Match referee Jeff Crowe slams Motera pitch in his report sent to ICC headquarters in Dubai
Match referee Jeff Croweu00a0slams Motera pitch in his report sent to ICC headquarters in Dubai
Two of the three matches in the India-Sri Lanka Test series produced results but International Cricket Council match referee Jeff Crowe is not getting fooled by the scoreline. He has given a poor rating to the Sardar Patel Stadium wicket at Motera, Ahmedabad and the Green Park outfield at Kanpur, the two venues where the first and second Tests were played.
An ICC source from Dubai informed MiD DAY that Crowe, the match referee during the series, has given a below average rating for the Ahmedabad wicket and above average for the Kanpur wicket in his official report.
There are six categories to judge the pitch in the ICC match referee's official sheet: 1) Very good 2) Good 3) Above average 4) Below Average 5) Poor 6) Unfit.
In the first Test, seven centuries were scored in the high-scoring draw.
In his official report on the outfield for the first two Tests, Crowe has said: The Ahmedabad outfield was good and the Kanpur outfield was below average.
About the Ahmedabad wicket, the former New Zealand captain mentioned that "it was a very even flat surface and really good at the start, but did not have any characteristics for any bowler to use and the pitch never deteriorated enough. The outfield was fast."
As far as Green Park wicket is concerned, Crowe wrote that the pitch played better than expected and there was little deterioration, but it held well because of the grass. Consistent bounce was the only concern.
"There was some help for the bowlers but generally it was a good batting strip for three-and-a-half days. It could not be said if it was a better pitch than the first Test just that one team played poorly.
"The (Green Park) outfield was a concern very hard, dirt, patchy grass cover. The players did not dive and often used their feet to stop the ball."
Normally, a match referee forms his judgment on the state of the wicket after considering the following factors: uniform grass cover; was the pitch completely dry at the start of the match? whether their was moisture below the surface; use of heavy roller; whether it has affected the pitch; seam movement; bounce off the pitch;
consistency of bounce; turn etc.
Motera curator Dhiraj Prasanna declined to comment on Crowe's report.
