The fate of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida, which is under scrutiny after the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand failed to start on consecutive days, will be decided in large part by match referee Javagal Srinath’s report on the facility’s readiness.
For once, the issue isn’t the fault of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which frequently ends up as the favorite whipping boy. The Afghanistan Cricket Board is the ‘home board’ and, although they were provided the option of Green Park in Kanpur or Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, they opted for a familiar and affordable location.
This Test match does not include the BCCI. The Greater Noida Authority was expected to offer the Afghanistan Cricket Board with facilities of an international caliber, but it was their decision.
If sources are to be believed, the BCCI is unlikely to organize a domestic match in the near or far future under current unfavorable conditions, having not hosted one since 2019 (Vijay Hazare Trophy).
For example, the International Cricket Council (ICC) would adhere to the established practice at any international location when the match referee’s report determines the next course of action.
There was not a single ball that could be bowled in the first two days, and since there was a continuous deluge on Tuesday night, there was less likelihood of play on the third day. Srinath will need to evaluate the ground’s drainage system, which is not up to par with other international locations.
Two days were filled with brilliant sunshine, but the previous evening’s intense downpour was enough to ruin the plans.
There exist several issues with this venue, which is not directly managed by BCCI, including as the lack of a sufficient super sopper, insufficient ground cover to safeguard the outfield, and insufficiently educated ground workers.
“After each Match, the Match Referee (Srinath in this case) will complete a Pitch and Outfield Report Form and send it to the ICC Senior Cricket Operations Manager,” states the ICC “Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process,” which went into force in November 2023.
The “Pitch and Outfield Report Form” will be created utilizing the criteria for grading pitches and outfields. If necessary, it will also contain feedback on the pitch and outfield from the umpires who adjudicated the pertinent match as well as the captains of the two participating teams.
It will be interesting to see what remarks Tim Southee, the skipper for New Zealand, makes.
The ‘Pitch and Outfield Report Form’ will be sent to the host board and copied to the visiting board by the ICC senior cricket operations manager within 14 days of receipt.
Any demerit points assessed on a host venue will be communicated to the home board by the ICC Senior Cricket Operations Manager.
According to ICC rule, “If the conditions are such that the Match Referee has cause to rate the pitch and/or outfield Unsatisfactory or Unfit, a corresponding number of Demerit Points will be imposed upon the Host Venue as outlined in the guidelines for rating pitches and outfields.”
For a rolling five-year term, Demerit Points will be valid.
The Greater Noida venue’s accreditation to hold international matches will be suspended for a whole year if it receives six (6) or more penalty points.
However, according to ICC regulations, if the match referee declares the pitch and outfield to be “unfit” for a single Test match, the venue will receive three demerit points, and it will take another match of this kind for it to be suspended.
Therefore, it will be up to the Afghanistan Cricket Board to decide if they want to keep holding games at this location, which may soon have to close owing to inadequate infrastructure.
The local government are unable to undertake a massive makeover, and they would require the BCCI’s substantial financial resources to at least transform it into a respectable domestic site.
