AFG vs NZ: Greater Noida Stadium’s Future in Jeopardy as Javagal Srinath's Report Determines Venue's Fate; Consequences if ICC Rules Venue Unfit

New Delhi: The fate of Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports complex in Greater Noida hangs in the balance as match referee Javagal Srinath is currently evaluating the venue. The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand, scheduled to begin on September 9, has faced delays with no play taking place on the first two days. Both teams have been unable to take the field, leading to scrutiny of the facilities at the sports complex.

To start with, the ground did not have a proper drainage system, and the absence of adequate super sopper or enough ground cover to protect the outfield, or for that matter the lack of adequately trained ground staff, there are problems aplenty with this venue, which isn’t directly under the aegis of BCCI.

Although the venue comes logically under BCCI, but the home board is Afghanistan Cricket Board. In fact, the ACB selected familiar and cost-effective venue despite being offered the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and Green Park in Kanpur as options.

The BCCI isn’t involved in this Test match. It was the ACB’s choice and the Greater Noida Authority was supposed to provide them with international standard facilities. For the unknown, the BCCI hasn’t hosted any of its domestic games here since 2019 (Vijay Hazare Trophy) and is unlikely to host one in near or distant future in these substandard conditions.

As per the ICC ‘Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process’ that came into effect in November 2023, “After each Match, the Match Referee (Srinath in this case) will complete a Pitch and Outfield Report Form and send it to the ICC Senior Cricket Operations Manager.”

The ‘Pitch and Outfield Report Form’ will be compiled using the guidelines for rating pitches and outfields and, where required, will include comments on the pitch and outfield from the captains of the two teams who played and the umpires who officiated in the relevant match.

Within 14 days of receipt, the ICC senior cricket operations manager will forward the ‘Pitch and Outfield Report Form’ to the home board, with a copy to the visiting board. The ICC senior cricket operations manager will advise the home board on any demerit points that have been imposed on a host venue.

According to ICC clause, “If the conditions are such that the Match Referee has cause to rate the pitch and/or outfield Unsatisfactory or Unfit, a corresponding number of Demerit Points will be imposed upon the Host Venue as outlined in the guidelines for rating pitches and outfields.”

Demerit Points will remain active for a rolling five-year period. If the Greater Noida venue accumulates a total of six (6) or more demerit points, its accreditation to host international matches will be suspended for a period of 12 months.
However, if one goes through ICC rules, for a single Test match, if both pitch and outfield are deemed “unfit” by match referee, then it would get three demerit points and it would take one more such game to get the venue suspended.

With Agency Inputs