ICC team had warned against match on Kotla track

New Delhi:

Even as Feroz Shah Kotla's fate as an international venue hangs in balance, it now transpires that an ICC inspection team had warned against hosting a match at the stadium because the pitch was just not up to the mark.

The International Cricket Council team visited Kotla on November 4, three days after India's ODI against Australia here, and made a damning observation of the pitch in their report.

"There is an ODI at this venue on December 27, 2009 and considerable improvement of the pitch block will be required by then to make the pitch provided more acceptable" they said.

They also took note of the fact that the previous matches on the relaid track had witnessed low and uneven bounce, according to a website report.

"During the Champions League and the India vs Australia ODI series, it was well documented that the performance and condition of the pitches at the stadium were a cause of concern for the players," he said.

The report said Delhi and District Cricket Association would have to make an effort to upgrade the pitch before the 2011 World Cup.

"The pitch block was reconstructed recently and it is clear to see that there are some important issues with the present condition of the pitch surface that it is essential to address prior to 2011 World Cup," the report said.

The panel also observed that the local groundsmen differed with Daljit Singh, who headed the BCCI Grounds and Pitches Committee which was disbanded yesterday, on a number of issues.

"It was apparent when speaking with the local officials that they are reluctant to openly discuss the problems they are having with the pitch and that they are to some extent in variance with the BCCI Pitch Consultant (Daljit Singh) regarding how they are to move forward to resolve the problems with this surface," the report added.

The panel was also irked with the DDCA for insisting on replanting the track with local grass.

"To simply replant without this major renovation of the surface would be a major miscalculation, and would result in inadequate pitches at a later date," they said.

"The dead and the decaying grass and roots left in the soil profile will break down into organic matter and will contribute to the dilution of the clay content of the soil and contribute to the pitches produced in the future being slow in pace, spongy in texture, and would tend to generate slow and inconsistent bounce from the pitches in the future," they observed.