Cricket might be a gentleman’s game involving a Bat and Ball, but the result of the game is the culmination of a multiple number of factors and not only the action of the batters and bowlers. To speak elaborately, several factors like weather, ground, pitch, dew all these are responsible for determining which team would win or lose. Among all these however, pitch is the most important determinant of the game.
The Pitch condition is something which everyone takes into consideration, be it a live cricket match or be it fantasy cricket. As we all know, fantasy sports depends on the real life sport so in order to play fantasy cricket you one also needs to study the pitch thoroughly before the start of the match to determine which player to chose for his team. The game is most impacted by the nature of the surface of the ground. Due to this although, in order to make the play more comfortable to the players pitches all over the world has been converted into being a flatter surface, nonetheless there are still some grounds that are the nightmares of many players. Here is a list of 5 deadly Cricket pitches from around the world:
- Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo:
This is one of the most problematic stadium where the ground itself is unpredictable. It happened especially during a warm-up match between India and Sri Lanka where in contrast to the first two days when the match was normal the third day became a tough day for the batsmen as the ball was bouncing at the most weird fashion.
Here is what happened in the match against the Sri Lankan Board XI at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium (also known as the Colombo Oval). The first two days were trouble free and the Sri Lankan Board XI managed to get 326 runs on the board before being bowled out. However, on the third day, the bounce became quite odd and the ball rose almost to the shoulder level even from good length! The match was then called off just after 0.2 overs of the third day and the umpires stated that the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium pitch was not fit for play and was dangerous.
2. WACA(Western Australia cricket association), Perth:
This is another notorious pitch that where in every delivery the ball gets blessed with an extra jump. Here the players have to play out of their skins to score in the match. Moreover what more adds to the misery is batting first or second hardly matters in this ground. It is believed that the problem is in the clay of the ground. Earlier in 2000 an interstate match had to be suspended when umpires decided the pitch was too dangerous to proceed.
- Sabina Park, Jamaica:
What festers this stadium is the unevenness of the surface that results in an inconsistent bounce. Moreover there are cracks on the ground that ultimately leaves the stadium to be too dangerous to play. However, what left the ground in such a sorry state was sheer ignorance as even the best of pitches if ignored by the ground staff become a graveyard for the batsmen.
During that Test match in 1998 between West Indies and England, many were left bruised due to the sorry state of the pitch.
- Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi:
Although Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi hosts and has been hosting many matches, but that couldn’t deny the fact that, it is one of the most controversial ground that exists as it has been deemed too dangerous for playing. The hosts of criticism began in 2009. The fifth and final ODI of a series against Sri Lanka which India had already won was called off after the pitch was deemed too dangerous for play. The pitch was later classified as unfit in the match referees report and handed a 12 month ban by the ICC. Run by the DDCA and founded way back in 1883 this was a blot on the the ground’s celebrated history.
Although, this happened to be the same ground where Anil Kumble once routed the Pakistanis to become the second bowler after Jim Laker, to take 10 wickets in a Test innings. Yet it remains till date the most criticised venue.
- Kingsmead, Durban:
This is undoubtedly the fastest pitch in South Africa and probably the second fastest in the world after Perth. . Playing here even South Africa are not privilege to the home advantage as even military medium quicks (like from India) extract plenty and trouble the strong South African batting line up.