I find the ICC ruling on pitch standards a trifle worrying. It could well turn out to be just a measure to ensure that sub standard, one-sided or pitches that are plain dangerous aren’t found anymore (which is what its purpose should be).
According to the ICC's parameters, the perfect pitch for Test cricket should
have "good carry, limited seam movement and consistent bounce throughout, little
or no turn on the first two days but natural wear sufficient to be responsive to
spin later in the game."
It’s the way it is worded that puts me off a bit; it defines how a ‘good’ pitch should be. In my mind, the ICC need only define what is a not good pitch. As long as a strip meets those conditions, there should be no further interference. A good pitch in cricket can mean many different things and I just hope the ICC has the purpose of this pitch ‘standardisation’ sorted out clearly. Next thing you know they’ll want standardise the cloud cover.
In other irritations, this overdose of cricket is becoming truly maddening. A glance at the ICC’s FTP for the next six years, and you’ll see a liberal dosage of 7 match ODI series- especially involving India. Some of the statistics regarding free days/weeks and playing days in a year are startling. I can see the most ardent fan just tiring of endless, relatively meaningless matches.
And what do they do in the midst of this debate? They issue a curt gag on the Indian vice-captain. Bah!
