The New York Cricket Stadium known as Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York is getting dismantled. Having hosted eight matches in the Group stages of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, the much-talked-about cricket stadium will become a thing of the past as disassembling work has already begun on the site.
Why is New York Cricket Stadium getting demolished?
It was part of the pact between the ICC and Nassau County to hold eight world cup matches at the Eisenhower Park. Both the bodies signed an agreement on November 18, 2023 to host the T20 World Cup matches after which the make-shift stadium would be broken down.
The New York Cricket Stadium was part of a 19-acre area of the Eisenhower Park which was a basic strip of plot used for recreational activities without a proper drainage system. It was being used as a parking lot for amphitheater events at times.
The Pop-Ups stadium with a capacity of 34,000 was brought to life in just 106 days. The actual construction on the site commenced on February 18, just four months ahead of the start of the T20 World Cup.
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The drop-in pitch at the New York Cricket Stadium was imported from Adelaide, Australia while the special grass was grown in Florida, reportedly.
The same stadium will now be completely razed down in the next six weeks.
The Problem In The Pitch
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium gained criticism from across the board for its slow outfield and bouncy pitch. It became a norm to see batters struggle to score runs at the ground.
Experts and fans complained about the inconsistency and unpredictability of the pitch. Both chasing and defending the targets in the very low-scoring games became difficult.
The pitch threw some capricious results. While teams batting first won three of the eight games, those chasing have won five times. The highest total that was posted at the New York Cricket Stadium was that of 137 for 7 by Canada playing against Canada. The most successful chase was recorded by India by scoring 111 for 3 against the USA team.
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The average first-innings total was 108 as recorded in the eight matches of the tournament played here. For the record, no teams crossed 100 in the first two matches.
The ICC has acknowledged the condition and attributed the uneven bounce to grassy veins being compressed by rolling.
