‘Bad for cricket’ – Pitch under fire after another drab day in Barbados
The quality of the Barbados pitch has been widely criticised after another attritional day of cricket in the Caribbean.
Kraigg Brathwaite batted for the majority of the day to finish with the longest innings (in terms of balls faced) by an West Indies batter since Brian Lara’s famous quadruple century at Antigua in 2004.
Not only did the England bowlers find wickets hard to come by but West Indies found scoring difficult on a pitch that offered little assistance for both bowlers or batters. At one point in the morning session, Brathwaite scored a solitary run over an entire hour.
In the end, West Indies were bowled out for 411 in the third session after having batted for a mammoth 187.5 overs.
The day made for difficult viewing with the majority of the blame aimed at the surface, with many voicing their frustration at the similarity between the pitches offered up at both Antigua and Barbados so far this series.
According to CricViz, using their ball-tracking based model that assesses conditions, “no Test series in the Caribbean has had flatter pitches than this one, since records began in 2006”.
James Coyne, the deputy editor of The Cricketer magazine, tweeted: “I love Test cricket above all but these two pitches have been bad for cricket and the format.”
I love Test cricket above all but these two pitches have been bad for cricket and the format. Is this what most Test cricket was like in the 1960s? Let's hope Grenada lives up to its tag as the spice isle #WIVENG
— James Coyne (@coynejames) March 19, 2022
He was far from the only person to criticise the pitch.
Some might say English pitches do too much.
Bloody hell, give me a green seamer over this nonsense any day #WIvENG https://t.co/35AMTbraGb
— Rob Johnston (@RobJ_Cricket) March 19, 2022
No wonder test cricket is not loved in some countries anymore. Who on earth wants to watch cricket on pitches like this and the ones in Pakistan. Absolute borefest such a shame to see. #PakvsAus2022 #WIvENG
— Neil Jones (@neilj951) March 19, 2022
Pitches like this will kill test cricket #WIvENG
— Joe McNamara (@Joe_McNamara33) March 19, 2022
Test match enquiry regarding the #WIvENG test series… Two shocking pitches thus far, absolutely shocking! This is why people will say test cricket is dying. Pitch is shambolic utterly shameless!!
— OliverSims_17 🇺🇦💙💛 (@OliverSims_17) March 19, 2022
Earlier in the Test, West Indies quick Kemar Roach criticised the nature of not only the Barbados pitch but surfaces used for Test cricket around the Caribbean in recent times.
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