What happened: On March 10, after the first test between Pakistan and Australia ended in a tie, the International Cricket Council (ICC) evaluated the pitch at Pindi Cricket Stadium and rated it “below average” by awarding one demerit point. Details: Players and commentators panned the surface, with Australia’s Pat Cummins claiming it wasn’t “a fair match” between bat and ball, while Steve Smith described it as “pretty benign.” In his report to the ICC, match referee, Ranjan Madugalle noted, “The character of the pitch hardly changed over the course of five days and that there has been no deterioration apart from the bounce getting slightly lower.” The match: On a level track, Pakistan scored 476/4 declared and 252/0 in their two innings, while Australia reached 459 in their lone innings, taking only 14 wickets in five days. PCB chairman’s reply: In a video uploaded on PCB’s social media, chairman Ramiz Raja responded to criticism of the Rawalpindi field, claiming it was important to ‘nullify’ the tourists’ attack while ‘safeguarding the under-strength hosts.’ Following the ICC’s ruling, the PCB announced that it was working on a scheme to renovate and relay all of Pakistan’s pitches.