Poor Facilities: Match referee's report may put WICB in a spot

MUMBAI: The farcical 'wash out' in Port of Spain, which saw India lose their newly-acquired No1 Test ranking to Pakistan, has triggered a debate about whether it is high time the International Cricket Council (ICC) takes action against venues which are ill-equipped to deal with rain.
Despite bright sunshine from the second day onwards, no play was possible for four days in the fourth and final Test between India and the West Indies."It is hard to understand why there was no super sopper at the Queens Park Oval and why there were only covers for the square and not the whole ground. Test cricket will die if this indifference continues," batting legend Sunil Gavaskar had lamented in his column for TOI.
"If there is no rain & there is no play, that ground has to be deemed unacceptable for international cricket. Or, it forfeits income from TV," twee ted noted commentator Harsha Bhogle. Unfortunately, ICC's rules and regulations regarding a bilateral series do not standardize the use of equipment, specifically the super sopper. "This is a bilateral series, where it is up to the host Board to provide the facilities to conduct a match. At an ICC event, we ensure that certain standards are maintained," ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar told TOI.
The BCCI too isn't in a mood to complain about something that may have cost its team the top spot, which India may have held on to had they beaten Windies in the final game. "It is not for the BCCI to run or interfere in other cricket boards. If at all, it is an ICC issue," said Board secretary Ajay Shirke. The WICB could be in trouble, though, if the match referee in the Port of Spain Test, Ranjan Madugalle, gives a scathing report about the venue's ill-preparedness to cope with rain. "If the match referee mentions in his report (to the ICC CEO) that there was a lack of basic equipment in this regard, then it would be taken up for further action in the ICC," said a source.