Kolkata: A raging pitch controversy may have taken centre stage ahead of the World Cup semi-finals but Australia skipper Pat Cummins Wednesday said they have “faith” in ICC and his team has not faced any issue so far in the ongoing tournament.
Hours before India’s highly anticipated semi-final against New Zealand at the Wankhede in Mumbai, reports emerged that the Indian cricket team management has sought a ‘slow pitch’ for the game.
“Yeah, I saw that (the report)… Obviously ICC have an independent pitch curator who manages that so I’m sure they are all over making sure it’s fair for both teams,” Cummins said ahead of their semifinal against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
“So far this tournament that we’ve played on, I’ve not seen any issue.”
According to the report, a fresh pitch was originally planned for the first semifinal but now it will be played on an “used” surface to assist the home team’s spinners, leading to pitch alteration.
The report also claimed that if India make the final in Ahmedabad, a slow pitch is expected at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera.
As per the ICC’s Playing Conditions for the World Cup, the host association is “responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch” and there is no requirement that a knockout fixture must be played on fresh pitches.
Incidentally, the pitch on offer for Thursday’s semi-final at the Eden Gardens is also an used surface and hosted the England-Pakistan group phase match.
The only stipulation in their Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process reads: “It is expected that venues that are allocated the responsibility of hosting a match will present the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for that match.”
There has not been any official complaint from the Kiwis as both the teams inspected the pitch on offer at the Wankhede from close quarters on the eve of the match.
PTI
