‘We treat all 10 teams equally’ – ICC

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has completely denied that they favour particular teams and provide ‘unfair’ pitches to some teams, in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England & Wales.

Former champions in 1996, Sri Lanka has officially submitted a complaint to ICC that the pitches which have been offered to them have not been up-to regular standards.

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Sri Lanka Team Manager Asantha De Mel, who is also the Chief Selector was the first to raise his voice against ICC’s sub-standards in preparing pitches.

“We are not happy with the pitches provided to us in the World Cup. Almost all of the games, we play have been on green tops, “ De Mel told ThePapare.com. “Even on the Oval surface, which we are supposed to play tomorrow against Australia, they have left plenty of grass. In the previous two games at the Oval, it wasn’t like that. They should maintain the same standards for all teams. “

Sri Lanka lost their first match to New Zealand badly on a greenish track in Cardiff and are now set to face the defending champions, Australia in their fifth game on Saturday at The Oval, on what’s looking like another green deck.

De Mel complains of mistreatment by ICC

Sri Lanka Cricket team manager and Chief Selector Ashantha de Mel has formally complained to ICC about the…

However, ICC in an official response reiterated that all the pitches prepared for the World Cup are overlooked by an independent advisor.

“We employ an independent pitch advisor to work with the host curators at all ICC events and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 is no different,” ICC said in a media release. “We are happy with the wickets that have been produced across the event so far in English conditions. At the heart of our planning is the philosophy that all ten teams are treated equally to enable them to have the best possible preparation for the event.”

When enquired about the matter before the Australia game, Sri Lanka Captain Dimuth Karunaratne maintained his stance that the pitches prepared in the World Cup must be fair to all ten teams.

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“I have already said that people expect entertainment from ODIs,” Karunaratne said. “They want 100-over games. If you take today’s game – between England and West Indies – it is a flat wicket, it is white in colour. If you take this Oval wicket, it is green. These are the things we weren’t expecting. Every wicket should be white-top. We want fair wickets. That’s all we want.”