New York pitch at T20 World Cup: What is wrong with the surfaces at Nassau County International Stadium?

New York’s Nassau County International Stadium has come under criticism during the ongoing T20 World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States of America and West Indies. USA are hosting their first-ever major international cricket tournament, but certain things have not gone down with players and fans alike.

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The pitch at the Nassau County Stadium on Wednesday received backlash from cricket experts after Ireland were bowled out for 96 after being put to bat by India. India’s run chase, though, was not a comfortable one either, with Rohit Sharma having been hit on the arm before retiring hurt during the chase, shortly after the skipper got to his fifty.

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What are the problems with the pitch at the Nassau County Stadium?

The pitches that are being used at the Nassau County Stadium are drop-in pitches. These pitches have been transported all the way from Adelaide in Australia and were prepared in Florida, before being installed at the venue. Earlier in May, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had confirmed that a total of 10 Tahoma grass drop-in pitches were made in Florida.

Outfield and uneven bounce

The outfield is made of Kentucky bluegrass in New Jersey and placed atop sand. As a result, the pitch tends to offer a lot of pace and bounce which eventually makes it difficult for the batters to score and tackle the short-pitched bowling.

In fact, Wednesday was not the first instance when a team was bowled out for a low score, below 100. Sri Lanka, too, suffered a dramatic collapse against South Africa, being bowled out for 77 after Anrich Nortje’s four-fer.

In reply, the Proteas did not have it easy, and the batters were made to sweat before Heinrich Klaasen (19*) and David Miller (6*) took them home with six wickets and just 22 balls to spare.

Boundary size

Apart from slow outfield, the size of the boundaries are shorter with the stadium following ICC’s guidelines for the boundaries. The size of boundaries at both ends are 65m and 75m, and the straight boundary is 71m. As per ICC guidelines, the shortest boundary should not be less than 60m and the longest not more than 82m.

While the stadium in New York does abide by this rule, the slow nature of the outfield has made it difficult for batters to score boundaries.

There have also been concerns with regards to the pitches at the training nets facility in Cantiague Park, with Team India even reportedly unhappy with “average” training facilities.

Citing injury worries, South Africa batters had recently opted for throwdowns instead of facing their bowlers as well as local net bowlers.

Daljit Singh, a former BCCI pitch curator, had slammed the “poor” condition of the pitches in New York. “It is a poor pitch. Drop-in pitch needs to be installed well in advance. To create density, you need to play on it and use different rollers and then increase the density,” Daljit had told news agency PTI.