Sri Lanka team manager Ashantha de Mel has complained to the ICC about the “unfair” pitches he feels Sri Lanka have had to play their matches on, as well as the less-than-ideal training facilities and accommodation.
Although their two most-recent matches were washouts in Bristol, Sri Lanka had begun the tournament on two green decks in Cardiff, where they lost to New Zealand and narrowly beat Afghanistan. In the approach to their match against Australia at The Oval – a venue that has seen high-scoring games thus far – de Mel believes Sri Lanka have been saddled with another green track. As seaming conditions will ostensibly aid Australia, de Mel is unhappy.
“What we have found out is that for the four matches we have played so far at Cardiff and Bristol, the ICC has prepared a green pitch,” he told Daily News. “At the same venues, the other countries have played on pitches are brown and favourable for high scoring.
“The pitch being prepared for our match against Australia on Saturday here at The Oval is green. It is not sour grapes that we are complaining. But it is very unfair on the part of the ICC that they prepare one type of wicket for certain teams and another type for others.”
There have been other inconveniences too, according to de Mel, which he said he has officially brought to the ICC’s notice.
“Even the practice facilities provided at Cardiff were unsatisfactory. Instead of three nets they gave us only two, and the hotel we were put up at Bristol did not have a swimming pool, which is very essential for every team – for the fast bowlers, especially, to relax their muscles after practice,” he said. “The hotels that Pakistan and Bangladesh were put up at Bristol had swimming pools.
“We wrote to the ICC listing all these shortcomings four days ago but so far we have not had any response from them. We will continue to write to them until we get a reply.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo