Umpires Michael Gough and Aleem Dar led the players off the pitch after a ball struck Dean Elgar on the head. (Source: PTI)
Day 3 of the third Test between India and South Africa in Johannesburg had to be called off due to the apparent erratic nature of the pitch and rains that came in the end. Over the course of the match, the Wanderers pitch has drawn criticism from the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar and Shaun Pollock for being unfair towards the batsmen. Play had to be stopped on Day 3 during South Africa’s second innings with Dean Elgar being struck multiple times. A short pitched delivery from Jasprit Bumrah rose sharply and struck Elgar on the head. While the batsman got treatment, umpires Aleem Dar and Michael Gough got into a short discussion. They finally asked the players off the field following which they had a discussion with captains Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis and Match Referee.
Kohli didn’t seem to be too happy when the umpires informed him that they may have to have a discussion on the pitch and seemed to be arguing that they negotiated similar conditions during the two innings that they batted. In the end, rains also showed up and that led to abandonement of the day’s play.
The ICC’s basic requirements for a pitch are stated as follows:
1. The objective of a Test pitch shall be to allow all the individual skills of the game to be demonstrated by the players at various stages of the match. If anything, the balance of the contest between bat and ball in a Test match should slightly favour the bowling team,
2. A pitch should be expected to deteriorate as the match progresses, and as a consequence the bounce could become more inconsistent, and the ball could deviate more (seam and spin) off the wearing surface.
In the case the pitch is deemed dangerous:
6.4.1 If the on-field umpires decide that it is dangerous or unreasonable for play to continue on the match pitch, they shall stop play and immediately advise the ICC Match Referee.
6.4.2 The on-field umpires and the ICC Match Referee shall then consult with both captains.
6.4.3 If the captains agree to continue, play shall resume.
6.4.4 If the decision is not to resume play, the on-field umpires together with the ICC Match Referee shall consider whether the existing pitch can be repaired and the match resumed from the point it was stopped. In considering whether to authorise such repairs, the ICC Match Referee must consider whether this would place either side at an unfair advantage, given the play that had already taken place on the dangerous pitch.
6.4.5 If the decision is that the existing pitch cannot be repaired, then the match is to be abandoned as a draw.