ICC rates Holkar Cricket Stadium’s pitch in Indore as ‘poor’

Releasing a statement on Friday, ICC said, “ICC Match Referee Chris Broad submitted his report to the ICC expressing the concerns of the match officials and after consulting with captains of both teams. Following the assessment, the venue has received three demerit points,”

Now with the report forwarded to the BCCI, the latter will have 14 days if they wish to appeal against the sanction.

“The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start. The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface providing little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match,” Chris Broad said.

As per details, if a pitch or outfield is rated as being substandard, that venue will be allocated a number of demerit points.

Also, one demerit point is be awarded to venues whose pitches are rated by the match referees as below average, while three and five demerit points are awarded to venues whose pitches are marked as poor and unfit, respectively. Demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period.