Care was taken to ensure pitches were fresh for CT: Emirates Cricket Board COO

Champions Trophy batters struggle on slow Dubai pitches, but Emirates Cricket Board ensures fresh surfaces for ICC tournament.

Even as runs have flowed easily in the three venues in Pakistan, it has been a tough time for the batters here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium during the Champions Trophy.

The slow nature of the surfaces has meant run-scoring has not been easy, especially once the ball becomes old and the first two matches saw totals less than 250. India is playing all its matches in Dubai after the government refused permission to travel to Pakistan for the tournament. Before the Champions Trophy, the UAE hosted the IT20 league, which meant the pitches had been extensively used.

However, Emirates Cricket Board COO Subhan Ahmed said that care was taken to ensure the pitches were fresh for the marquee ICC tournament.

“The moment we learned that we are going to be a host, we started preparing during the ILT20 tournament for these matches. We complied with all the ICC requirements,” said Ahmed.

“We managed the workload of the pitches as soon as we learned there would be an ICC event. So far the pictures here have played well,” he added.