New York’s Drop-In Pitches Earn Six ‘Satisfactory’ Ratings at T20 World Cup

On the much-maligned fields used for the T20 World Cup in New York, the ICC match referees have been lenient, awarding “satisfactory” ratings for six of the eight games, including the India vs. Pakistan encounter.

India’s opening match against Ireland is one of only two matches at the temporary Nassau County Cricket Stadium to have received a “unsatisfactory” grade from the game’s governing body, which is still optimistic about growing cricket in the country.

The match referee gave the field utilized for Sri Lanka’s match against South Africa the thumbs down as well.

The ICC released the pitch ratings on its website on Tuesday, following a somewhat lengthy delay. The competition, which India won, took place from June 1 to June 29.

Experts and fans harshly criticized the eight games played in New York, which resulted in low scoring matches, both during and after the ICC event.

The cricket exhibit in New York was not the greatest promotion for a sport looking to establish itself before its debut at the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

While their match versus Canada in Fort Lauderhill washed out, India played three games in New York.

The drop-in tracks that curator Damian Hough had created in Adelaide and shipped to New York turned out to be ill-prepared, with little testing done prior to the opening match between Sri Lanka and South Africa.

During the competition, the surface drew criticism for its erratic bounce and slow outfield.

The first innings score for the eight games played in New York was 107.6 on average.

For the games in New York, the match referees were Richie Richardson, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, and Ranjan Madugalle.

Only the final match’s strip was judged “very good” on the Barbados surface for India’s Super 8 match versus Afghanistan.

Only three of the 52 matches played in the league were deemed “unsatisfactory,” with the Afghanistan vs. South Africa semi-final in Trinidad seeing the former bowled out for 56.

When Australia and India faced each other in the Ahmedabad final of the ODI World Cup last year, the surface received a “average” rating from the ICC.

Despite leading by one wicket going into the final, India was only able to manage 240 on the Narendra Modi Stadium used surface. In 43 overs, Australia managed to chase it down, demonstrating that, seven months later, the surface was significantly superior to the drop-in pitches utilized in New York.