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Will ICC Rate Manchester Pitch 'Unsatisfactory' After Horror Bounce On Day 1 Of ENG-SL Test?

Chandimal Wicket-(X.com)Chandimal Wicket-(X.com)

On Wednesday, August 21, the first Test between England and Sri Lanka kickstarted at Old Trafford, Manchester. The visitors, batting first, put 236 runs on the board. 

Sri Lanka were reduced to 113/7 at one point before skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and debutant Milan Rathnayake scored fifty-plus scores. 

The English bowlers were on point as Shoaib Bashir and Chris Woakes took three wickets each. Meanwhile, a few shocking scenes too marred play on day 1, as fans were shocked to see the uneven bounce at Manchester's surface. 

Notably, Bashir got rid of Dinesh Chandimal by trapping him in front of the wickets, but the ball hardly rose from the ground and the SL batter had no chance to bring the bat down in time. Fans are not used to seeing such scenes in England as the track also had turn and bounce, as seen in the subcontinent pitches.

Usually what happens is when tracks in India offer such uneven bounce, there is an uproar over the quality of the surface and it is the pitch that has to take the blame rather than the players. As seen during the 2023 Indore Test between India and Australia, the surface received a below-average rating because of low bounce.

Thus, it is to be seen whether the English media would cry or appeal to the ICC to rate the Manchester pitch used for the ongoing England- Sri Lanka match as 'unsatisfactory' because of low bounce. 

What Does ICC Regulations Say Regarding Preparing A Pitch

The ICC regulations for Test match pitches specify that: "It is acceptable for a pitch to offer some degree of turn on the first day of a match, particularly in the sub-continuent, though anything more than occasional unevenness of bounce at this stage of the match is not acceptable. It is to be expected that a pitch will turn steadily more as a match progresses, and it is recognised that a greater degree of unevenness of bounce may develop."

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The pitch used for India-Ireland game at the T20 World Cup 2024 has been rated unsatisfactory by the ICC because of uneven playing conditions.