Durban, Port of Spain given official warning over 'poor' outfields

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday announced that Durban and Port of Spain have been given official warnings under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process following the South Africa versus New Zealand and West Indies versus India Tests last month.

The sanctions take into account Durban and Port of Spain venues' history of producing good conditions for international cricket and commitment by both the boards to take appropriate steps to ensure similar events are not repeated in future.

The CSA's response was reviewed by ICC's General Manager - Cricket, Geoff Allardice, and Ranjan Madugalle, while Allardice and David Boon, also from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, assessed the WICB's reply.

Both the matters were decided in accordance with Clause 4 of the process.

Andy Pycroft and Madugalle, both from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, in accordance with Clause 3 of the pitch and outfield monitoring process, had rated the quality of the outfields as "poor" for the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand, and the fourth Test between the West Indies and India, respectively.