The pitch at the Nassau County Ground, which is “on the verge of becoming dangerous with large open cracks”, has become a cause of concern in the ongoing T20 World Cup and the ICC admitted on Thursday that the pitches used so far “have not played as consistently as we all expected”. Concerns were raised after India began their campaign with an eight-wicket win in a low-scoring match against Ireland, with the Irish side being bowled out for 96 in just 16 overs. India captain Rohit Sharma, who had scored a half-century in the successful chase, was hit on his right bicep by pacer Josh Little and had to retire injured. The ball that hit him suddenly bounced off a length on a pitch that had largely uneven bounce. Rishabh Pant also suffered an injury on his left elbow during his unbeaten innings of 36.
Injury fears aside, the nature of the pitch, which has been brought from Adelaide especially for the World Cup, has surprised people. India are scheduled to play two more matches at this stadium.
Several former players such as Irfan Pathan, Michael Vaughan and Sanjay Manjrekar have called the pitch unsuitable for T20, especially when the event is being promoted as cricket’s foray into uncharted territory in the US.
“T20 Inc and the ICC recognise that the pitches used to date at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have not played with as much consistency as we would have liked,” the ICC said in a statement.
“The World Class Grounds team has been working hard since the conclusion of play yesterday to improve conditions and provide the best possible surfaces for the remaining matches,” it added.
Meanwhile, Rohit is expected to be fit for the clash against Pakistan on Sunday.
“Rohit’s injury is not serious. He himself has said that it is a bit painful. Now he should be fit for the match against Pakistan (on Sunday). There are two practice sessions before that,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Pathan, who was the best player in the final during India’s 2007 T20 World Cup triumph, criticised the pitch, calling it unsafe.
“Look, we definitely want to promote cricket in America but this pitch is not safe for the players. If India had such a pitch, no match would have been played there for a long time,” he said on Star Sports.
“This pitch is definitely not good. I mean we are talking about a World Cup here, not even a bilateral series,” he said.
Former England captain Vaughan was also not impressed.
“It’s great trying to sell the game in America… I love it… but it’s unacceptable for the players to have to play on this poor surface in New York… you work so hard to make it to the World Cup and then you have to play on this,” he wrote on his X handle.
Rohit was surprised by the behaviour of the pitch and admitted he didn’t know what to expect from it against Pakistan. The team’s batting coach Vikram Rathore was a little more reticent in his analysis.
“It’s a challenging wicket as far as batting is concerned, but that’s what we have. So we have to find ways to deal with it,” Rathour said in the post-match press conference. He put the onus on his team to find ways to score runs.
The Indian team management is unlikely to lodge any official complaint. But their displeasure is evident at the nature of the track, which according to some who have seen it, is “unsuitable for T20 cricket” and “verging on being dangerous.”
“It is actually a very fresh pitch. It has a layer of grass but there are big cracks as well. So, it will seam but it will also have a short length. Now when you have a new track like this, you try out a few games first, just like you do with beta testing a new app,” the source added.
“Then you release it in the market. This is not a T20 wicket and all four tracks look the same,” another source said after inspecting the track live after the match.
The cracks may be levelled using a roller, but such pitches take time to become solid for batting.
While the Indian pacers literally toyed with a very capable T20 side like Ireland, even the biggest Arshdeep Singh fan wouldn’t have imagined his balls would fly like surface-to-air missiles.
“We should be happy that Rohit and Rishabh (Pant) have not suffered any serious injuries. They are fine,” the source said.
However, Ireland’s Harry Tector had to undergo the mandatory concussion test after a fast delivery from Jasprit Bumrah struck his gloves and then his helmet, following which Virat Kohli completed the catch.
The ICC’s rules on the quality of pitches are very clear. The pitch will be evaluated only after the tournament is over and if the pitch is found to be substandard, its overall rating will be reduced.
Former Zimbabwe captain and renowned coach Andy Flower also joined the criticism.
“I would go as far as to say this is not a good surface to play an international match on. It is on the verge of being dangerous,” Flower said on ESPNcricinfo’s Timeout show.
Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the pitch is not fully ready.
“You have seen dangerous pitches at the international level before but there has been something wrong with the preparation, either the pitch has been underprepared or there is something which is beyond their control,” Manjrekar said.
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