Queen's Park Oval, Kingsmead outfields "poor"

The outfields at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, and Kingsmead in Durban, have both earned a rating of "poor" by the match referees that oversaw Test matches where play was not possible despite no rain, the International Cricket Council revealed on Wednesday (August 24).

India and West Indies had an anticlimactic ending to their four-Test series, with the last match in Port of Spain witnessing play for just one truncated session on the first day and none at all on the next four days even though there was bright sunshine for large parts.

South Africa and New Zealand had a similarly frustrating experience, with no play after lunch on the second day despite the rain staying away.

Ranjan Madugalle and Andy Pycroft, the match referees in Port of Spain and Durban respectively, took a dim view of the quality of the outfields and expressed "their concerns over the quality of the outfields" in their reports to the ICC.

The reports have been forwarded to Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), who now have 14 days to provide their responses. CSA's response will be reviewed by Geoff Allardice, ICC's General Manager - Cricket, and Madugalle, while Allardice and David Boon, who is also part of the ICC panel of match referees, will assess the WICB's reply.

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Clause 4 of the ICC's pitch and outfield monitoring process states that for outfields or pitches rated "poor", the penalty for first-time offenders will be a warning and/or a fine of up to $US 15,000, along with a directive for appropriate corrective action.

Once a decision has been made on the rating of the pitch or outfield and a penalty decided, the ICC will inform the home board of it in writing. There is a process in place to appeal the decision, if the home board wants to, but a written notice of appeal setting out the grounds of the appeal must be lodged with the ICC within 24 hours of the receipt of the decision.

India's draw against West Indies meant they slipped from first to second in the Test rankings, ending the tour with a 2-0 series scoreline. The two teams will now face off in two Twenty20 Internationals in the United States of America on August 27 and 28. South Africa and New Zealand will head to Centurion for the second and final Test which will begin on August 27.