For a great and balanced match, you need a pitch that can hold up to the contest. In the T20 World Cup 2024, the International Cricket Council took a gamble by using drop-in pitches for all matches of the tournament held in the USA. Everyone was skeptical about how the pitches would behave, and the results have not been pleasing. The pitch at Nassau Cricket Stadium has created doubts among cricket fans about its ability to host a full match.
In the two matches played at Nassau Cricket Stadium, batters were not able to add 100 runs on the board.
In recent times, pitches for important matches have been disappointing. The ODI World Cup final was also affected by the ‘bad’ pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium, according to fans and cricket experts. Let’s look at five such instances when pitches were unsatisfactory and spoiled the game.
4 instances of bad pitches
India vs Sri Lanka, Arun Jaitley Stadium, 2009
Due to unfavorable and hazardous playing circumstances, this is the only ODI in the history to be canceled. Feroz Shah Kotla (Now Arun Jaitley Stadium) was barred from holding international matches for a year following the game, which lasted barely 23.3 overs. The wicket bounce, which was out of character, caused the game to be suspended and called off. The ground crew, led by Daljit Singh, was also fired by the BCCI.
West Indies vs England, Sabina Park 1997
West Indies vs England match in 1997 was the first time a game was canceled in international cricket due to an unsafe pitch. England was being hosted by Kingston’s Sabina Park for a test match, but the wicket spoiled the Caribbean celebration. At 17 for 3, England batter were struggling to score single run. Umpires Steve Buckner and S. Venkatraghavan had to cancel the game because of the wicket’s unsual bounce because it was too risky to play on.
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West Indies vs England, Sir Viv Richards Stadium in 2009
The West Indies vs England match was again called off due to bad pitch in 2009. The games was finished in 10 balls. West Indies had won the toss and invited England to bat first. The unusable wicket and the sand-based outfield, were the reasons for the game’s cancellation. This marked the second time in West Indies and test cricket history that a match was canceled because of a risky wicket.
Victoria vs Western Australia, MCG 2019, Sheffield Shield
Melbourne Cricket Gorund, which is one of the oldest ground were also listed in his unwanted list of bad pitches. In a match between Victoria and Western Australia in 2019 was abondoned due to poor condition of the pitch. The umpires decided to stop and cancel the game after it had been played for several sessions because of the unsafe pitch. In this four-day match, Western Australia managed to score only 89 runs in 39.4 overs bowled. It was not safe to play cricket in the middle of the wicket.Because of the pitch’s irregular bounce, batters like Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis suffered physical injuries.
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