‘Pitches tougher to bat in second half’

CHESTER-LE-STREET: The pitches prepared for the World Cup do not last the full 100 overs and have not aided batsmen chasing a score in the second innings, England skipper Eoin Morgan said on Tuesday.

Many teams have found it difficult to chase big totals at the World Cup, with the pitch appearing to slow down and the ball not coming on to the bat as quickly as in first innings.

India’s unbeaten run at the tournament came to an end after England beat them by 31 runs on Sunday, despite having five wickets in hand, with Indian batsmen blaming the slowness of the pitch after they were unable to hit boundaries.

“I think every wicket that we have played on so far has been tougher to bat on in the second innings, regardless if we had won or not,” Morgan told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s match against New Zealand. “Even the games I have watched on TV, it’s been tougher [in the] second innings … The wickets haven’t been as good as they have in the last four years.”