ICC instructs the World Cup organisers to prepare batting-friendly pitches.Encourage run scoring because that’s what the audience wants to see! This was the main message of a speech given by Andy Atkinson, the pitch consultant for the International Cricket Council (ICC), to a group of all host association curators for the upcoming ODI World Cup in India on Wednesday in Mumbai.
The discussion of tailored pitches for the home team never seems to stop. It is understood that Atkinson made it clear to the local curators nine of the twelve curators from the staging association were present at the meeting that they should not be subject to any outside pressure to remove grass from the pitches for particular matches. One curator who attended the meet said, “We were told to try and provide a 60-40 pitch conducive to batting.”
According to data from the previous three World Cups, the 2011 World Cup, which was played in Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka, had the lowest average first innings score (249 runs). In Australia and New Zealand for the 2015 World Cup, runs were scored on average of 274, while in England for the 2010 World Cup, runs were scored on average of 276. Run-rates in 2015 and 2019 have increased from 5.03 in the World Cup of 2011, 5.65 in 2015, and 5.69 in 2018.
The ICC wants the 2023 ODI World Cup to be a high-scoring spectacle despite run rates generally picking up speed. This is because the 50-over format is constantly under pressure from its younger offshoot.
While the majority of associations strive to keep the outfields lush and green, they were urged to prevent excessive cutting to make the ball travel more quickly lest it deter fielders from diving and sliding.
The group was informed that the minimum and maximum boundary lengths should be 70 yards and 80 yards, respectively. Given the unpredictability of the weather, those hosting grounds without sand-based outfields were advised to make sure they had covers ready to cover the entire area in case of rain.
Three center-wicket pitches must always be available at each of the ten venues hosting games for the main tournament. Each of the following cities will host five World Cup games: Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Lucknow, Dharmsala, and Pune. Three games will be held in Hyderabad.
The first game between England and New Zealand will be played on October 5; the warm-up games start on September 29.
