Ranjan Madugalle of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees has rated the Rawalpindi pitch as “below average” used earlier for the first historic test match between mighty Australia and Pakistan and the venue has received one demerit point under the ICC pitch and outfield monitoring criteria.
Madugalle said, “The character of the pitch hardly changed over the course of five days and that there has been no deterioration apart from the bounce getting slightly lower. The pitch did not have a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the fast bowlers nor assisted the spinners as the match progressed. In my view, this does not represent an even contest between bat and ball. Therefore, in keeping with the ICC guidelines, I rate this pitch as below average.”
Also, Madugalle’s report has been shared with the Pakistan Cricket Board.
In the revised ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, introduced back in 4 January 2018, if a pitch or outfield gets the poor rating, that venue will be awarded with demerit points.
One demerit point will be awarded to venues whose pitches are rated by the match referees as below average, while three and five demerit points will be awarded to venues whose pitches are marked as poor and unfit, respectively.
Demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period.
When a venue gathers five demerit points (or crosses that threshold), it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months, while a venue will be suspended from staging any international cricket for 24 months when it reaches the threshold of 10 demerit points.
