ICC revokes demerit point for Rawalpindi pitch after PCB appeal

Rawalpindi pitch (Source: Twitter)

After being rated 'below average' and later sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Rawalpindi pitch's demerit points have been revoked after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appealed to the world body.

The news was confirmed by the ICC who mentioned that demerit points were obtained by Rawalpindi after the conclusion of first Test between Pakistan and England where the latter win by a margin of 74 runs.

The sanctions did not went down well by the hosting country Pakistan who wrote back to ICC and demanded to have an in-depth review as a result was obtained.

ICC Elite Panel Match referee Andy Pycroft mentioned in his report that pitch wasn't enough conducive enough for the bowlers. The then PCB chairman Ramiz Raja himself wasn't satisfied with the behaviour of the track, terming it as "embarrassing". 

What Andy Pycroft said after the match

“It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler. That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals. The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be 'below average' as per the ICC guidelines." 

In a unanimous decision taken by the ICC appeal panel, the footage of the match was thoroughly reviewed, and it was found that the pitch didn't deserve the rating it was given, as 37 out of 39 wickets were scalped during the game.

Further, the cancellation of the demerit point meant that Rawalpindi is off the hook for getting suspended, as even one more point would have put things in jeopardy.

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