In order to make the drop-in pitch at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York as “firm” as possible, Sanjay Manjrekar recommended rolling it as much as possible. He also mentioned how the outfield’s slowness was bothering him.
On Monday, June 3, South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in a low-scoring match at the stadium, which was the scene of its inaugural Twenty20 international. Australia supplied the drop-in pitch, which was mushy and had an uneven bounce. Boundaries were sparse and far between and batters encountered a variety of challenges when rotating strikes. After the Proteas needed 16.2 overs to chase the meagre mark, the Lankan Lions were bowled out for 77 in 19.1 overs. And to make matters worse for the batters, the outfield was frighteningly slow.
Numerous specialists and enthusiasts offered criticism on the pitch and outfield. Although Sanjay Manjrekar commended the responsible authorities for their efforts in creating a venue of “international standard” for the major event, he suggested that the ICC try to enhance the pitch’s quality.
“How are you going to alter the pitch? This presents a challenge for the ICC. It’s not as if it was unprepared. They have worked very hard to create a fair and good T20 pitch that meets international standards. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Manjkrekar suggested that they “maybe just keep rolling that pitch down and down and try and get it as firm as possible.”
“An further worry is outfield. David Miller’s four-point field goal was an incredible feat. Therefore, your score will decrease if you only receive one or two instead of four. The pitch contains some deceit. It will therefore be difficult. I don’t see a significant shift in it. Maybe there will be some improvement on the pitch.
However, the outfield will present challenges. This outfield is really sluggish. Furthermore, it’s evident that the sand sort of breaks through each time the ball pitches into the outfield. Consequently, the sand base is quite large. Thus, the former cricket player, who is now a broadcaster, said, “I think the ICC needs to do some work.”
There will be eight matches held at this location during the 2024 T20 World Cup, the first of which was the match between South Africa and Sri Lanka. This is the location for three of India’s four Group A matches. India vs. Ireland is the next match to take place in New York on Wednesday, June 5.
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