Used pitch stirs controversy in India-New Zealand CWC semi-final

The first semi-final of the 2023 World Cup between India and New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday will be played on a used pitch that has already staged two games during the showpiece tournament.

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Although there is no International Cricket Council rule stating knockout games must be played on fresh pitches, a brand new surface can be provided for showpiece games.

Both Britain's Daily Mail and the ESPNCricinfo website reported the India-New Zealand semi-final was initially supposed to be played on pitch seven, the central strip at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Pitch seven was not used during the round-robin stage of the World Cup.

But instead the match is being played on pitch six, the surface used for South Africa's 229-run win over England on 21 October, and India's 302-run victory over Sri Lanka on 2 November.

A source quoted by ESPNcricinfo said this represented a deviation from the pre-tournament pitch allocation.

"6-8-6-8-7 was the planned rotation at Wankhede," the source said. "6-8-6-8 is what has been used so far."

According to the ICC's tournament playing conditions, the relevant ground authority - in this case the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) - "is responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch" before any given match".

The ICC also has its own independent pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson.

The Daily Mail reported Atkinson had become frustrated by changes to pre-tournament plans.

They quoted a leaked email in which Atkinson speculated whether the pitch for Sunday's final in Ahmedabad "will be the first ever ICC CWC final to have a pitch which has been specifically chosen and prepared to their stipulation at the request of the team management and/or the hierarchy