KING CITY PITCH IN TORONTO RATED AS ‘UNFIT’

Media release

The pitch used for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 match between Canada and the Netherlands at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City, Toronto, on Tuesday has been rated as “Unfit” and the venue has received three demerit points under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

The venue now has four demerit points, having got an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating last week for the match between the United States of America and the Netherlands.

Match Referee Phil Thompson submitted his report expressing concerns of the match officials and both captains.

Mr. Thompson said: “It was clear from the first over that the pitch was going to be a major issue. There were several occasions when the batters got hit due to the variable bounce. It is not the kind of pitch international matches should be played on.

“I was in full support of the umpires and both captains and coaches, all of whom felt the pitch was dangerous and someone could have got seriously hurt if the match continued. The match was duly stopped, and the pitch deserves an ‘unfit’ rating.

The report has been forwarded to Cricket Canada, and they have 14 days to appeal against the sanction.

The media release from the earlier sanction on the venue is available here.

NOTES TO EDITORS

• As per the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, which is available on the ICC Rules and Regulations page here, if a pitch or outfield is rated as being substandard, that venue will be allocated a number of demerit points.

• One demerit point will be awarded to venues whose pitches are rated by the match referees as ‘Unsatisfactory’, while three demerit points will be awarded to venues whose pitches are marked as ‘Unfit’.

• Demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period.

When a venue accumulates six demerit points (or crosses that threshold), it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months, while a venue will be suspended from staging any international cricket for 24 months when it reaches the threshold of 12 demerit points