Referee Broad slams Safs for mid-match pitch repair

Match referee Chris Broad is planning to ask the ICC to prohibit repairs being made to a pitch during a match. The fourth day of the second Test between South Africa and Australia in Durban on Monday was shrouded in controversy when the Kingsmead groundstaff repaired a hole in the pitch before the start of play.

8216;8216;There is nothing specific in the laws of the game that says you can8217;t, so I will recommend to the ICC that something like that is put in8217;8217;, Broad said on Tuesday. 8216;8216;There are obviously cracks here and they have got wider as the game8217;s gone on, and they will break up and that8217;s the nature of the pitch over five days. You just have to accept that sometimes a ball will find the edge of the crack and will take pieces out.

That8217;s just wear and tear on the pitch and it should be allowed to wear and tear so that it becomes more difficult to bat on as the game goes on.8217;8217; Broad, who ordered the repair to be undone at first drinks break on Monday, referred to a similar situation that arose in the first Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Hamilton in 2003-04.