The pitches for the first two matches at New York’s Nassau County Stadium – a modular venue that no longer exists – during the men’s T20 World Cup 2024, as well as the one for the semi-final between Afghanistan and South Africa at the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba, have been rated “unsatisfactory” by the ICC.
The verdict comes nearly two months after the tournament, which India won by beating South Africa in the final.
In the India-Ireland game, a number of players copped body blows due to uneven bounce. Rohit Sharma had to retire hurt after being hit on the upper arm by Josh Little. Rishabh Pant, too, was struck on the body by Little, while Ireland’s Harry Tector was struck on the finger by a short ball from Jasprit Bumrah.
At the time, Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain, had said the pitch in New York was “bordering on dangerous”, while former England captain Michael Vaughan called it “shocking”.
The modular venue was readied in five months with Damian Hough, the Adelaide Oval chief curator, brought in by the ICC to prepare the drop-in pitches. But after criticism from various quarters, the ICC had acknowledged that the pitches there had been substandard and the short turnaround time between matches – New York hosted eight games in two weeks – didn’t help.
Remedial work was carried out, and ahead of the following game, between Canada and Ireland, areas where grass shoots were growing under the cracks were covered with topsoil and rolled in to make the surface much flatter. The surfaces used for the subsequent fixtures in New York, including India vs Pakistan, where 119 beat 113 for 7, have been rated as “satisfactory”.
But the bigger point of scrutiny, perhaps more than New York, was on the surface for the semi-final, where Afghanistan were bowled out for 56. Some deliveries rolled along the ground, while a few reared up from a similar spot. At the time, Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott was clear “that’s not a pitch you want to play a semi-final on“.
In general, surfaces at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy were challenging. West Indies, who scored 149 there and defended it narrowly against New Zealand, were tottering at 30 for 5 at one stage.
The ICC rates pitches, and outfields, for all international games on a scale of very good to unfit: very good, good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory and unfit. The surface at Providence for the India vs England semi-final was rated “satisfactory”, while the Kensington Oval deck for the final between India and South Africa was rated “very good”.
The ICC was largely happy with the state of the outfields, with only New York and Guyana receiving “satisfactory” ratings, while the others were “very good”.
