Going into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June, some wondered whether Saint Lucia would be ready to host six games, as scheduled. It turned out that Saint Lucia was readiest. 52 matches were played over the course of three weeks, between the USA and West Indies. But the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground has come in for the highest praise.
This week, the world governing body for cricket revealed its ratings for the pitches and outfields used in all World Cup fixtures. Pitches and outfields are marked post-match by the ICC Match Referee on duty. The rating is then provided as feedback to the host Member Board to assist in future pitch and outfield preparations for international matches at the relevant venue.
Just under two months since the last ball was bowled, the results are in. The ICC shared a spreadsheet containing all the ratings on Wednesday.
The West Indies grounds largely got passing grades. 18 games had pitches rated as very good, the highest possible rating for both pitch and outfield.
But of venues that hosted more than one game, only Saint Lucia’s Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (DSCG) got very good marks across the board.
The West Indies produced the tournament’s highest total, 218-5, against Afghanistan at the DSCG. The next highest was 205-5, India versus Australia, also in Saint Lucia. Of the four scores in excess of 200, three came at the DSCG, and eight of the top 15 totals were at that venue.
DSCG came in for high commendation from even losing captains during the global cricket showcase, as did lead curator, Kent Crafton.
Not all good news
There were eight “satisfactory” ratings for outfields, and 34 such for pitches. But three pitches got report cards with “unsatisfactory” pitches.
The Nassau County Stadium in New York, USA was rated unsatisfactory for its first two matches in the group stages. In the space of three days, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 77 against South Africa and Ireland were dismissed for 96 by India.
Infamously, a modular drop-in pitch was used for that venue. Those two games also returned only a “satisfactory” grade for the outfield. Of eight matches in New York, none got a very good pitch rating, but the outfield was deemed very good for three games. Those games produced a lacklustre average run rate of just over five per over.
The only other pitch deemed substandard was at the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad & Tobago, for the semifinal between Afghanistan and South Africa. Afghanistan was skittled out for just 56 runs by South Africa.
If a pitch or outfield is marked as substandard, the board and the venue are required to explain why the pitch and/or outfield performed below the required standard. A pitch or outfield is deemed to be substandard if it receives a rating of unsatisfactory or unfit.
(TF)
