The appeal was one of the first actions of the new PCB government, led by Najam Sethi, who replaced Ramiz Raja late last month.
The PCB has appealed the ICC’s decision to award penalty points to the Rawalpindi pitch used in the first Test against England last month.
This surface was ultimately declared “below average” by match referee Andy Pycroft. This is his second consecutive test field at this rated venue. At the time, Pyrcroft said:
“It was a very flat pitch that didn’t support almost any bowler. , the pitch didn’t get much worse.”
It was Rawalpindi’s second defeat of the year after receiving one in a Test against Australia in March. If a stadium scores 5 points in 5 years, it can be banned from hosting international cricket for 12 months.
The appeal was one of the first actions of his new PCB administration, led by Najam Sethi, who replaced Ramiz Raja late last month. And it highlights the stark contrast between this new administration and that surface assessment of his Ramiz, who was his PCB chairman of the test at the time. At the time, he told reporters:
“We are embarrassed, especially when a cricketer is president. It’s not good publicity for cricket. We are a better cricket nation than they are. “
Sethi assumed the chairmanship of the Interim Management Board, which he now heads, on December 22, nine days after the ICC announced the sanctions. On December 26, PCB formally appealed this decision.
Ramiz and his ICC weren’t the only ones to criticize Rawalpindi’s wicket. Both former England slugger Nasser Hussain and broadcast commentary team member Michael Atherton criticized it, while Pakistani captain Babar Azam also expressed his displeasure with the pitch after the game.
“Yes, I had my opinion when preparing the pitch and I made it clear what I wanted, but due to the weather and for some reason I didn’t get it… a track with corners for spinners I wanted,” said Babal. After the visitors hit a record-breaking 506 runs on the first day, the test finally yielded exciting results. This is perhaps her one of the greatest victories in England’s history. His 657 in the first innings came from his 101 overs and in response Pakistan scored 579 runs from his 155 overs. The result ultimately came down to England, who scored his 6.7 runs per over in the course of the test, and captain Ben, who gave Pakistan a sporting streak towards goal given the nature of the pitch. • Thanks to a very proud statement from Stokes. Jack Leach took the final wicket of the game, his third highest total runs ever recorded in a Test and his best in over 80 years. Leach took the wicket minutes before the game was likely to end due to the dim light. The Rawalpindi Test against Australia saw no such spectacle, with around 1,200 runs scored in a loss of just 14 wickets. Australia took only four wickets in the entire game, but overall recorded his second worst ever bowling performance.
Their captain, Pat Cummins, is aware that the surface is made to “neutralize” their tempo attacks, and that the test ground was used for homegrown top-flight play. was knowledgeable enough to say that it is vastly different. Ramiz almost conceded Pakistani tricks at the time, as even fast bowlers were lacking.
Match referees make decisions based on their observation of the match and the results, which can lead to subjective judgments, but makes the appeals process even more difficult. With major international cricketers now using Hawkeye data, it will be easier to make informed decisions from each ball compared to previous tests at this venue and beyond. increase.
The exact basis for the PCB complaint is not clear, but a knowledgeable official said there were “multiple reasons supported by data, videos and reports” and a “long list” of other reasons.