The surfaces prepared by Pakistan for the recently concluded three-Test series against England have been approved by the ICC, which termed the pitch for all three Tests as “satisfactory”.
The series, which Pakistan won 2–1, attracted wide attention for the pitches that were prepared. In the first Test, the surface appeared remarkably flat, with Pakistan scoring 556 before England scored 827 for 7 declared, the highest total ever made in Pakistan, and the fourth highest in the history of Test cricket. It was only a third-innings collapse from Pakistan that forced a result that had seemed highly unlikely when the second innings, halfway through the fourth day of the Test, was not yet finished.
After that innings defeat, Pakistan radically changed their pitch preparation philosophy. A new selection committee that included Aleem Dar and Aqib Javed decided to reuse the same surface for the second Multan Test, using giant fans to dry out the pitch. Preparation for the third Test in Rawalpindi – a venue that has historically taken some spin – also involved large fans as well as wedding-style heaters with windbreaks to help break up the surface.
Both strips gave spinners plenty of help, with sharp and early turns as well as uneven bounce, and all 40 of England’s wickets in the last two Tests fell to spin. Pakistan won the second Test on the morning of day four, while the Pindi Test did not even make it to lunch on day three.
There was little public complaint from England and Pakistan maintained they were within their rights to prepare surfaces that gave them home advantage after their chastening defeat on a flat pitch in the first Test. The ICC appears to have accepted this view, giving each of the strips the lowest rating that does not amount to a vote of no confidence.
The ICC rates pitches and outfields for all international games on a scale from very good to unsuitable: very good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory and unsuitable. Venues are awarded one point for an unsatisfactory rating and three for an unsuitable rating. If a ground receives five or more deerit points in a rolling five-year period, it is suspended from hosting international cricket for 12 months.
This was the third Test in a row at Pindi where the pitch was examined. In March 2022, the surface was given a rating of “below average” on the scale used by the ICC at the time, and given a point where something is lacking. It was given the same rating for the Test against England later that year and awarded another demerit point, although this was later overturned on appeal.
