DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC- The Queen’s Park oval in Trinidad and Tobago runs the risk of being sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after its outfield was given a “poor” rating by match referees.
The ICC made the announcement in a release today after the fourth and final Test between West Indies and India finished in a farcical draw on the final day Monday.
Questions about the historic ground’s drainage system and mopping up operations have been raised after rain halted play just before lunch on last Thursday’s opening day and the action never resumed despite an abundance of sunshine.
The ICC release also announced that South Africa’s Kingsmead ground has also received a “poor” rating after the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand ended in a damp draw on Tuesday without a ball being bowled over the final three-and-a-half days due to a soggy outfield.
“The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that the outfields at Kingsmead, Durban, and Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, have been rated as “poor” by the match referees,” said the ICC release.
“Andy Pycroft and Ranjan Madugalle, both from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, in accordance with Clause 3 of the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, submitted their reports to the ICC in which they have expressed their concerns over the quality of the outfields”.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), like Cricket South Africa, has 14 days to respond to the match referees’ report.
The ICC says match referee David Bonn will assess the reply from the WICB which, on Tuesday, announced an investigation into the reasons for the poor condition of the outfield at the Queen’s Park oval.
ICC regulations state that the maximum punishment for a venue which incurs the “poor” rating for the first time is a US $15,000 fine, along with a warning and a directive for appropriate corrective action.
West Indies and India were able to play only one session across five days at the Queen’s Park Oval while 11 sessions out of 15 were lost to a soggy outfield at Kingsmead.