PAK VS ENG: ICC Rates Rawalpindi Pitch For 1st Test 'Below Average'

Due to a 'below average' rating from the ICC, the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium received its second demerit point in 8 months.

Pakistan's captain Babar Azam (R) and head coach Saqlain Mushtaq (C) inspect the pitch ahead of their first cricket Test match against England, at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on November 30, 2022. ( Image Source :Aamir QURESHI / AFP )

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rated the pitch being used for the first Test match between Pakistan and England at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium as "below average." The first of the three-Test series was played between December 1-5 and was eventually won by the visiting team by 74 runs, thanks to a bold declarartion by England skipper Ben Stokes which followed some attacking brand of cricket from the Three Lions.

The Test saw England scoring over 500 runs in a single day of Test cricket in what as an absolute belter of a surface in Rawalpindi with no assistance for the bowlers. Following ICC's rating, the international cricket venue has received a demerit point, its second in eight months. Earlier when Pakistan had hosted Australia for a Test series, then too the pitch at Rawalpindi was rated "below average."

Pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match: ICC Elite Panel Match Referee

Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees made the evaluation wherein he found the pitch to be "below average." 

"It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler. That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals. The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match," he was quoted as saying in an official release by the ICC.  

"Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be “below average” as per the ICC guidelines," he added.

England take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series

After starting the series off with a win in Rawalpindi, the touring side went on to win the second Test inside 4 days. Even Pakistan had their chances in the Multan Test but eventually it was the Three Lions who went on to win the match by 26 runs. With the third and final match of the series in Karachi set to commence on December 17, England would want to go for the clean sweep but the home team would be determined to avoid the embarrassment and take a consolation win.