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The surface at Newlands in Cape Town, which hosted the
New Year’s Test between South Africa and India, received a
“unsatisfactory” rating and one penalty point from the ICC.
Cricket South Africa has declared that it will not
appeal the sentence, describing the surface evaluation as “fair”
according to an official.
It was the quickest result Test in the history of the
game, with India winning by seven wickets in less than five sessions and 642
balls. Neither side bowled a ball with spin, and fast bowlers dominated the
match, extracting seam movement and inconsistent bounce with both new and old
balls.
ICC match referee Chris Broad handed out the
“unsatisfactory” rating after consulting with captains Dean Elgar and
Rohit Sharma, both of whom, according to an ICC release, felt the pitch
“was below standard”.
“The pitch in Newlands was very difficult to bat
on,” Broad said. “The ball bounced quickly and sometimes alarmingly
throughout the match, making it difficult to play shots. Several batters were
hit on the gloves and many wickets also fell due to the awkward bounce.”
Pitches and outfields are rated very excellent,
satisfactory, poor, or unfit under the ICC’s monitoring system. Venues
receiving an unsatisfactory rating receive one demerit point, and those
receiving an unfit rating receive three penalty points.
Merit points are valid for a five-year rolling term.
If a location receives six demerit points, it will be barred from hosting
international cricket matches for a full year; if it reaches the 12-point mark,
it will be barred for a full year.