England secured a brilliant 74-run win over Pakistan in the historic three-match Test series in Rawalpindi on the last day on December 05 (Monday). Courtesy of some exceptional captaincy by Ben Stokes, who maneuvered his bowling options on a dull pitch without any bounce to perfection as the Englishmen broke Pakistan's resilience in the final hour of Day 5 to take a 1-0 lead upon their return to the Asian nation after 17 years.
The Rawalpindi Test saw four English batter notch centuries on the first day while numerous batting records tumbled throughout the course of the game. The main reason why batters ruled the roost was that bowlers (fast or spin) had next to no assistance from a 'flat' pitch.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja himself didn't mince words and deemed the Rawalpindi strip 'embarrassing'. Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees Andy Pycroft echoed Raja's analysis and on December 13 (Tuesday) termed the Rawalpindi pitch 'below average'.
"It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler," Pycroft said in a release by International Cricket Council (ICC).
"That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals. The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be 'below average' as per the ICC guidelines," he added.
This is for the second time in succession that the Rawalpindi track has been deemed below average. After a Test match between Pakistan and Australia earlier in the year in March, the Rawalpindi pitch received a similar rating.
After receiving back-to-back demerit points, Rawalpindi is now in danger to be suspended for a period of one year. According to the law, a venue will lose the right to host international matches for one year if it receives five demerit points during the five-year rolling period.
