Rawalpindi pitch for first Pakistan v Australia Test rated "below average" by ICC

The venue has been punished with the awarding of a single demerit point after 1,187 runs were scored for the loss of just 14 wickets over five days

The ICC have rated the Rawalpindi pitch that hosted the first test draw between Pakistan and Australia as "below average".

A single demerit point has been awarded to the venue after 1,187 runs were scored for the loss of just 14 wickets over five days.

Match referee Ranjan Madugalle said the surface did "not represent an even contest between bat and ball".

Imam-ul-Haq struck centuries in both Pakistan innings while Azhar Ali and Abdullah Shafique also reached three figures during the stalemate.

Madugalle said: “The character of the pitch hardly changed over the course of five days and that there has been no deterioration apart from the bounce getting slightly lower. 

"The pitch did not have a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the seamers nor assisted the spinners as the match progressed. 

"In my view, this does not represent an even contest between bat and ball. Therefore, in keeping with the ICC guidelines, I rate this pitch as below average.”

Conditions for Australia's first Test in Pakistan for 24 years were widely condemned. Steve Smith described it as "pretty benign" and "dead" while PCB chair Ramiz Raja said the draw was not "a good advertisement for Test cricket".

^{Imam-ul-Haq cashed in with two centuries (Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images)}

"Below average" is the least critical of the three negative rulings the governing body can make of an international surface. Six judgement are available to the ICC match referee ranging from "very good" to "unfit".

Conditions deemed "poor" carry a three-point penalty, while "unfit" strips are punishable by five.

Outfields are also assessed by cricket's decision-makers.

If a host venue accumulates five points during a five-year period it will be suspended from being used in international cricket for 12 months.

Ten points over the same time can lead to a 24-month suspension.

The last pitch to receive a "below average" rating was the Pallekele strip that played host to Sri Lanka's win over Bangladesh in the second Test in April and May 2021.

Pakistan and Australia resume the series with the second Test in Karachi starting on Saturday (March 12).

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