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England v India: Trent Bridge pitch rated ‘poor’ by ICC referee David Boon England v India: Trent Bridge pitch rated ‘poor’ by ICC referee David Boon
(about 1 hour later)
Nottinghamshire are set to pay a heavy penalty for the lifeless pitch they provided for the first Test between England and India, after David Boon, the former Australia batsman who was the International Cricket Council referee for the match, rated it “poor”.Nottinghamshire are set to pay a heavy penalty for the lifeless pitch they provided for the first Test between England and India, after David Boon, the former Australia batsman who was the International Cricket Council referee for the match, rated it “poor”.
The unusually damning verdict, which has been applied only twice in recent years – and never in England – leaves Notts in danger of a fine, and effectively on notice to improve, starting with the Ashes Test they will stage at Trent Bridge next summer. The unusually damning verdict, which has been applied only twice in recent years – and never in England – leaves Nottinghamshire in danger of a fine, and effectively on notice to improve, starting with the Ashes Test they will stage at Trent Bridge next summer.
Their chief executive, Lisa Pursehouse, responded with a strong vote of confidence in Steve Birks, the club’s long-serving and highly-respected head groundsman, who was the national groundsman of the year in 2012 and who was commended for producing a pitch rated “very good” for the first Test of the 2013 Ashes series.Their chief executive, Lisa Pursehouse, responded with a strong vote of confidence in Steve Birks, the club’s long-serving and highly-respected head groundsman, who was the national groundsman of the year in 2012 and who was commended for producing a pitch rated “very good” for the first Test of the 2013 Ashes series.
“We are naturally disappointed to have produced a pitch rated ‘poor’, which is at odds with our record of producing consistently good pitches for international matches at Trent Bridge,” said Pursehouse. The role of a Test match venue groundsman is fraught with immense pressure and variable factors and we are blessed to have one of the very best in Steve Birks. “We are naturally disappointed to have produced a pitch rated ‘poor’, which is at odds with our record of producing consistently good pitches for international matches at Trent Bridge,” said Pursehouse. “The role of a Test match venue groundsman is fraught with immense pressure and variable factors and we are blessed to have one of the very best in Steve Birks.
“We will cooperate fully with this process and re-establish our enduring reputation for producing good cricket wickets.” “We will co-operate fully with this process and re-establish our enduring reputation for producing good cricket wickets.”
But Boon’s decision will nevertheless will be welcomed by those who argue that Test cricket is done as much damage by pitches that offer too little to bowlers as by those that offer too much.But Boon’s decision will nevertheless will be welcomed by those who argue that Test cricket is done as much damage by pitches that offer too little to bowlers as by those that offer too much.
The last Test pitch to be rated poor was for the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle in September 2011, a low-scoring match in which the referee Chris Broad ruled that conditions were tilted too extravagantly in favour of the spinners.The last Test pitch to be rated poor was for the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle in September 2011, a low-scoring match in which the referee Chris Broad ruled that conditions were tilted too extravagantly in favour of the spinners.
The one before that led to a bore draw similar to Trent Bridge, when West Indies and South Africa traded huge totals at Warner Park in St Kitts, with Jeff Crowe the referee on that occasion. The one before that led to a bore draw similar to Trent Bridge, when West Indies and South Africa traded huge totals at Warner Park in Saint Kitts, with Jeff Crowe the referee on that occasion.
Boon’s verdict will be a further embarrassment to Nottinghamshire, after the criticism they received throughout the match, much of it from the England players including their own Stuart Broad. It will be down to the ICC’s general manager of cricket Geoff Allardice and the chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle to determine the scale of the punishment. Boon’s verdict will be a further embarrassment to Nottinghamshire, after the criticism they received throughout the match, much of it from the England players, including their own Stuart Broad.
It will be down to the ICC’s general manager of cricket Geoff Allardice and the chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle to determine the scale of the punishment.
The England and Wales Cricket Board have already sent their pitch inspector Chris Wood to begin “planning the corrective action required” with Birks, but an official statement pointedly dismissed suggestions that the dryness of the pitch was caused by the new drainage system that has been laid beneath the outfield, as at the majority of English grounds.The England and Wales Cricket Board have already sent their pitch inspector Chris Wood to begin “planning the corrective action required” with Birks, but an official statement pointedly dismissed suggestions that the dryness of the pitch was caused by the new drainage system that has been laid beneath the outfield, as at the majority of English grounds.
“It has already been established that the drainage system at Trent Bridge played no part in the unexpected issues that arose around the preparation and performance of the Test Match wicket,” the ECB statement said.“It has already been established that the drainage system at Trent Bridge played no part in the unexpected issues that arose around the preparation and performance of the Test Match wicket,” the ECB statement said.