“Bordering on dangerous….”: Andy Flower on drop-in pitches at New York used in T20 WC

New Delhi [India], June 6 : Former England Coach, Andy Flower said that the pitches in New York for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup are “bordering on dangerous” and unfit for international cricket.

The Nassau County Stadium is hosting eight games in this tournament, including three of India’s home matches against Ireland (June 5), Pakistan (June 9), and the USA (June 12).

The outfield and pitch met with criticism after low-scoring contests between South Africa and Sri Lanka on June 3 and, later, India against Ireland on Wednesday . The islanders were bundled out for just 77 runs in 19.1 overs. Proteas made the winning target in 16.2 overs, and the batters struggled to play on such a slow surface. Six fours and six sixes were hit by both teams during the course of the match. In the India-Ireland game, the Irish side struggled with bounce and movement on the surface and could score only 96 runs in 16 overs before being bundled out. India chased down the target of 97 runs in 12.2 overs with eight wickets in hand.

The stadium is making use of a drop-in pitch, which is prepared somewhere away from the venue before the game and installed into the ground for the match.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo as quoted by Wisden, Flower said, “I have got to say that is not a good surface to play an international match on. It is bordering on dangerous. You saw the ball bouncing from a length both ways, skidding low occasionally, but in the main, it was bouncing unusually high and striking people on the thumb, on the gloves, and on the helmet, making life very difficult for any batsman. It proved very, very tricky batting conditions for any side, let alone a smaller, cricketing nation like Ireland taking on the giants of India.”

Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer and commentator, said that though international cricket has seen such dangerous pitches before, the preparation of this pitch has gone wrong, where “either the pitch has been under-prepared or something that is beyond their control.”

“But I said that a couple of days ago as well, What can they do to make the pitch better? I am sure it is not a lack of effort. At the most,, what they can do is keep rolling that drop-in pitch. But they have a problem on their hands. Inherently there is something wrong with the pace of the surface,” he concluded.

Coming to the match between India and Ireland, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first. The Indian bowlers put pressure on the Irish batters from the start and had them struggling at 50/8. Some fightback from Gerath Delany (26 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Joshua Little (14 in 13 balls, with two fours) helped Ireland push the total to 96 in 16 overs.

Hardik Pandya (3/27), Arshdeep Singh (2/35), Jasprit Bumrah (2/6), Mohammed Siraj (1/13) and Axar Patel (1/3) put up fine bowling performances.

During the run-chase of 97 runs, a half-century from skipper Rohit Sharma (52 in 37 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and a supportive knock by Rishabh Pant (36* in 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes) helped India secure an eight-wicket win.

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