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On Tuesday, December 12, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the rating given to the pitch used for the second Test of the two-match series between the Bangladesh National Cricket Team and the New Zealand National Cricket Team.
The second Test between the Bangla Tigers and the Black Caps was hosted by the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur from December 6. The pitch produced for the game came under heavy scrutiny as it was a raging turner that provided a little too much assistance to the spinners.
However, the strategy backfired heavily as Bangladesh were unable to win the match and seal the series. Bangladesh registered scores of 172 & 144 in their two innings and in response, New Zealand posted 180 & 139/6 on the board to win the match by 4 wickets and level the series 1-1.
A total of 36 wickets fell in the match in 178.1 overs, with 30 wickets being picked by the spin bowlers. This was the third-lowest number of balls bowled in a Test match (1069) for that many wickets to fall.
ICC Rates Bangladesh vs New Zealand 2nd Test Pitch As ‘Unsatisfactory”
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has passed on an “unsatisfactory” rating to the pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur for the second Test of the ICC World Test Championship between Bangladesh and New Zealand.
The Match Referee, David Boon, submitted his report to the ICC in which he stated that the pitch was underprepared and there was inconsistent bounce on the surface.
“The outfield was very good and held up extremely well with the rain. However, it appeared that the pitch may have been under prepared, as it was not hard and was covered in grass clippings on day one.
“From the first session onwards, throughout the remainder of the match the bounce was inconsistent with numerous balls bursting the surface. Deliveries from spin bowlers often went over the batter’s shoulder when playing forward and then occasionally stayed very low,” Match Referee, David Boon said.
Following the assessment, the venue has got one demerit point. Notably, any venue that receives six demerit points in a rolling five-year period would get banned from staging any international cricket for 12 months.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand skipper Tim Southee had described the second Test pitch as “probably the worst wicket” he had played on in his long career.
“It is probably the worst wicket I’ve come across in my career,” Southee said. “The balance between bat and ball was heavily favoured into the bowler’s hands. I think for the match to be over in 170 overs sort of reflects that. So, for our guys to scrap away and then come away with the win was a big pleasure.
“I think it was just a scrappy Test match. It was obviously a tough wicket. Runs were hard to come by, and just those little moments and partnerships throughout were crucial, whereas in other matches, I guess when conditions are a little bit more even between bat and ball, they don’t get noticed as much.”
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