Sadly, the ICC seem incapable of handing down proper sanctions to the BCCI

DEATH, taxes and Indian pitches getting a rating of “poor” by an ICC match referee … there’s an inevitability about it that’s almost laughable.

And so this week it came to pass … the pitch used for the first Test between Australia and India in Pune was rated as “poor” by Chris Broad, the match referee, and now the ICC awaits a response from the BCCI.

We’ve been here before. South Africa, 1-0 up in a three-Test series in 2008, got to Kanpur and the surface there had basically been raked. That pitch got a rating of “poor” from Roshan Mahanama, the match referee. The BCCI got an “official warning” from the ICC.

In 2015, Jeff Crowe, carrying out the match-refereeing duties, rated the pitch for the third Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur as “poor”. The punishment on that occasion, another “warning”.

Test pitches are analysed according to the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process, and a pitch is said to be poor if any of the following apply:

l The pitch offers excessive seam movement at any stage of the match.

l It displays excessive unevenness of bounce for any bowler at any stage of the match; the pitch offers excessive assistance to spin bowlers, especially early in the match.

l It displays little or no seam movement or turn at any stage in the match together with no significant bounce or carry, thereby depriving the bowlers of a fair contest between bat and ball.

At a recent ICC meeting, chief executives from cricket boards around the world highlighted the need for stricter punishments to be meted out for pitches that were poorly prepared.

However, once again, the ICC “words” seemed to carry little weight. “Venues and boards should be more accountable for the standard of pitches and outfields they present for international matches,” the ICC said in a statement.

However, a proposed demerit point system would punish individual venues instead of boards.

It is boards that are responsible for determining where Tests are hosted and, by extension, the quality of the conditions in which those Tests are played.

Sadly, the ICC seem incapable of handing down proper sanctions to the BCCI. Constantly issuing “warnings” has clearly not had any effect on the cricket authorities in India.

If the BCCI is not following the rules then the ICC has to dish out more exacting sanctions.

These warnings are becoming farcical, and perhaps some sort of fine or even docking the Indian team a few ranking points might push the BCCI into finally taking more seriously how venues in India prepare pitches.