Nasser Hussain has slammed the pitch at Trent Bridge which saw England play out a draw with India in the first Test of their five-match series.
Both teams posted over 400 runs in their first innings on a flat wicket while the tourists batted out the whole of day five reaching 391-9 before the match ended, as the pitch showed no sign of deterioration.
Hussain wrote in his column in the Daily Mail: "By the look of this Test, both sides are going to have to unearth a formula from somewhere that allows them to take 20 wickets. England came close, and I think they'll take more out of the match than India.
"But on this kind of surface, and with the balance both teams have gone for, stalemate was always the likeliest outcome. Cricket deserves a better surface than this. More than grass, England would have craved pace and carry, both because it allows batsmen to play their shots and because the nicks carry to the slips.
"It can only be a reflection of how perilous some counties' finances must be if they're so desperate to ensure a fifth day that they come up with something like this."
The second Test of the series begins on Thursday at Lord's.
Simon Sinclair
