The ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2024 was hosted by both the USA and the West Indies. USA only hosted a part of the tournament while West Indies hosted group games, SUper 8s as well as the knockout stages of the tournament. India were triumphant in the final of the competition, defeating South Africa by the narrowest of margins.
BET NOW: Exclusive sign-up offers and bonuses when you bet on cricket action
Although the tournament proved to be highly successful, a couple of pitches that hosted important games in the competition were heavily criticized for not being up to the standards required to host such a prestigious competition. The ICC have recently given the rating ‘unsatisfactory’ to the pitches at fault.
READ MORE: Who will be LSG's new mentor? Zaheer Khan in talks to join Lucknow Supergiants
Which pitches were rated ‘unsatisfactory’ by the ICC?
The Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York was undoubtedly the pitch that was most criticized by fans, pundits and players alike. The Stadium was built in just five months to host the tournament, with the special soil imported from the Adelaide Oval in Australia to replicate similar conditions.
The first match that the stadium hosted saw Sri Lanka and South Africa lock horns against each other. Highly uneven bounce and slow outfield resulted in the Sri Lankan team getting bowled out for just 77 runs. In the second game at the venue between India and Ireland, the Irish were bowled out for 96 runs, while Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was hurt due to uneven bounce of the pitch.
READ MORE: Will Bangladesh host the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup?
Decorated cricketers like Andy Flower and Michael Vaughan even claimed that the pitch conditions were shocking and borderline dangerous.
The other pitch that was also rated ‘unsatisfactory’ by the ICC was the semi-final venue for the clash between Afghanistan and South Africa. Afghanistan were on a historic run in the tournament as they reached their first-ever semi-final event of a major tournament by defeating the likes of Australia and Bangladesh in the Super 8.
However, the below-par pitch conditions at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba resulted in the Afghanis getting bowled out for a mere 56 runs. Afghanistan’s head coach Jonathan Trott was highly critical of the pitch staging “That is not a pitch you play a semi-final on” after the match ended.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Learn more >