BCB appeals against ICC's 'below average' rating for Mirpur pitch

Sports Desk: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appealed against the ICC's "below average" rating of the Shere Bangla National Stadium's pitch during the second Test against Sri Lanka earlier this month.

The appeal will be heard by March 14 as per the period stipulated in the pitch monitoring process and will be determined by Geoff Allardice, the ICC's general manager (cricket), and Anil Kumble, the chairperson of the cricket committee.

David Boon, who was the match referee during the Test series, reported at the time that the pitch had uneven bounce throughout the match and inconsistent turn. It resulted in the Dhaka ground incurring one demerit point, which will remain on its record for a rolling five-year period.

It was understood that the BCB's appeal is centered on the argument that the pitch wasn't a departure from the usual surfaces in Dhaka given the weather and conditions at that time of the year.

The hosts were crushed by Sri Lanka by 215 runs, in a contest in which the highest team total was 226. Spinners took 30 of the 38 wickets that fell to the bowlers.

BCB's appeal will be determined taking into consideration the match referee's report, the report from the home board, videos of the match, and the grounds for appeal as submitted by the BCB on Wednesday.

Source: ESPN cricinfo

risingbd/Dhaka/February 28, 2018/A K Azad