"First semifinal pitch ended up being too one-sided" - Curator admits surface for SA vs AFG T20 World Cup clash was underprepared
Kent Crawfton, chief curator of the West Indies leg of the 2024 T20 World Cup, has admitted that pitch preparations for the first semifinal between Afghanistan and South Africa in Trinidad did not go as planned. He explained that the intention was to have a surface that had something in it for both batters and bowlers, but the end objective could not be achieved.
The Proteas hammered Afghanistan by nine wickets in the first semifinal of the 2024 T20 World Cup at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad. Batting first after winning the toss on a pitch that proved to be near perfect for South Africa's bowlers, Afghanistan were bundled out for 56 in 11.5 overs. The Proteas chased down the target in 8.5 overs to reach the World Cup final for the first time.
In an interaction with Cricbuzz, Crawfton admitted that things went completely wrong concerning pitch preparations for the South Africa vs Afghanistan semifinal in Trinidad.
"The intention was to produce good cricket pitches, with something in there for bowlers to work with. [However] The first semifinal pitch ended up being too one-sided. The preparation programme was not carried out as planned. Thus, it became a cracked surface causing too much variation in pace, bounce, and sideways movement," Crawfton explained.
There was plenty of backlash over the surface that was used for the first semifinal of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Most cricket experts and fans reckoned that it was not a pitch worthy of a World Cup knockout clash.
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott slammed Trinidad's pitch after the semifinal loss
Former England batter and Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott was extremely critical of the Trinidad surface that was used for the first semifinal of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Speaking at the post-match press conference, he questioned whether the contest was a fair one.
"I don't want to get myself into trouble. But I also don't want to sound a bit like 'sour grapes' but that's not the pitch that you want to have a semi-final of a World Cup on. Plain and simple. It should be a fair contest," Trott said.
"I'm not saying it should be completely flat with no spin and seam movement, you shouldn't have batters worrying about moving forward and having the ball fly over their head. You should be confident in getting through the line or use their skills," he went on to add.
Until their batting collapse in the semifinal, Afghanistan had a memorable 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. They beat New Zealand by 84 runs in the group stage and stunned Australia by 21 runs in the Super 8 round.