Last Updated on 4 months by Charbel Coorey
The writing was on the wall in New York when a Marco Jansen delivery reared off the pitch and past Pathum Nissanka, which was taken well above head height by Quinton de Kock. Pace and bounce was expected on the surface for the Sri Lanka-South Africa clash, but the pitch has come for criticism after it heavily favoured the bowlers.
The Sri Lankans could muster only 77, blown away by the force of South Africa’s pace brigade, led by Anrich Nortje’s 4/7. In response, the Proteas found the going challenging as well, reaching the very modest target with 22 balls and six wickets to spare.
According to ESPNcricinfo, ten drop-in pitches were brought in for the World Cup in New York. Four were installed at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, while the other six were placed in a training facility 20 minutes away. There has been plenty of spice in the surfaces, causing widespread reaction among fans and players.
Nortje didn’t mind the conditions, stating that bowlers deserve a chance. Heinrich Klaasen, on the other hand, said “I don’t think it’s ideal for T20 cricket, but it’s still a good entertaining game.
“The margin for error for the bowlers is also not as big as you think. It’s not easy for the batters. It took like almost a mixture of Test cricket, one-day, batting-wise to get over the line. Luckily we didn’t chase 120. That would’ve been very interesting.”
Reactions to the New York pitch: Fans have their say
Criticism of the pitch and outfield:
Fans took to social media to express their displeasure at not only the New York pitch, but also the slow, sand-based outfield. It has certainly made for different viewing compared to the very high-scoring matches in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL).
In fact, there were 127 dot balls, the most ever in a men’s T20 World Cup match. It surpassed the 123 set by Namibia and Oman a day earlier.
Harsha Bhogle led the chorus, tweeting “Not sure this is the best introduction to cricket in a new land.”
In support of such pitches:
There were fans in support of the conditions. Their belief, which is a valid one, is that batters shouldn’t have it their own way all the time.
The next match on this ground will be between India and Ireland on Wednesday morning New York time.
India and Pakistan will meet on Sunday morning, June 9, at 10:30am New York time. Before then, Canada and Ireland will play on Friday June 7 followed by Netherlands and South Africa on June 8.
