The International Cricket Council has termed the last-minute change of pitch for the India-New Zealand semi-final at the Wankhede as “common” practice.
The governing body clarified that the switch was on the recommendation of the curator at the Wankhede. It has been alleged that the home team management forced the change by speaking to the authorities concerned from Bangalore where they played their last league match against the Netherlands. The semi-final line-up was finalised during their stay in Bangalore.
The Telegraph understands that the match was supposed to be played on a fresh wicket but was changed to an adjacent one where two matches had already taken place during the round-robin phase.
The ICC released a statement during the India innings saying the change was not unusual.
“Changes to planned pitch rotations are common towards the end of an event of this length, and has already happened a couple of times. This change was made on the recommendation of the venue curator in conjunction with our host. The ICC independent pitch consultant was apprised of the change and has no reason to believe the pitch won’t play well,” the ICC said.
According to the playing conditions for the World Cup, the relevant “ground authority” is “responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch”.
The ICC also has an independent pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson, who works alongside the local groundstaff at each of the venues.
The playing conditions do not state that knockout fixtures must be played on fresh pitches.
