"Don't think the surfaces have been particularly great" - Lewis Gregory opens up on low-scoring spree in The Hundred Men's 2024
Trent Rockets skipper Lewis Gregory feels tired pitches are one of the main reasons why scores in The Hundred have been on the lower side. The average first-innings score in the competition has been just 133 so far.
Several players like Liam Livingstone have come out to speak up against the movement of the ball used for The Hundred. The ball has extra lacquer on it for The Hundred branding, leading it to swing a lot more than the conventional white Kookaburra.
However, Lewis Gregory feels that since the competition is played on tired pitches, the average scores have dropped considerably. Here's what he was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo:
"I don't think the surfaces have been particularly great across the board. These balls do seem to swing a fraction more than the normal white Kookaburras that we use in the Blast. I just think the combination of that and some tired pitches at the back end of an English season has made it quite difficult for free-flowing striking."
The Trent Rockets lost their latest game against the Birmingham Phoenix quite convincingly as they were bundled out for just 118. Phoenix won the game with six wickets in hand and with seven balls to spare.
Lewis Gregory on retiring out Imad Wasim
Trent Rockets retired out Imad Wasim when the latter was on 29 off 29 deliveries so that Chris Green could have a crack at the short leg-side boundary. Lewis Gregory claimed that the players on the team are in good spirits about being retired out if the situation arises. Here's what he stated on this:
"The shorter the format, you will see it a bit more… there's not much time, and if you think someone's not quite got the surface or the opposite down, it is giving someone else an opportunity to be able to do that. I don't think you'll see stacks of it, I just think you're trying to create small margins that might help you."
The loss against the Phoenix has eliminated the Rockets from the race to the playoffs.