’ve been interesting-looking surfaces – obviously first time being used,” he said of the New York pitches.
“No doubt there’s a little bit of work to do there.”
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