ICC’s Obsession With New York Backfires – News18

Just after two fixtures and one warm-up game, the facilities at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York have attracted widespread criticism and the behaviour of drop-in pitches has come under immense scrutiny. The International Cricket Council (ICC) was a silent observer when the Indian cricket team called out the “average” practice facilities and termed training in a park as a “strange” experience but finally broke the silence after criticism grew louder.

“T20 Inc and the ICC recognise that the pitches used so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have not played as consistently as we would have all wanted. The world-class grounds team have been working hard since the conclusion of yesterday’s game to remedy the situation and deliver the best possible surfaces for the remaining matches,” read a statement by the global cricket body on June 6.

It was indeed a very unique media statement as the ICC was terming the pitches made by ICC as inconsistent. When the ratings happen, will the ICC penalise the ICC? USA Cricket has continued to be a silent observer, not a co-host, and they, or any of their office bearers, have found no mention in any media releases. With the USA not in the frame, it’s the ICC which is responsible for the embarrassment caused by the modular facility in New York. All the energies were focussed on the Big Apple and a big risk was taken on a pop-up venue which was just a green field a few months ago.

Back-to-back fixtures in New York

The ICC was stubborn with their New York plan and conveniently ignored the two proper venues available. Both Florida and Dallas have hosted a lot of cricket in the past and had natural pitches. They were tried and tested but ICC wanted to dive into the unknown, and have fallen flat on the face in the process.

The overconfidence in the modular facility can be seen in the scheduling of fixtures at the venue. From June 7, the venue will host six back-to-back games but the global body has assured they are working hard to “remedy” the situation. Even before June 7, there was just a one-day gap between Sri Lanka-South Africa and India-Ireland. Had they evenly distributed fixtures, there could have been some gap to address the present situation.

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Dallas and Florida got four each and the bulk of the fixtures, including India vs Pakistan, were allotted to New York. A drop-in pitch, new outfield and temporary grandstands were deemed enough to attract thousands from New York City and adjoining areas. ICC had said that they would test the outfield and pitch before the World Cup but none of that happened. Most Team India players saw the venue for the first time before their warm-up as last-minute touches continued even after the teams arrived in the USA.

The rushed effort is there for everyone to see and it’s no surprise that no team has managed to cross even 100 runs at the makeshift facility which will be razed down after the event. And it will be no surprise if the pitches continue to behave the way they have because no curator has a magic wand to fix things – outfield and pitch – which need time to settle down.

Dallas has hosted three quality contests in the tournament so far and their prior experience of hosting cricket and readiness of the venue has played a big role in that. Yes, the capacity is nowhere close to New York but what’s the point of having thousands in the stands when you can’t have an even contest between bat and ball? Instead of going big at Nassau County, the global body could well have done modular expansions in Florida and Dallas – the venues which are ready to host international cricket.

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The “world-class grounds team” has done a spectacular job in having a facility in place before the World Cup began but they never had enough time to prepare an ideal outfield and a ready pitch. The ICC went all-in in New York but never had the cards to win the hand.

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