Cape Town Test: Decision reached on Newlands pitch, ICC gives demerit point
The match played between India and South Africa in Cape Town earlier this year was the shortest match in Test history. This match lasted only 642 balls i.e. the result of the match was declared in just one and a half day. Due to the bad pitch, wickets kept falling here. Now ICC has taken action regarding this. The ICC has given the Newlands pitch in Cape Town an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating and also given one demerit point.
In the Cape Town Test, irregular bounce was seen on the pitch from the very first over of the match. The fast bowlers also got a lot of seam movement. This was the reason that a total of 23 wickets fell on the first day of the match. This match went in favor of Team India. By winning this match, India managed to draw the two-match Test series 1-1. This pitch was heavily criticized by cricket experts during and after the match.
What did the match referee write in the report?
Match referee Chris Broad, in his report submitted to the ICC regarding this pitch, said, ‘The Newlands pitch was very difficult for batting. The bounce on the pitch was very fast. Many times it was a warning. Due to this, the batsmen found it difficult to hit the shot. Many times the ball fell into the gloves of the batsmen. Most of the wickets fell due to strange bounce.
What will happen if I get demerit points?
ICC gives four types of ratings to the pitch – very good, good, unsatisfactory and unfit. If an unsatisfactory rating is given, one demerit point is given and if it is unfit, three rating points are given. If a ground gets 6 demerit points in a period of 5 years, then there is a ban on playing international cricket on that ground for a whole year.
