KING CITY PITCH IN TORONTO RATED AS ‘UNSATISFACTORY’

Media release

The pitch used for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 match between the United States of America and the Netherlands at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City, Toronto, on Monday has been rated as “Unsatisfactory” and the venue has received one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

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

Mr. Thompson said: “This was a pitch that fell below the standard expected for this level of cricket. Both captains expressed disappointment with how it turned out, and the match officials assessed it as ‘very poor’. The inconsistent bounce created challenging and potentially unsafe playing conditions. Taking all factors into consideration, I believe the pitch merits an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating.”

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

There are no previous demerit points for the venue,

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.