USA's reputation for providing dodgy pitches isn't a recent one: Ian Chappell

New York’s Nassau County Stadium made its much-awaited debut in the T20 World Cup 2024. The very first game hosted at this very venue saw the match between South Africa and Sri Lanka saw the former put up just 77 runs batting first. The much-hyped India -Pakistan encounter was also hosted at this stadium and the game too was a low-scoring affair as batters struggled to score.

Former Pakistan cricketer, Wasim Akram had termed the pitch as spongy, and the Indian team’s head coach, Rahul Dravid was not impressed with the fragile outfield. The stadium had a drop-in pitch and the outfield was based on an unsettled sand base. Amidst growing criticism, former Australia cricketer, Ian Chappell has come hard at the stadium and labelled the USA pitched as dodgy.

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"The pitches in the USA again generated controversy, particularly the New York venue, which attracted a lot of negative publicity and proved to be difficult for batters. In many cases, a score just exceeding 100 proved to be a match-winner. The USA's reputation for providing dodgy pitches isn't a recent one. In September 1999, I covered an India A vs Australia A five-match series in Los Angeles, where the respective skippers were VVS Laxman and Adam Gilchrist, both of whom went on to enjoy illustrious international careers," Chappell wrote in his column for the ESPNCricinfo.

"The pitches on that occasion could only be described as "ropey", especially when genuine pacemen like Brett Lee operated. Dodgy pitches were accepted with a shrug of the shoulders in 1999 but, with the USA team qualifying for the Super Eight and being promoted as a viable cricket nation, this is not good enough,” he added.

USA has to improve the administration and its pitches: Chappell

USA have the majority of the players are of Indian origins and most of them have migrated to USA from elsewhere. Even the captain, Monank Patel is from India and their pace sensation, Saurabh Netravalkar is an Indian who migrated to USA. Chappell asserted that, for cricket to grow in the states, there has to be a shift in administration and scouting local talents.

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"There is a highly competitive cricket rivalry still to be played in the Super Eight India vs Australia. This has become a blockbuster contest in recent years. Even if these two teams provide yet another exciting contest, it should not camouflage the USA problem. If cricket wants to make headway in the USA it has to vastly improve the administration and their pitches, while also convincing locally-born players it's a game worth playing," he added.