New Zealand's tour of Bangladesh concluded recently with the two-match Test series ending in a draw. After going down by 150 runs in the opening Test, the Kiwis stunned the home side on a debatable Mirpur pitch and won the match by four wickets chasing down 137 runs thanks to Glenn Phillips' counterattacking knock.
The pitch, during the match itself, had come under the scanner as it was heavily favouring the bowlers. Perhaps, New Zealand skipper Tim Southee also called it the worst pitch ever he has played on in his career with no team even crossing the 180-run mark in four innings. Now the International Cricket Council (ICC) has rated the pitch in Mirpur as 'unsatisfactory' under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process. The venue - Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka - has also received one demerit point which will remain active for five-year rolling period.
Any venue that receives six demerit points in this timeframe is banned from hosting international cricket for 12 months. As for the Mirpur pitch, as many as 30 out of 36 wickets to fall were picked by spinners. The match referee, David Boon, submitted his report raising the concerns about the surface and post that, the ICC took the decision.
Boon, according to ICC, stated in his report that the bounce was inconsistent right through the match from the first session of the Test match. "The outfield was very good and held up extremely well with the rain. However, it appeared that the pitch may have been under prepared, as it was not hard and was covered in grass clippings on day one. From the first session onwards, throughout the remainder of the match the bounce was inconsistent with numerous balls bursting the surface. Deliveries from spin bowlers often went over the batter's shoulder when playing forward and then occasionally stayed very low," the report read.
