Poor quality pitches for Asia Cup

[cricketindiafan]

We are only half way through the tournament and already the pitches in Dubai look lifeless which will only get slower.

An opportunity wasted by ACC? Yes, UAE pitches are generally slower, bu these are some of the worst ones I have seen. Is there no way to add more life to the pitches?

What makes is worse is the sluggish outfield where the ball hardly travels. At least, that should be a decent one with all the greenery.

 

[Rafa]

It's worst decision to host Asia cup in a Country like UAE.

 

[Hamza_]

Bangladesh was the best place to host.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

What do you expect when you’re playing the whole tournament at the same ground albeit different pitches!

 

[JibranAnsari]

Sharjah has much better pictches.

 

[Executioner]

Last 3 Asia cups were in BD and all 3 were pretty good.

UAE is a boring place tbh. Doesn't go with modern cricket. Although I like balanced games but the wickets are sluggish.

 

[asifp]

its a spinner wicket and we read it wrong. Our fault.

 

[thelandofthebravepeople]

Nothing wrong with wickets. I for instance don't enjoy wicket where every tom dick and harry gets 100's. Here it's much more balanced and you have to actually work for your runs. Can't just slog and get away with it.

The weather on the other hand... It's not good for sports. Should have found another time or place.

 

[cricketindiafan]

its a spinner wicket and we read it wrong. Our fault.

Naah, not much turn on offer, hardly any zip or bounce off the pitch. It's stopping and coming very slowly making stroke play a tough task.

 

[ARK Rafay]

I've never seen this low and slow pitches in U.A.E in LOI

 

[Ned Flanders]

I don't understand some fans.

When I was a lurker all I read was how scores of 350 have become the norm and how there is no contest between bat and ball anymore.

I remember how depressed this forum was when England scored 481 against Australia.

And now when we finally have normal ODI pitches where 250 is a winning score, people are still complaining.

260-270 being a winning score is what makes ODI interesting.

We have T20s for the sixes and high run rate matches.

It's so nice to finally see regular scores and not something ridiculous like 400.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

This is the way that UAE has ALWAYS been

Sharjah is the only exception

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Bakwas pitches. Pak should go with 3 spinners. Dont be stubborn! Never heard our bowling coach talking about spinners like he does for pacers.

 

[InziRules]

I don't understand some fans.

When I was a lurker all I read was how scores of 350 have become the norm and how there is no contest between bat and ball anymore.

I remember how depressed this forum was when England scored 481 against Australia.

And now when we finally have normal ODI pitches where 250 is a winning score, people are still complaining.

260-270 being a winning score is what makes ODI interesting.

We have T20s for the sixes and high run rate matches.

It's so nice to finally see regular scores and not something ridiculous like 400.

Big difference though. In Abu Dhabi, you bat first and get 220 and you'll win 9 times out of 10

 

[Ned Flanders]

Big difference though. In Abu Dhabi, you bat first and get 220 and you'll win 9 times out of 10

It depends on the curator/time of the year as well, I remember us chasing 290 odd versus West Indies in 2008 in Abu Dhabi.

Gayle murdered Abdur Rauf

That was in November though.

 

[InziRules]

It depends on the curator/time of the year as well, I remember us chasing 290 odd versus West Indies in 2008 in Abu Dhabi.

Gayle murdered Abdur Rauf

That was in November though.

They showed stats, apparently over 250, there have been 3 chases in 18 games

 

[Ned Flanders]

They showed stats, apparently over 250, there have been 3 chases in 18 games

Yup
2008 Vs Windies chasing 290 odd - Kamran hit those sixes
2009 Vs Australia chasing 250 odd - Kamran scored a 116 at number 4
2010 Vs South Africa chasing 280 odd - Razzaq blitz.

 

[InziRules]

Yup
2008 Vs Windies chasing 290 odd - Kamran hit those sixes
2009 Vs Australia chasing 250 odd - Kamran scored a 116 at number 4
2010 Vs South Africa chasing 280 odd - Razzaq blitz.

Once in a lifetime knocks there (Or in Kamran's case, twice in a lifetime). That Razzaq innings and the first Kamran one is such a huge anomaly. Most teams would have lost those

 

[Canford Cliffs]

UAE games gives you that 90s feeling. Substandard pitches...250 par score...long boundaries..etc etc. Very different from other parts of the world. I am surprised we played IPL once here...these venues are totally opposite to what IPL demands.

 

[the_outsider]

UAE games gives you that 90s feeling. Substandard pitches...250 par score...long boundaries..etc etc. Very different from other parts of the world. I am surprised we played IPL once here...these venues are totally opposite to what IPL demands.

Chepauk
Feroz Shah Kotla
Rajkot
Ranchi
Rajasthan
Rajiv Gandhi, Hyderabad
pre-2016 Eden Gardens


are all low, slow turners. They are not too different to these conditions.

Apart from DY Patil Pune, Wankhede and Chinnaswamy, IPL doesn't really have pataa wickets.

 

[Ned Flanders]

Manchester ground in England is a pretty low scoring ground too.

We face India there next year, another phainty.

 

[cricketindiafan]

What such pitches do is produce absolutely one sided matches. Barring the Ind-HK match, this has largely been a forgettable tournament so far. Super 4 stage unlikely to be any different as now severe conditions will start to get better of tired players.

 

[the_outsider]

Manchester ground in England is a pretty low scoring ground too.

We face India there next year, another phainty.

The Indo-Pak match in the 99 WC was also at Manchester, coincidentally.

Then again it's not like things were any different in Centurion, Adelaide or Sydney.

 

[Sherlock]

Sharjah would've been preferable. We've had issue on these pitches before too, hence why we get so annoyed by the state of them.

 

[Sam99]

Should have been in Bangladesh or SriLanka. We already lost pandya while key series are coming soon.

 

[AFM]

UAE pitches are the worst. Nothing for the bowlers or batsmen. Just slow and low that makes for dull cricket.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Chepauk
Feroz Shah Kotla
Rajkot
Ranchi
Rajasthan
Rajiv Gandhi, Hyderabad
pre-2016 Eden Gardens


are all low, slow turners. They are not too different to these conditions.

Apart from DY Patil Pune, Wankhede and Chinnaswamy, IPL doesn't really have pataa wickets.

None of them are as slow and low as UAE pitches especially Abu Dhabi. Rajkot is mostly flat and a runfest. Even when we do produce "turners" , it is usually a spitting cobra.

 

[the_outsider]

None of them are as slow and low as UAE pitches especially Abu Dhabi. Rajkot is mostly flat and a runfest. Even when we do produce "turners" , it is usually a spitting cobra.

Some of these are just as slow. But I think most Indian pitches have more bounce than UAR pitches.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

I like it much better than SL or BD tbh.

Those places make toss such a huge factor. So far we've had teams chasing and defending successfully. So you know toss wont play a factor.

Plus you know, it is not a 300+ wicket. Pacers and spinners alike are having a good time.

They are far from poor.

What makes the viewing seem inferior is lower bounce, slower outfield and atmosphere(which isn't all that bad in Indian games).

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Some of these are just as slow. But I think most Indian pitches have more bounce than UAR pitches.

No they aren't. You still get value for your shots and tbh I think the outfields matter too. The outfields in the UAE are slow as well . Makes for extremely boring cricket especially Abu dhabi. Cricket matches in India are rarely boring in that sense. Pitches and conditions are often criticised for being loaded in the favour of batters or spinners but never for being dead wickets with nothing for anyone. In fact , that is specific only to the UAE.

 

[the_outsider]

No they aren't. You still get value for your shots and tbh I think the outfields matter too. The outfields in the UAE are slow as well . Makes for extremely boring cricket especially Abu dhabi. Cricket matches in India are rarely boring in that sense. Pitches and conditions are often criticised for being loaded in the favour of batters or spinners but never for being dead wickets with nothing for anyone. In fact , that is specific only to the UAE.

Yeah the outfield is a bigger factor than pitches. I still maintain that many Indian pitches are just as slow.

But Indian outfields are very good. The ball races off the turf. Outfields in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are sand-based. Which is why they are so slow. That harms the quality of cricket even more than the pitch does, imo.

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

No, not poor pitches for Asia cup. Its been like this since ages.

Only Sharjah has a good pitch.

 

[RamLakhan]

More than the pitches it is the tight schedule which should bother the teams! Matches everyday with teams playing back to back! I guess the organizers faced the pressure of tight date window line and they were forced to schedule like this (Asia Cup not being a popular tournament and especially if its played in UAE)

 

[MMHS]

More than the pitches it is the tight schedule which should bother the teams! Matches everyday with teams playing back to back! I guess the organizers faced the pressure of tight date window line and they were forced to schedule like this (Asia Cup not being a popular tournament and especially if its played in UAE)

Time stress can’t be the reason for such hilarious schedule - 14 days is enough for 13 games in two venues, when they are playing two Super 4 games in same day.

I think, tournament started on 15th (Saturday, God knows why, when they could have started on Friday). Take this -

SAT: SRL-BD, PAK-HK
MON: SRL-AFG, IND-HK
WED: BD-AFG, IND-PAK

FRI: IND- BD, PAK-AFG
SUN: IND-PAK
MON: BD-AFG
WED: IND-AFG, BD-PAK

FRI: Final.

Fixing UAE wicket isn’t that easy though

 

[RamLakhan]

Time stress can’t be the reason for such hilarious schedule - 14 days is enough for 13 games in two venues, when they are playing two Super 4 games in same day.

I think, tournament started on 15th (Saturday, God knows why, when they could have started on Friday). Take this -

SAT: SRL-BD, PAK-HK
MON: SRL-AFG, IND-HK
WED: BD-AFG, IND-PAK

FRI: IND- BD, PAK-AFG
SUN: IND-PAK
MON: BD-AFG
WED: IND-AFG, BD-PAK

FRI: Final.

Fixing UAE wicket isn’t that easy though��

Well that's fine, but if two matches happen simultaneously then it will affect on the TV telecast! I guess Satellite Rights is the major source of revenue for this tournament as you can see the crowd count in the stadiums! Hence the only option was to get additional 5 to 8 days! Also it would mean TVs could show repeat telecast & highlights in the gap to generate more revenue!

 

[MMHS]

Well that's fine, but if two matches happen simultaneously then it will affect on the TV telecast! I guess Satellite Rights is the major source of revenue for this tournament as you can see the crowd count in the stadiums! Hence the only option was to get additional 5 to 8 days! Also it would mean TVs could show repeat telecast & highlights in the gap to generate more revenue!

They are playing 2 games in one day at super 4 stage, instead of putting BD-SRL, PAK-HK in one day!!!! In fact, Super 4 had 3 game days, 2 games every of these 3 days, which later was changed to 4 days.

It's a complete mess out there - worst ever Asia Cup.

 

[Rayyman]

Terrible tournament so far by the ACC, BCCI and UAE.

 

[Hamza_]

Awful Wickets.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Might not be fun for the Pakistani fans, but I think the Indians + Afghans have enjoyed their games.

 

[Hasan123]

UAE is easily one of the worst places to play cricket in the world.

 

[Hasan2K8]

I think pitches are not the best but not the worse. It’s not 300plus but it’s definitely 250-280 if you bat sensibly!

 

[InziRules]

This probably comes across as sour grapes, but come on, this is ridiculous. 220 should not be a winning total in this day and age

 

[hadi123]

I loved this tournament tbf. Great balance between bat and ball. Felt like an ODI 5-10 years ago.

 

[MP2011]

I loved this tournament tbf. Great balance between bat and ball. Felt like an ODI 5-10 years ago.

That's more to do with poor batting abilities of all teams.

 

[hadi123]

That's more to do with poor batting abilities of all teams.

Hmm possibly, I've been busy so didn't watch much of the tournament.

 

[Executioner]

Tbh I liked the fact that 250 was a match winning score. It creates a balance. I like it although I felt our side was poor with the bat in most matches. We could have easily scored 270+ in almost all the matches.

 

[jnaveen1980]

It is somewhat sluggish compared to true pitches. That is why many players could not time. Rohit had to delay his strokes to get his timing right. Not everyone can do right off the bat. Sometimes it suit players with poor reflexes.

 

[Ab Fan]

More to do with poor abilities of batsmen with the bat.

India were 237/1 in one match chasing the total in 40 overs. They have mostly chased totals in this series otherwise they would have got 300+, particularly if they had Kohli at 3.