THE quality of sports pitches across Birmingham has been slammed in a major study.

Consultants hired by city council leisure bosses inspected almost 700 football, cricket and rugby grounds.

They found “severe quality deficiencies” and a shortage of facilities for footballers and cricketers.

The quality of Birmingham’s sports pitches has been under scrutiny for several months following complaints from a city cricket league which has nurtured stars including Warwickshire legends Asif Din and Wasim Khan.

Last May, Birmingham Cricket League (BCL) vice-chairman Amjad Aziz claimed players risked injuries because of the state of the wickets.

“We are constantly apologising to players about pitches or outfield that haven’t been cut and are dangerous to play on,” he said.