In the latest blow for Pakistan cricket, the Gaddafi Stadium received its first demerit point in history following the ODI series against Australia.
The iconic venue hosted the last two ODIs of the three-match series on June 2 and 4. The pitch used for the third game has been rated unsatisfactory. “The pitch was slow and low and made scoring runs very difficult. It did not suit a One Day International game as batters had to spend more time to settle in. It helped spin very early in the match and continued the same way throughout,” Graeme La Brooy said about the Gaddafi Stadium’s pitch.
Opting to bat first, Australia failed to play the complete 50 overs and were bowled out for 157 runs. Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi scalped 3 wickets. Their spinners, Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan, dismissed two batters each.
The home team struggled in the second innings and lost six wickets in the chase of the target. For Australia, spinner Matthew Kuhnemann took a three-fer.
Pakistan’s victory in the must-win fixture helped them clinch the three-match ODI series 2-1. Kangaroos were without the services of their first-class players for the series.
Demerit point for Lord’s
The first ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 Test between England and New Zealand ended in four days despite heavy rain on Day Three. On Days 1 and 2, the teams lost 16 and 17 wickets, respectively. According to the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, the surface has now been rated as ‘unsatisfactory’ and the venue has been docked one demerit point.
“There was plenty of excessive seam movement throughout the Test, and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions. The bounce was variable throughout as 16 wickets fell on the first day and 17 on the second. There was simply an over-balance in favour of ball against bat caused by the pitch,” Andy Pycroft said about the Lord’s pitch
Pitch penalty explained
There are no previous demerit points for either venue. According to the ICC rules, a venue is prohibited from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months if it accrues six demerit points, and for a period of 24 months if it reaches the threshold of 12 demerit points.
ICC has sent the reports to the Pakistan Cricket Board and the and Wales Cricket Board. The two boards can challenge the verdict within 14 days.