PITCH BATTLE

Root & Silverwood consider protest to ICC over poor surface in Ahmedabad

- DEAN WILSON

JOE ROOT and Chris Silverwood are considering a formal complaint to the ICC over the state of the pitch for the Third Test in Ahmedabad.

The England coach and captain accept they were beaten by the better side, but believe the condition of the pitch had an undue influence on the match.

And a two-day contest in which Root’s part-time off-spin was genuinely deemed to be the greatest wicket-taking threat on the second day also speaks volumes about the quality of the surface. “Joe got 5-8,” said Silverwood. “It probably pushed us to the extremes of what most of our players, if any, have experienced.

“Joe and I have to have a sit down, have a conversation and see where we go with it.

“I’m not saying we’ve just got to accept things, but it’s a conversation between myself and Joe at the moment.