PCB appeal against ICC's ruling to award demerit point for Rawalpindi pitch used against England

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appealed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the decision to award a demerit point to the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

The venue in Rawalpindi, which hosted the first Test between England and Pakistan in December 2022, was rated 'below average' by match referee Andy Pycroft following a high-scoring encounter.

The rather lifeless pitches, which have been synonymous with Pakistan's tracks of late, led to England scoring 506-4 on Day 1, the highest tally of runs scored on the first day of a Test. England eventually won the game by 74 runs following a bold declaration on Day 4.

Following the culmination of the Test, match referee Andy Pycroft, after consultation with on-field officials, gave the pitch a 'below average' rating.

The venue received the same rating after producing a similar surface during the first Test against Australia in March 2022, a contest that ended in a tame draw. Pycroft wrote in his report:

"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."

Former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja, who was at the helm during the series, admitted that the state of the pitch was embarrassing, more so considering that the chairman is a former cricketer himself. He told reporters:

"It is embarrassing for us, especially when you have a cricketer as chairman. This is not a good advert for cricket. We're a better cricketing nation than this."

The eventual ruthless 3-0 whitewash by England led to the sacking of Raja on December 21.

---

The appeal marks among Najam Sethi-led PCB's first courses of action in the new era

Ramiz Raja was replaced by a 14-man committee led by former chairman Najam Sethi on an interim basis.

The new committee announced its authority by scrapping the existing system in place and even replacing the Mohammad Wasim-led selection panel with a new one led by former skipper Shahid Afridi.

According to the ICC guidelines, a venue will be banned from hosting matches for a 12-month period should it amass five demerit points in the span of five years. The Pindi Cricket Stadium has already accumulated two merit points across the two Tests it hosted in 2022.

Pakistan have had a horrid home season, where they suffered a 3-0 whitewash against England and scraped through a 0-0 draw against New Zealand.

A 1-0 series loss in March 2022 against Australia at home meant that the Men in Green ended the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle without a single home win, much to the chagrin of the PCB.

Will the ICC reverse the decision on the basis of the appeal by the PCB? Let us know what you think.

---