The pitch for tonight's T20 tri-series cricket clash between the Black Caps and England isn't as good as they'd like it to be, according to Westpac Stadium CEO Shane Harmon, though he's confident it will produce a good contest.
Blackcaps wicket-keeper Glenn Phillips completes the stumping of Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Concerns were raised over the state of the drop-in wicket after a photo of the strange looking pitch with a large bare patch in the middle.
Interesting pitch...#NZvEng pic.twitter.com/UNmG3DdyYG
— Ian Ward (@WardyShorts) February 12, 2018
The Black Caps coach Mike Hesson was unimpressed by the Wellington surface when Pakistan were bowled out for 105 by the hosts in a T20 international three weeks ago.
A different drop-in pitch will be used for tonight's match, but on first inspection it doesn't appear much better.
Harmon concedes the pitch doesn't look like it should.
"The grass coverage isn't to the standard that we would prefer but we've done quite a bit of testing on it and there's consistent moisture and normal bounce throughout and our expectation and hope is that it will hold up fine and it will perform better than it looks.
"We've got perennial rye grass which is well suited to the Wellington climate. It's preferred temperature range is 15-20 degrees Celsius and we've had 20 days over 25 degrees in Wellington this summer and last year we had none. Mother nature has played her hand and growing conditions are very difficult but we'll learn from it and hopefully the pitch for today does deliver a good contest."
Harmon said they've been in constant dialogue with the Black Caps and match referees and there are no safety concerns surrounding the pitch.
-RNZ
