Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Sam Drury
- Role, BBC Sport journalist
Test Match Special pundits Steven Finn and Alex Hartley criticised the “awful” pitch used for the T20 World Cup semi-final between South Africa and Afghanistan in Trinidad.
Afghanistan were bowled out for 56 – the lowest score in a T20 World Cup semi-final – when batting first at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
South Africa chased it down in 8.5 overs for the loss of just one wicket but only after numerous uncomfortable moments for their batters on a pitch with extremely inconsistent bounce.
“It was ugly really,” former England seamer Finn said on TMS. “The pitch just deteriorated and it led to not a great spectacle for a T20 game.
“It would have been fascinating on day five of a Test match but for a T20, it wasn’t up to scratch.”
England World Cup winner Hartley added: “You want an even contest. What this pitch has done is take batting completely out of the game.
“It’s an actual shambles.”
Playing in their first World Cup semi-final, Afghanistan fell to their lowest T20 total on a surface summed up by one over from Azmatullah Omarzai that ended with two balls that scuttled through at ankle height followed by one that reared up from a length.
Cricviz data also showed there was a significant amount of lateral movement for the fast bowlers, with the average of 0.88° off the seam ranked fourth across all games in the tournament so far. The venue itself, across the competition, is ranked number one for swing and seam offered to pace bowlers, and second for turn for the spinners.
“There is definitely going to be talk about the pitch because it is the worst we’ve seen at this World Cup,” Hartley added.
“I don’t mind seeing 130 play 130, both sides are then in the game with bat and ball. But this has been horrific.”
Speaking during the South Africa innings, Finn added: “We’ve not seen a South Africa batter play a shot with any certainty about where the ball is going to come through.
“That makes it a very uneven contest. Fascinating but uneven.”
Commentator Geoff Lemon suggested that the pitch was such that a longer format match might have been called off.
‘Nothing to be scared of’ – Markram
South Africa captain Aiden Markram admitted that batting conditions were “tough” but says his side are just excited to play in a World Cup final.
After losing seven semi-finals across T20 and one-day international cricket, the Proteas are through to their first men’s final.
They will play the winner of the second semi-final between India and England on Saturday (15:30 BST) in Barbados.
“One more step, it’s an exciting challenge for us,” Markram, 29, said.
“We’ve never been [in a World Cup final] before but it’s nothing to be scared of. It’s an opportunity that we’ve never had and we’ll be really excited about it.
“Obviously there are external pressures but we’re trying to keep it simple and that should give us a good chance.
“I’m chuffed we have one more crack at winning a trophy.”