Afghanistan Fiasco Spells End For Noida Venue? India Pace Great May Decide

Match referee Javagal Srinath's report on the preparedness of Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports complex in Greater Noida will go a long way in deciding the fate of the venue which is under the scanner after the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand failed to get underway on successive days. For once, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which often becomes the favourite whipping boy, isn't responsible for the mess. The 'home board' is the Afghanistan Cricket Board, which selected a 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 Afghanistan Cricket Board's choice and the Greater Noida Authority was supposed to provide them with international standard facilities.

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, if sources are to be believed.

The ICC, for one, would follow the standard protocol for any given international venue where the match referee's report decide the further course of action.

Not a single ball could be bowled in the first two days and with a steady downpour on Tuesday evening reducing the chances of play on third day, Srinath will have to assess the drainage conditions of the ground, which are not at par with other international venues.

There was bright sunshine across two days but one heavy spell of shower, in the preceding evening, was enough to play spoilsport.

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.

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.

It will be interesting to note the kind of comments given by New Zealand skipper Tim Southee.

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.

The onus will thus be on the Afghanistan Cricket Board to see whether they would want to continue hosting matches at such a venue, which could get suspended in near future due to its poor infrastructure.

A facelift of gigantic proportions can't be done by the local authorities and they would need the BCCI's deep pockets to make it at least a palatable domestic venue.