The ICC match referees have gone soft on the much-maligned pitches used for the New York leg of the T20 World Cup with six of the eight games, including the India versus Pakistan contest, getting a “satisfactory” rating.
Only two games at the makeshift Nassau County Cricket Stadium, including India’s opening fixture against Ireland, have got an “unsatisfactory” rating from the game’s governing body which remains bullish on promoting cricket in the United States.
The surface used for the game between between Sri Lanka and South Africa also got thumbs down from the match referee.
After a rather long delay, the ICC published the pitch ratings on its website on Tuesday. The tournament, won by India, was played from June 1 to 29.
All eight games in New York ended up being low-scoring affairs, drawing scathing criticism from experts and fans during and after the ICC event.
The cricket on display in New York was not the best advert for a sport trying to make its presence felt ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where it will make its debut.
India played three games in New York while their match against Canada in Fort Lauderhill was washed out.
The drop-in tracks prepared in Adelaide by curator Damian Hough and transported to New York proved to be underprepared with hardly any testing done before the opening game between South Africa and Sri Lanka.
The surface came under fire for its unpredictable bounce and sluggish outfield throughout the tournament.
For the eight games in New York, the average first innings score was 107.6.
Ranjan Madugalle, David Boon, Jeff Crowe and Richie Richardson were the four match referees for the games in New York.
The pitch for India’s Super 8 game against Afghanistan in Barbados was rated “satisfactory” with only the final match’s strip being deemed “very good”.
Out of the 52 games staged in the competition, only three games were rated “unsatisfactory” and the third one being the semi-final between Afghanistan and South Africa in Trinidad, where the former was bowled out for 56.
Last year, the ICC had given “average” rating to the surface for the ODI World Cup final between India and Australia in Ahmedabad.
India, who were unbeaten going into the final, could only muster 240 on a used pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Australia chased that down in 43 overs, indicating that it was a far better surface compared to the drop-in pitches used in New York seven months later.
