England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has apologized for scheduling the June 16-19 one-off Test between India and England women on a used pitch, that hosted a T20 Blast match between Gloucestershire and Sussex only five days ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We are all disappointed that the wicket for the Test match against India will have had 37 overs played on it. We know that England Women deserve a fresh wicket and we are sorry that we were unable to provide that in this instance," said the ECB.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On Friday, Sussex beat Gloucestershire by five wickets in a T20 Blast game that went on for 37.2 overs on the Bristol pitch where the women's Test will be played.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Test, first for India women in seven years and first for England women in two years, commences on Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
ECB blamed it on late scheduling and said providing a fresh pitch fit for TV broadcast was going to be a challenge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"With the Test only being added to the calendar in mid-April, coupled with the lack of available first-class grounds, we knew a fresh TV pitch was going to be a challenge. We accept that this issue shouldn't have arisen and we will make sure it doesn't happen in the future," added the ECB.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England women's team captain Heather Knight said it wasn't ideal to play on a used wicket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I guess it is obviously not ideal. We would much prefer to be on a fresh one but it is what it is. And we do not know how it is going to play necessarily," said Knight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We found out last week. We obviously tried to get it changed but it was a little bit too late for that to happen. It is unfortunate but it still could play very well," she added<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Indian women's team captain Mithali Raj, however, chose to stay mum.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked for her views by former cricketer and journalist Isabelle Westbury in the pre-match press conference, Mithali responded, "We are here to play a match. Whatever strip we get, we try and get a result out of it. That is our thought process. Whether it is a used wicket or a fresh wicket... as players, and a captain I definitely want my team to get a result and for that it is important that we put down our strategies accordingly."<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ecb-apologises-for-providing-a-used-pitch-for-india-england-womens-test.jpg", "alt_img": "Cricket Image for ECB Apologizes For Providing A Used Pitch For India-England Women's Test", "alt_title": "Bristol County Ground", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "ECB Apologizes For Providing A Used Pitch For India-England Women's Test On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "ECB has apologized for scheduling the June 16-19 one-off Test between India and England women on a used pitch.", "seo_keywords": "Bristol County Cricket Ground, India Tour Of England 2021", "tag": "", "tagging": "Bristol County Cricket Ground,India Tour Of England 2021,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "ecb-apologizes-for-providing-a-used-pitch-for-india-england-womens-test", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "1856", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2021-06-16 15:20:32", "updated": "2021-06-16 15:20:32", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": "India, England, Bristol, Used Pitch, Women's Cricket, India Women Test Match, ECB", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "1", "google_feed": "1", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "12", "jio_date": "2021-06-16 15:20:32", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2021-06-16 15:20:32", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/ecb-apologizes-for-providing-a-used-pitch-for-india-england-womens-test-78030" }