“It seems like a jigsaw puzzle,” reckoned former England captain Nasser Hussain on air, as the Spidercam footage displayed irregular distortions on the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium pitch during the Group A clash between Pakistan and Canada on June 11. The statement comes after an interrogation about the weird behaviour of the drop-in pitch laid approximately three weeks before the 2024 T20 World Cup’s inception.
Twelve out of fourteen innings at the venue saw less than 120 runs, with 137 piled up by Canada, the highest total in seven matches at the venue. Teams with a formidable batting order, such as India, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, struggled to get going against an uneven bounce on the surface.
But for all those who’ve been wondering what a drop-in pitch is, here’s all you need to hear. 
As the name suggests, a drop-in pitch is the same as a 22-yard pitch, but it is not grown naturally in the ground but is cultivated in a steel tray. After preparation, the pitches are transported to venues where there’s a need and implanted.
But why are these pitches gaining so much attention?
Sri Lankan batters were bundled for a paltry 77 against the Proteas, and South Africa took 98 balls to chase it down. The same Proteas unit took 18.5 overs to chase down a 104-run target against the Netherlands. Pakistan and Bangladesh failed to hunt down a target of 120 and 114 against India and South Africa respectively, despite inching near a win.
A ball from Joshua Little suffered a spongy, uneven bounce and hit Rohit Sharma on the right shoulder during India’s clash against Ireland on April 5. After a while, the Indian skipper trudged off the field, hurt. While sudden low bounce has been one of the prime characteristics of the strips being used here, a Tanzim Hasan Sakib delivery against Quinton de Kock saw a steep rise from the good-length area outside the off-side tramline, triggering further debates.
“Quite a tough wicket, but we found some way to score runs. It’s a tough one from a batting perspective. You try to take the pitch out of it, but if the ball misbehaves or there’s low bounce, it’s just one of those things,” expressed South Africa captain Aiden Markram after their struggling chase against Sri Lanka.
Batting has been a huge issue on these surfaces at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. The average first innings score in the seven matches played here is 107. The runs per dismissal in New York account for 13.9, while the same value in other venues (played until June 10) accounts for 17.5. The players have been taking 35 balls to hit a six in New York, while there have been a six in every 23 balls in other venues in the T20 World Cup.
Are drop-in pitches this dangerous?
This is not the first time a drop-in pitch has been used on a cricket field. There wasn’t adequate time for the venue officials to naturally build a pitch on a temporary stadium before the T20 World Cup. Hence, a drop-in pitch was opted for. Such artificial pitch usage is common in venues that host multiple sports. The Adelaide Oval, Optus Stadium, Melbourne Cricket Ground, and Sydney Showground Stadium are a few of the venues that have been using drop-in pitches constantly over the years.
When it comes to the behaviour of these pitches, they are known to be more flatter because these strips do not break down into cracks as they are built inside steel trays. But the pitches at Nassau have been behaving completely the opposite. The pitches used here have been transported from the Adelaide Oval, and its head curator, Damien Hough, thinks the sudden growth of sprouts along the line of the cracks is one of the major reasons behind the uneven bounce in the surfaces. Also, the moisture due to the overcast conditions played a part in the exaggerated lateral movement gained by the fast bowlers.
“The pitches are being grown in Florida (and not New York) because it’s the warmest part of the USA during the winter. New York is regularly freezing, and grass doesn’t grow at that time of the year, so we couldn’t possibly build them there given the time frame. We had to find the best climate,” Hough told Cricket.com.
Generally, a drop-in pitch takes time to settle in and display its true colour. Such has not been the case here in New York. Lack of practice games and exhibition matches has led to this behaviour on the turfs. The first match played here was between India and Bangladesh, a warm-up fixture on June 1, almost within four weeks of implanting the turf. It’s a common practice in Australia to stage exhibition matches before exposing the turfs to serious competitions. As per the Australian sports calendar, there is enough time between the AFL and the Australian cricket season for the drop-in pitches to get time and settle in.
“I don’t think there’s a massive issue with the pitches being dangerous. They just lack a bit of consistency at the moment, and I think it will improve in time,” stated former England cricketer Paul Taylor (currently, International Sales Director – Cricket at SIS Pitches) to Sportstar.
Also, the International Cricket Council (ICC), in a post, sought forgiveness for the demon-like behaviour of the pitches in New York and confirmed that they would be deploying the strips. However, the last few games here—IND vs. PAK, SA vs. BAN, and PAK vs. BAN—saw low totals in both innings.
Who got the best out of the New York drop-in pitches?
Yet another noteworthy fact about the drop-in pitches used here is that the pacers have gotten favourable assistance compared to the spinners. Or maybe the pacers did their job so well at the start that there was hardly anything left for the spinners in most cases.
Seam bowlers in New York have an economy of 5.65, while spinners have an economy of 6.43. The same numbers differ at other venues (Guyana, Bridgetown, Dallas, and Antigua), with the seamer’s and spinner’s economies reading 7.37 and 6.93, respectively. The bowling average and strike rate read 14.07 and 14.94 for seam bowlers, while the same categories reflect 25.75 and 24, respectively, for spinners in New York.
In contrast, the spinners have a better bowling average and a bowling strike rate compared to the pacers (matches played until June 10).
With eight games scheduled in ten days here, it is unlikely that the pitch would change colour in the mega-event. But one can only hope that the governing bodies are cautious of the advantages and limitations of their approaches revolving around a bonanza event like the T20 World Cup in the future.
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