ICC vindicates 'below-average pitch' of Mirpur from accruing one demerit point

The International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to uphold the move to impose one demerit point on the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The surface used to host the second Test match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh last month was deemed below-average.

Earlier, general manager of ICC Geoff Allardice and Anil Kumble, cricket committee chairman, deduced that match referee David Boon’s rating was correct. This was after Bangladesh Cricket Board appealed for the sanctions.

The appeal made by the Bangladesh board justified that given the weather and conditions at that time of the year in Dhaka, the pitch wasn’t a departure from the usual surfaces.

According to ESPN Cricinfo, Boon outlined that “pitch had uneven bounce throughout the match and inconsistent turn”. The match ended within Tea of the third day with Sri Lanka emerging victorious by 215 runs.

Out of the 40 dismissals in the match, 30 scalps were bagged by the spinners. In total, Bangladesh could only survive 75 overs in the match.

Outfield At Dhaka was also deemed poor against Australia

ICC’s revised pitch and outfield monitoring process suggests that demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period. This law was introduced on January 4 this year. Additionally, if a venue accrues five demerit points, it may be banned for hosting a game for 12 months.

Also, a venue will be suspended from staging any international cricket for 24 months, when it reaches the threshold of 10 demerit points.

When a venue accumulates five demerit points (or crosses that threshold), it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for 12 months.

This is not the first time Dhaka was rated poorly. Earlier in September last year. The outfield at Shere Bangla National Stadium was rated ‘poor’ when it hosted Australia.

The good news for the BCB is that the Mirpur outfield has become far better since then. The pitches have played well during the ongoing Dhaka Premier League List-A competition.

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