The buzz around the ageing pitch controversy has taken centre stage ahead of the World Cup semi-finals, but Australian skipper Pat Cummins assured on Wednesday that he maintains “faith” in the ICC. According to Cummins, they haven’t encountered any issues in the ongoing tournament, and he expressed confidence in the impartiality of the independent pitch curator appointed by the ICC.

Addressing reports of India’s alleged request for a ‘slow pitch’ for the semi-final against New Zealand at Wankhede in Mumbai, Cummins remarked,

“Yeah, I saw that (the report)… obviously ICC has an independent pitch curator who manages that, so I’m sure they are all over making sure it’s fair for both teams.”

Reflecting on the tournament so far, Cummins stated,

“So far this tournament that we’ve played in, I’ve not seen any issues.”

Contrary to initial plans for a fresh pitch in the first semi-final, there are now reports of a shift to a “used” surface, presumably to favour the home team’s spinners. The speculation extends to a potentially slow pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera if India reaches the final in Ahmedabad.

The ICC’s playing conditions for the World Cup stipulate that the host association is

“responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch,”

without mandating the use of fresh pitches for knockout fixtures. Interestingly, the pitch at Eden Gardens for Australia’s semi-final against South Africa is also a used surface, having hosted the England-Pakistan group phase match.

While the Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process emphasizes the expectation of venues to present the best possible conditions, there hasn’t been any official complaint from New Zealand. Both teams inspected the Wankhede pitch closely on the eve of the match, suggesting a keen awareness and scrutiny of the playing surface.