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Pitch was unplayable

Owner: D Burns

"We played a game on a very odd pitch - a real 'sticky wicket'. It did nothing to assist the quicker bowlers - quite the reverse in fact but, with the spinners operating, it was a different story. The ball did the most extraordinary things, sometimes appearing to hold up on the surface, then shooting along the ground, at other times turning 'square'. Both sides reckoned this pitch was unplayable, but the umpires wouldn't change it. Why?"

'Unplayable' is not the same as 'unreasonable or dangerous', which are the only criteria the umpires use in deciding whether play can continue. You imply that no-one was likely to be injured because of what the pitch or the ball were doing. Umpires consider whether there is an 'obvious and foreseeable' risk of injury. On this pitch, it seems there was no such risk!


Read more about Law 6 (The pitch) at the MCC website