ICC rates Rawalpindi pitch 'below average' after Pak-England Test

ICC rates Rawalpindi pitch 'below average' after Pak-England Test

Cricket

ICC rates Rawalpindi pitch "below average" after Pak-England Test

LAHORE (Web Desk) – The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rated the Rawalpindi pitch which hosted Pakistan-England first Test match as “below average”.

The cricket governing body says the pitch is not in line with the international rules. “It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler. That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals,” said Andy Pycroft of the cricket regulator’s elite panel of match referees.

“The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be ‘below average’ as per the ICC guidelines.”

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja had dubbed the pitch “embarrassing”, saying it was “not a good advert for cricket”.

England won the Test by 74 runs after posting 657 in the first innings and 264-7 declared in the second. Pakistan made 579 in the first innings before they were bundled out for 268 in the second.