ICC sends notice to BCCI over the Kanpur pitch.

The Indian team may be a relieved lot having clinched a face-saving series levelling result at Kanpur. But the 22 yards that contributed to their win continues to be the subject of debate and controversy even days after the Test. In the latest, the International Cricket Council has sent a notice to the BCCI seeking an explanation from the hosts on the substandard pitch.

The Green Park dustbowl seemed tailor-made to suit the Indian spinners - and not surprisingly, the Indians came up trumps in quick time. But the pitch has now come under the scanner of the the ICC. Roshan Mahanama , match referee in Kanpur Test, has stated in his post-match report about the sub-standard and unfit nature of the pitch and the International cricket board's note demands an explanation from the BCCI on the Kanpur pitch fiasco.

"The match referee sends a report to the ICC - that report includes a paragraph or a section on the state of the pitch - the match referee marks the pitch either substandard or unfit, the ICC then writes to the home board and asks them to explain and the latter are given 14 days to do so," ICC Media Manager Brian Murgatroyd.

Spinners Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag were at their lethal best on a pitch offering assistance, wrapping up the Proteas within 3 days. Not surprising then, that skipper Graeme Smith was critical of the Green Park wicket even before going into the Test.

Smith had commented that the pitch looked "slightly underpreprared".

"I think it is obviously going to be a lot drier than the one in Ahmedabad. I think it can be a little insulting when you think you can only win on one type of surface," he said on April 9.Kanpur curator Shiv Kumar has however insisted that the pitch had no role to play in South Africa's loss. "The SA team played badly, they were under a lot of psychological pressure - they lost half the match in the dressing room with talk about the wicket, though there was no basis to their apprehensions. Sourav Ganguly for instance, had no problems scoring," he said.Despite the Curator's insistence, the Kanpur Pitch fiasco could become the latest flashpoint between the ICC and the BCCI and the controversy could also see Kanpur being stripped of its Test status.


"Once the BCCI has written back an explanation, ICC Chief Match Referee that is Ranjan Madugalle and the ICC General Managrer of Cricket Operations, that is David Richardson review the situation and they pass standard judgment - that judgment can vary from, on the one hand a warning, and on the other hand the international venue having its status removed," continued Murgatroyd.

South African coach Mickey Arthur who admitted no suprise in seeing the Indians resort to the home advantage factor in a key contest - did say the pitch was "not ideal" for Test Cricket. Just two days into the Test, South African coach Mickey Arthur also said that he expected India to prepare such a track as they were trailing 0-1 in the series. And now, with both the Match Referee and the captain's report raising doubts on the standard of the Kanpur pitch - a new battle between the ICC and the BCCI could be brewing!