ICC launches Galle pitch investigation

Sri Lankan cricket officials have been asked to explain the dusty, sub-standard pitch prepared for last week’s first Test in Galle, won by Australia by 125 runs.

 

The International Cricket Council announced an inquiry on Monday after considering the report from match referee Chris Broad of England who described the pitch as poor.

 

ICC cricket manager David Richardson and chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle will now consider all the evidence, including video footage of the match and submissions from the hosts.

 

Rival captains Michael Clarke and Tillakaratne Dilshan slammed the dry wicket after play finished.

 

Clarke, celebrating his first win as Australia captain, said he had never played on a tougher pitch.

 

“Day one felt like day five out there,” Clarke said.

 

“I hate to see a Test match being determined by the toss. It was obviously prepared for their spin bowlers and that backfired. I guess I was just fortunate I won the toss.”

 

Dilshan said he had not expected to play on such a dry surface.

 

“Usually, the wicket in Galle is good for both the seamers and the spinners, but I think it was too dry and made batting difficult,” he said.

 

In his latest entry in his Sri Lanka Tour Diary, Australia vice captain Shane Watson also expressed surprise at the standard of the pitch.

 

However Watson says Australia would have still won the match even if they had been forced to bat second.

 

“In my whole cricket career, I have never played on a wicket quite like what we had in Galle,” he wrote.

 

“Even two days out from the Test starting, the pitch looked like we should have started a few days beforehand. This meant that the toss of the coin was going to be very crucial to the result of the match. Luckily, Michael called correctly which meant we got the best of the conditions. By the start of day two, the footmarks had turned into a sandpit full of fine dry dirt.

 

“Even though the wicket was very helpful to all of our bowlers we still had to bowl well and we certainly did that. In the end, these extreme conditions didn’t work in the Sri Lankans favour so I am sure now we will get much different conditions in Kandy for our second Test.”

 

The second Test starts at the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy on Thursday, AFP reports.