Pakistani pitches are an absolute disgrace

[kingusama92]

Credit to Ramiz and the curator for creating the perfect road.

 

[msb314]

Not only is the pitch a flat pancake, the umpires really need to use some common sense to make a match of it. There have been overturned decisions and near misses due to umpires call. The umpires in these type of matches should give the benefit of doubt to the bowler so the umpire call goes the bowlers way for marginal decisions.

Bring some semblance of balance back

How will on field umpires know it is “umpires call”? They are making their decision if it’s out or not.

And the third umpire has to follow the rules and not give benefit of doubt to anyone

 

[msb314]

The Rawalpindi curator, PCB and management have done something I never thought was possible.

They've united everyone on PP in disgust

Not me - I’ll wait until the end of Day 5 to decide how good / bad this pitch was.

 

[topspin]

Not only the pitches, just look at the state of the grounds. We have shaadi chairs in place of actual seating

Even on a historic occasion, given that this is England's first test in Pakistan for 17 years, we still can't sort this out.

I was looking at that Rado clock as well, you could see cracks next to it. Just a simple paint job could've covered those up.

State of the pitches, stadiums and outfield make Pakistan by far the worst place for international cricket. It's just a complete a eye sore.

 

[Bewal Express]

Look at it another way. Both Australia and England have liked them.

 

[shamaan]

Tbis pitch should still be rated poor.

 

[Mamoon]

There would be a massacre in this thread if Multan & Karachi had flat wickets & Pakistan would have lost. Ramiz would get attacked left, right & center for handicapping Pakistan.

Two good wickets & Pakistan got outclassed. What happened now? Everyone is avoiding this thread like a plague, but I never forget.

Another reality-check for deluded fans who will cling onto any excuse that would help them avoid the reality that Pakistan is a nothing team & the pitches have played zero part in the defeats to Australia & England.

 

[James]

The only rubbish bin level pitch was Rawalpindi.

Multan and Karachi have been fairly decent standard Test match pitches and produced good contests over 4 days or so.

Karachi I think has been the best of the lot.

 

[MenInG]

Wasim Akram on the subject:

"The reason for this is the fear of losing. We have to lose and win, but we should not be afraid. I do not say that (prepare) Green Top pitches but must have a little bounce, batting for two days, should turn on the third and fourth day,"

 

[TheSultan]

How will on field umpires know it is “umpires call”? They are making their decision if it’s out or not.

And the third umpire has to follow the rules and not give benefit of doubt to anyone

I’m saying the on field umpire on such flat pitches should give marginal calls to the bowling side. If he thinks it’s clipping leg stump but not sure, give it out.

 

[MenInG]

Ijaz Ahmed on Pakistan pitches:

“We in Pakistan [domestic circuit and home international series] are not producing fine-quality cricket, mainly due to the playing conditions which do not allow development of our players for top-level international competitions"

“Most of the pitches used [for domestic and international matches] are slow and dead which [indirectly] hinder our batters’ endeavours to improve their skills. And when they play on fast, bouncy and seaming surfaces in countries like Australia, South Africa and England they badly struggle.

“In the UAE also, Pakistan [after the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore] kept on playing their home series on sluggish tracks for several years. Again, it was just survival, it did no good to equip Pakistan cricketers with the skills required to win cut-throat international contests elsewhere around the world"

 

[MenInG]

Ijaz Ahmed on Pakistan pitches:

“We in Pakistan [domestic circuit and home international series] are not producing fine-quality cricket, mainly due to the playing conditions which do not allow development of our players for top-level international competitions"

“Most of the pitches used [for domestic and international matches] are slow and dead which [indirectly] hinder our batters’ endeavours to improve their skills. And when they play on fast, bouncy and seaming surfaces in countries like Australia, South Africa and England they badly struggle.

“In the UAE also, Pakistan [after the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore] kept on playing their home series on sluggish tracks for several years. Again, it was just survival, it did no good to equip Pakistan cricketers with the skills required to win cut-throat international contests elsewhere around the world"

 

[Saj]

I thought PCB had consultants in to help with the pitches?

No doubt wasted a fortune on them and there has been no improvement.

 

[Bewal Express]

Bar the few matches where Andy Atkinson prepared decent wickets, this is problem that goes back decades. We got away with it when he had bowlers that offered either pace, swing and decent spin. We have none of of those atm and thats why we cant take 20 wickets

 

[sweep_shot]

Flat pitches are unlikely to trouble SENA countries because they have better batters than Pakistan.

Pakistan should either produce juicy fast bowling pitches or spin pitches.

 

[Sidilicious]

Pakistani curators, are you taking notes from the Nagpur pitch?

 

[MP2011]

Pakistan missed great chance to win 3 test series, yeah 3 test series due to pitches. May be, they'd have been in WTC finals by now!

Let that sink in.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistani curators, are you taking notes from the Nagpur pitch?

You are missing a point here.

Indian bowlers are very good.

 

[Sidilicious]

You are missing a point here.

Indian bowlers are very good.

Its not about winning or losing. Its about better cricket for those watching on TV and on the grounds. Even if the scorecard was the other way round with Aussies doing better (and it could have been had Rohit not scored a 100 and Smith Labu partnership batted for another session) this match would have been a better spectacle than the 8 horrendous matches we witnessed last year in Pakistan.

 

[Savak]

India's pace and spin bowling attack is miles ahead of Pakistan's. Getting 20 wickets is what wins you games ultimately.

The fact that Pakistan's top spin mystery bowler from Domestic Cricket was neutralized after one bowling innings by the opposition should tell you everything about how pedestrian our bowling attack is.

 

[ElRaja]

India's pace and spin bowling attack is miles ahead of Pakistan's. Getting 20 wickets is what wins you games ultimately.

The fact that Pakistan's top spin mystery bowler from Domestic Cricket was neutralized after one bowling innings by the opposition should tell you everything about how pedestrian our bowling attack is.

the kid bowled too much, he had no support, on dead pitches. spinners need 15, 20 tests to learn the game at the top level.

but u are right, overall indias bowling attack is significantly superior, with jaddu and ashwin, they have virtually a 12 man xi.

however matters are worsened by paks lack of strategy, management and general intelligence. the lack of planning and cohesion from the top down was appalling and embarrassing.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Its not about winning or losing. Its about better cricket for those watching on TV and on the grounds. Even if the scorecard was the other way round with Aussies doing better (and it could have been had Rohit not scored a 100 and Smith Labu partnership batted for another session) this match would have been a better spectacle than the 8 horrendous matches we witnessed last year in Pakistan.

Exactly this.
Ultimately, the sport exists to entertain fans.
I would take this Nagpur pitch any day over the roads in Pakistan.
In the past, some of the most entertaining matches were low scoring games on seaming wickets at places like Headingly.

The Indian bowlers were indeed very good but Smith and Labuschagne are also hardly average players.

 

[Saj]

Too much cricket perhaps on the same pitches perhaps is the problem.

Groundstaff probably struggling to properly prepare the surfaces.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Kookaburra does not work on Asian pitches. Pak should opt for something else.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Kookaburra does not work on Asian pitches. Pak should opt for something else.

You need skill to use that. I thought Ollie Robinson looked very good. The way he set batsmen up was really nice. Using the width of the crease effectively he created good angles.

 

[zarak]

India's pace and spin bowling attack is miles ahead of Pakistan's. Getting 20 wickets is what wins you games ultimately.

The fact that Pakistan's top spin mystery bowler from Domestic Cricket was neutralized after one bowling innings by the opposition should tell you everything about how pedestrian our bowling attack is.

It is the lack of spinners that is killing us. Our pacers would still be able to compete with India. With time the likes of Shaheen and Naseem will do well. But there is no comparing our spin attack with theirs.

I think Pakistani pacers look better than Indian pacers in terms of aesthetics and bowling technique. But, Indian pacers are very very good with their skill and tactics and perform much better than ours. Hope we can bridge the gap.

 

[Savak]

It is the lack of spinners that is killing us. Our pacers would still be able to compete with India. With time the likes of Shaheen and Naseem will do well. But there is no comparing our spin attack with theirs.

I think Pakistani pacers look better than Indian pacers in terms of aesthetics and bowling technique. But, Indian pacers are very very good with their skill and tactics and perform much better than ours. Hope we can bridge the gap.

Not convinced Pakistani pacers are any better. Indian pacers can bowl long spells, they can bowl with discipline for long time periods, they know how to use both the new ball and old ball. Our pacers in comparison are only good for T-20 and ODI Cricket.

 

[mohan11]

It is the lack of spinners that is killing us. Our pacers would still be able to compete with India. With time the likes of Shaheen and Naseem will do well. But there is no comparing our spin attack with theirs.

I think Pakistani pacers look better than Indian pacers in terms of aesthetics and bowling technique. But, Indian pacers are very very good with their skill and tactics and perform much better than ours. Hope we can bridge the gap.

Lol... just compare your pacer's performance in Australia with us.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Not convinced Pakistani pacers are any better. Indian pacers can bowl long spells, they can bowl with discipline for long time periods, they know how to use both the new ball and old ball. Our pacers in comparison are only good for T-20 and ODI Cricket.

Why go there. Ollie Robinson was very good on those roads. Terrific skill set.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Don't think there is any pitch on which Pakistan can consistently beat ENG or OZ. Just don't have the talent to beat those sides regardless of pitches used.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Don't think there is any pitch on which Pakistan can consistently beat ENG or OZ. Just don't have the talent to beat those sides regardless of pitches used.

Test match bowling requires setting up skills. Ability to bowl the unexpected stuffs.

 

[topspin]

I have no doubt in my mind Babar Azam ordered these awful wickets and Ramiz approved his request.

 

[Firebat]

We produced pitches that supported batting and bowling and provided perfect setting for evenly contested matches. Never before we saw as many as seven centuries being scored in an edition. Multan Sultans posted 262, the highest HBL PSL score, and the we also saw the record for the highest match aggregate in the world getting set when Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans amassed 515 runs in Rawalpindi.

“There were three five-fers, joint most with HBL PSL 1, a hat-trick and top-10 bowlers included seven fast bowlers (all locals) and three spinners (all local).

 

[Osama Shafeeqe]

The pitch in Rawalpindi was mediocre. The issue seems to be that they are negating the best aspects of the pitch. Rawalpindi provides the most bounce and pace in Pakistan and yet they seem to shave all grass and make it incredibly flat.

250 par score should never be considered a win for pitches as Sethi claimed!

 

[MenInG]

So what can we expect in this white-ball series against NZ?

 

[MenInG]

As per a news report:

The chief curator of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Aga Zahid is likely to visit Karachi’s National Bank Cricket Arena in a few days to inspect the preparation of pitches for the ODI matches against New Zealand.