Dubai, 20 Aug: The ICC match referees have gone soft on the much-maligned pitches used for the New York leg of the T20 World Cup with six of the eight games, including the India versus Pakistan contest, getting a “satisfactory” rating.
Only two games at the makeshift Nassau County Cricket Stadium, including India’s opening fixture against Ireland, have got an “unsatisfactory” rating from the game’s governing body which remains bullish on promoting cricket in the United States.
The surface used for the game between between Sri Lanka and South Africa also got thumbs down from the match referee.
After a rather long delay, the ICC published the pitch ratings on its website on Tuesday. The tournament, won by India, was played from June 1 to 29.
All eight games in New York ended up being low-scoring affairs, drawing scathing criticism from experts and fans during and after the ICC event.
The cricket on display in New York was not the best advert for a sport trying to make its presence felt ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where it will make its debut.
India played three games in New York while their match against Canada in Fort Lauderhill was washed out.
The drop-in tracks prepared in Adelaide by curator Damian Hough and transported to New York proved to be underprepared with hardly any testing done before the opening game between South Africa and Sri Lanka. (PTI)