Despite England securing their first Test victory on Australian soil since 2011, Australia have already retained the Ashes by winning the first three Tests to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.
A multi-billion dollar broadcast market, the game's most powerful board's positive intent and a perfect pitch by the global body based on a three-fold 'U-P-L' principle ensured cricket's inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
With less than six months to go for the commencement of the 2011 World Cup in the sub continent, International Cricket Council (ICC) pitch consultant Andy Atkinson will make a visit to India early next month.
'When I was here few months back the stadium looked like a desert but it has been transformed with a good looking pitch and lush green outfield,' Andy Atkinson said.
The BCCI isn't involved in this Test match. It was the Afghanistan Cricket Board's choice and the Greater Noida Authority was supposed to provide them with international standard facilities.
ICC's chief pitch consultant Andy Atkinson on Sunday inspected the Feroze Shah Kotla pitch, which was banned for one year from hosting international matches after the abandoned India-Sri Lanka game in Delhi last year.
Probably the pitch is playing on Australians' mind before the big match.
The BCCI top brass met in Mumbai on Sunday to draft their reply to the ICC showcause notice on the December 27 pitch fiasco at Ferozeshah Kotla so that the venue evades an international ban and gets away with a fine.
According to a statement from the ICC, "the venue has received one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process".
Criticised by all quarters, the Trent Bridge pitch, on which India and England played out a dull draw in their opening Test, was declared "poor" by ICC match referee David Boon and ECB could be penalised for it pending an investigation.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has received an official warning after the pitch for the fourth Ashes Test was rated 'poor' by the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier this month.
A recent reduction in test draws is due to wickets around the world offering a better balance between bat and ball, International Cricket Council (ICC) pitches consultant Andy Atkinson said on Tuesday.
Mumbai Cricket Association is awaiting a go-ahead from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to conduct practice matches at the refurbished Wankhede Stadium, which is to host three World Cup ties, including the final on April 2.
The pitch of the Galle Test between Sri Lanka and Australia has been rated as poor by the match referee Chris Broad, the ICC announced on Monday.
The outfield of the Queen's Park Oval, the venue for the fourth Test between India and the West Indies, has been rated "poor" by the Match Referee as only 22 overs could be bowled on the opening day while unplayable conditions prevented play on four consecutive days. The match ended in a draw, denying India chance to defend their top rank in the Test table.
The Ferozeshah Kotla stood disgraced on Sunday after the fifth and final India-Sri Lanka ODI was abandoned following visiting captain Kumar Sangakkara's refusal to play on a dangerous pitch, raising the possibility of the venue being banned for a minimum of one year.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Rodney Hogg were engaged in a war of words with the former Australian pacer saying that the Indian spinner was successful against South Africa mainly due to the spin-friendly wickets during the Test series.
The International Cricket Council announced on Monday that Jamtha Stadium, Nagpur, has been given an official warning under the ICC Pitch Monitoring Process following the third Test between India and South Africa.
In major embarrassment for the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the International Cricket Council rated the track at the Vidarbha Cricket Association ground in Nagpur, on which the third Test between India and South Africa was played, as "poor", triggering a review of the performance of the pitch under the ICC Pitch Monitoring Process.
'As such, the pitch did not allow an even contest between the bat and the ball as it neither favoured the batsmen too much nor it gave the bowlers sufficient opportunity to take wickets'
The ICC, on Tuesday, expectedly rated the Wanderers pitch, used for the third cricket Test between India and South Africa, as 'poor' and slapped it three demerit points in the process.
The pitch and outfield of Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain has been officially rated "poor" by the ICC following the recent Test between India and the West Indies, which saw more than four-and-a-half days' play being lost because of poor drainage facilities.
Ponting shrugged off Australia's injury worries and the idea of there being risk in rushing Smith and Warner into the team.
The high-powered International Cricket Council's Cricket Committee, chaired by former India captain Anil Kumble, on Friday expressed concerns about the "quality of Test pitches", especially the tendency of home teams to prepare tailor-made strips that suit them.
The pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) has attracted a lot of attention.
The track for the opening Super 10 Group 2 encounter in the ICC World Twenty20 here on March 15 is likely to be a batting-friendly wicket, unlike the VCA Stadium pitch that was on offer during the third India-South Africa Test match late last year. The track at the stadium situated on the Nagpur-Wardha road that was used for the third Test between India and South Africa was given a "poor" rating by the ICC match referee, Jeff Crowe in his report. India clinched the match by 124 runs inside three days with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin leading the hosts' charge with a 11-wicket haul, supported well by the left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and leggie Amit Mishra. The ICC later announced that the stadium has been given an official warning under the ICC's Pitch Monitoring process following the third Test held in November, 2015. In reaching the verdict, the ICC agreed with the "poor" rating given to the pitch by New Zealand's Crowe, the match referee for the Test played from November 25 to 27, who observed that it did not allow a fair contest between bat and the ball.
The majority of the International Cricket Council's Board members on Saturday voted in favour of restructured revenue sharing model including rollback of the Big 3 formula despite vehement opposition from Board of Control for Cricket in India's representative Vikram Limaye.
There was a lot of buzz about the Sydney Cricket Ground pitch for the high-octane India versus Australia semi-final on Thursday.
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