ICC World Cup 2023: Sand-based outfield at HPCA Stadium poses risk to players

• The outfield at the HPCA Stadium is based on sand.
• Trott has warned England’s boundary fielders about the problematic outfield.
• England may decide not to include Ben Stokes in the lineup.

England’s boundary fielders are preparing for a tough day in Dharamsala on Tuesday after being cautioned about the problematic outfield at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium by Jonathan Trott, the former England batsman and current Afghanistan coach.

The outfield, based on sand, has uneven patches of grass, leading to players slipping and losing their footing during fielding, as witnessed in Bangladesh’s win over Afghanistan on Saturday.

This issue has persisted at the venue, even causing a Test match between India and Australia to be relocated to Indore on short notice in February.

Trott specifically highlighted an incident involving Mujeeb Ur Rahman, where his knee dug into the turf during a boundary save, narrowly avoiding a serious knee injury. He has reportedly reached out to England players to forewarn them about the outfield’s condition ahead of their match against Bangladesh.

Despite the concerns raised, the match officials’ report termed the outfield’s condition as “average,” and ICC’s independent pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson, inspected it and expressed his comfort with its state on Sunday.

“The process for assessing the condition of the pitch and outfield lies with the match officials under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, and the outfield at Dharamsala was rated as average after the Afghanistan vs Bangladesh match,” an ICC spokesperson said. “Additionally, the ICC independent pitch consultant has taken a look at the outfield today, and is comfortable with the conditions – as is Javagal Srinath, the Match Referee for the next game.”

“The process for assessing the condition of the pitch and outfield lies with the match officials under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, and the outfield at Dharamsala was rated as average after the Afghanistan vs Bangladesh match,” an ICC spokesperson said. “Additionally, the ICC independent pitch consultant has taken a look at the outfield today, and is comfortable with the conditions – as is Javagal Srinath, the Match Referee for the next game.”

Following the match on Saturday, the ground staff at the HPCA immediately watered the outfield and repeated the process on Sunday, paying particular attention to the areas around the bowlers’ run-ups. The upcoming match on Tuesday will be played on a fresh pitch located two strips away from the unusually slow surface used on Saturday.

In the worst-case scenario, if the umpires, in consultation with the match referee, determine the ground conditions to be “dangerous or unreasonable,” the game could be first suspended and then abandoned. In such a situation, the teams would share the points. Ahsan Raza and Paul Wilson will be the standing umpires on Tuesday, with Srinath serving as the match referee.

The condition of the outfield might influence England’s decision not to include Ben Stokes in the lineup. Stokes, who missed their previous nine-wicket loss to New Zealand due to a left hip injury, participated in a net session on Sunday. However, he only faced sidearm throws instead of bowlers and moved cautiously throughout the session. Stokes also briefly engaged in some running drills on the main square. Notably, he did not play in either of England’s warm-up matches and prior to the training session in Guwahati, he had batted only once since arriving in India.

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