Broad clarifies fault in pitch

A small fault in the underlying structure of the pitch had caused several balls to stay low during India's opening game of the DLF Cup at Kuala Lumpur, Chris Broad, the ICC match referee, has revealed.

Broad's statement came after grubbers at the Pavilion End had accounted for Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the first innings of the second game, when full-length deliveries from Dwayne Smith and Jerome Taylor died after bouncing and scooted onto the batsmen, dismissing Dravid lbw and the other two bowled.

According to the media release, Michael Box, the ICC's consultant groundsman, had noticed the fault on the eve of the game, but the lateness of the hour and the hardness of the surface meant that the ground staff could do little to rectify it. And following play today it developed into a small depression.

The depression, short of a good length outside the off stump for right-handed batsmen, has forced officials to reassess the pitch-rotation plan for the series. It had originally been planned to rotate the matches between pitch 2, used for the opening game, and this one, pitch 4. But with repairs clearly needed on this surface, the other pitch will be used for the next two matches before pitch 4 is used for the final two league games. It will also be used for the final on September 24.