Nagpur pitch receives official warning from ICC

Umpire Bruce Oxenford (R) instructs a member of the groundstaff to sweep dust off the pitch during play on the first day of the Nagpur Test

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that Jamtha Stadium, Nagpur, has been given an official warning under the ICC Pitch Monitoring Process following the third Test between India and South Africa.

The sanction took into consideration the fact that there had been no concerns about the performance of the pitch after any of the other international matches played at this venue.

In reaching the verdict, the ICC agreed with the “poor” rating given to the pitch by Jeff Crowe, the match referee for the Nagpur Test played from 25-27 November, who observed that the pitch did not allow a fair contest between bat and the ball.

The finding was made by ICC General Manager – Cricket, Geoff Allardice, and ICC chief match referee, Ranjan Madugalle, after watching footage of the match, reviewing the post-match reports from Mr Crowe, and considering the response provided by the BCCI.

The Nagpur Test was played from 25-27 November in which India scored 215 and 173 while South Africa scored 79 and 185. Following the match, match referee Jeff Crowe has rated the pitch as a ‘poor’ one.

However, the BCCI were unyielding in its support for the Nagpur surface saying that the match referee’s report had various inconsistencies.