Pune pitch rated ‘poor’ by ICC match referee
The Pune pitch used for the first Test between India and Australia has been given a “poor” rating by the match referee, Chris Broad, in his report. The report has been submitted to the International Cricket Council, and the BCCI, which has been informed of the rating, will now have 14 days to respond.
The Test match finished inside three days with Australia claiming a 333-run victory. However, the pitch showed signs of deterioration and crumbling right from the outset with spinners getting prodigious turn from the first session of the game.
The penalty for a pitch that is called poor for the first time, as would be the case for Pune, can range from a warning and/or a fine of USD 15,000 with a directive to institute corrective measures. BCCI’s response to the rating will be reviewed by ICC’s General Manager Cricket, Geoff Allardice, and Ranjan Madugalle from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.
The ICC has six categories for rating Test match pitches: very good, good, above average, below average, poor and unfit. Incidentally, since the Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process began in 2010, the Nagpur wicket used for the 2015 Test between India and South Africa was also rated poor.
According to reports, the curators in charge of preparing the wicket in Pune were asked to ‘doctor’ the surface to aid spin. However, in his post-match assessment, Indian captain Virat Kohli declined having passed on any instruction pertaining to the same to anyone. In fact when asked for his evaluation of the pitch, Kohli said: “It wasn’t any different from the turners that we played in the past.”
The Pune pitch on what should have been day 5 of 1st Test. Wouldn't want to be chasing more than about 37 on this #INDcAUS pic.twitter.com/KtsSrTWWo2
— Andrew Ramsey (@ARamseyCricket) February 27, 2017