The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has received a second demerit point in less than a year after preparing a "very flat pitch" for the first Test between England and Pakistan, with the International Cricket Council (ICC) rating the surface as "below average".
England were able to force a stunning 74-run victory in Rawalpindi despite the lifeless pitch, which saw a total of 1,768 runs scored across all five days as well as seven separate centurions. It was only thanks to England's record quick scoring rate, a bold declaration from captain Ben Stokes and some imaginative bowling plans that the visitors were able to force a result.
Even Ramiz Raja, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, branded the pitch "embarrassing". He told reporters: "We live in the dark ages of pitches in Pakistan.
