Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara has expressed his disappointment on the pitches provided for different teams at the ICC World Cup 2019, in a recent column he contributed to on Times of India.
Expressing his disappointment, Sangakkara wrote: “Uniform neutral pitches are a key requirement for a global tournament like this and that has unfortunately not always been the case. Sides have to adjust, but the disgruntled murmurs emanating from some team camps can be understood.”
Read More : The only way is the old-fashioned way; grind it out – Mahela
So far, few teams have had to compete on green tops while others have been playing on flat tracks at the ICC World Cup 2019. Sri Lanka team manager, Ashantha De Mel in fact has complained officially to the ICC, that his team has been given green tops at Cardiff and Bristol in a letter.
Further, the 41-year-old was also dissatisfied with the drainage system in different venues as as games have not been able to resume swiftly after rain breaks due to outfields remaining wet.
>>ICC Cricket World Cup 2019<<
“It’s obvious that drainage efficiency in the different venues varies greatly. In Bristol, we saw the game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka being called off in sunshine due to wet patches on the outfield while the match between England and West Indies in Southampton was played despite heavy rain throughout the week,” he explained.
Sangakkara also mentioned the practicality of covering the whole ground while raining, as it is done in Sri Lanka.
Read More : De Mel complains of mistreatment by ICC
“It’s a shame that it’s not practical to cover the entire playing area like is the norm in Sri Lanka. That effort requires huge manpower, but it has become something of an artform for us and helps protect cricket from some of the monsoonal downpours we have to contend with,” he added.
So far, 4 matches out of 24 in the ICC World Cup 2019 have been washed out, in Bristol, Southampton and Nottingham. It is definitely frustrating that a few teams don’t get to play the assigned fixtures in a showpiece event happens every four years, because of avoidable mishaps.
