The ICC has changed the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore rating from Poor to “Below Average” after an appeal by the BCCI.
Indore Pitch Rating Changed To Below Average
On March 3, ICC rated the Indore cricket stadium as “Poor” where India and Australia played the 3rd Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 started on March 1.
The pitch comes under the radar since the first session of Day 1 where India lost 7 wickets in the first session alone. India was eventually bowled out for just 109 runs in their first inning.
Australia batted out close to 77 overs in their first innings, things moved swiftly with India collapsing for 163 in their second outing. As a result, the visitors needed just 76 on the third morning to get the job done with the game witnessing less than 200 overs.
With the pitch rated poor under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, the venue received three demerit points after match referee Chris Broad submitted his report.
“Having reviewed footage of the Test match, the ICC appeal panel, consisting of Mr. Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager – Cricket, and Mr. Roger Harper, ICC Men’s Cricket Committee Member, were of the opinion that, while the guidelines had been followed by the Match Referee in accordance with Appendix A of the Pitch Monitoring Process.
It was deemed that there was not enough excessive variable bounce to warrant the “poor” rating. Instead, the appeal panel concluded that the pitch should be rated as “below average”,” said the ICC in a media release.
Initially, Broad in his report had said, “The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start.
The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface providing little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match.”
Following the initial rating, where Indore was awarded three demerit points, it has now been changed to one demerit point.
The demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period. When a venue accumulates five or more demerit points, it will be suspended from hosting any international games for a 12-month period. An accumulation of 10 demerit points will result in the venue being suspended from hosting international cricket for 24 months.
