The ICC approved the surfaces Pakistan produced for the recently finished three-Test series against England, calling the pitches “satisfactory” for all three Tests.
The constructed pitches attracted a lot of attention during the series, which Pakistan won 2-1. The wicket seemed incredibly flat during the first Test, as Pakistan scored 556 before England amassed 827 for 7, the greatest total ever scored in Pakistan and the fourth-highest in Test cricket history. Halfway through the fourth day of the Test, with the second innings still unfinished, Pakistan’s collapse in the third innings was the only thing that forced a result that had seemed improbable.
Pakistan drastically altered their approach to pitch preparation after that innings loss. For the second Multan Test, a new selection committee including Aleem Dar and Aqib Javed chose to use the same field, drying it up using enormous fans. The grounds crew also used large fans and wedding-style heaters with windbreaks to assist in breaking up the surface during the preparations for the third Test in Rawalpindi, a location that has traditionally taken minimal spin.
With their sharp, early turn and irregular bounce, both strips were very helpful to spinners, and all 40 of England’s wickets in the previous two Test matches fell to spin. On the morning of the fourth day, Pakistan emerged victorious in the second Test, while the Pindi Test failed to reach lunchtime on the third day.
On a scale of very excellent to unfit, the ICC assigns ratings to all international games’ pitches and outfields: very good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, and unsuitable. Venues that receive an unsatisfactory rating receive one demerit point, while those that receive an unsuitable rating receive three. A governing body bars a stadium from hosting any international cricket for a whole year if it accumulates five or more demerit points during a five-year rolling period.
Later that year, it received another demerit point and the same grade for the Test match against England.
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