Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has been handed one demerit point by the ICC (International Cricket Council).
It was determined to be “below average” and is the second demerit point for the venue. Previously the same instance occurred when Pakistan played Australia in March.
Demerit points are significant because if a venue accumulates five demerit points, they can be suspended for a year. If ten are accumulated, the suspension is two years. Demerit points are active for a rolling five-year period.
“It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler. That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals,” said Andy Pycroft from the governing body's elite panel of match referees.
“The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be ‘below average' as per the ICC guidelines.”
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ramiz Raja was very displeased with the pitch. He described the pitch as “embarrassing” and determined it was “not a good advert for cricket”.
England smashed records with high strike rates and centuries with four of their top five batters scoring over 100 runs. A whopping 657 total from England was then met with 579 from Pakistan, with three of the top four batters scoring over 100 runs.
England went on to win the match by 74 runs. England have the series wrapped up but play an inconsequential final match on December 17 starting 4pm AEDT.
