Wickets that move - and may spin too

Some of the stadiums in the ongoing Cricket World Cup use portable pitches. The author looks at the technology behind preparing the wicket away from the field of play

After India laboured to a win against the West Indies in the World Cup at the Waca in Perth at the start of this month, man of the match Mohammed Shami was asked about the best pitch he had ever bowled on. His response was swift. "This one," the diffident Kolkatan said unhesitatingly. Ask any fast bowler who likes swing and bounce (there aren't many who don't) and he'll probably tell you the same thing. New ball in hand, the Waca pitch and the balmy Perth sea breeze behind him as he runs in - that's all that a fast bowler needs. But just imagine if the fastest pitch in the world could be transformed into a low and slow turner that typifies the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi or a minefield we're accustomed to seeing at Kanpur's Green Park. All you require is a pitch that has been prepared at some place away from the ground and literally "dropped-in" before the start of a match.

And no, this is not a futuristic scenario. India has already played some matches in the World Cup, including the quarter-final against Bangladesh, on drop-in pitches. In fact, the final will be played on one such wicket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. These were first used during Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in Australia in the 1970s, when matches were played at dual-purpose arenas. In New Zealand and Australia, where most stadiums are used for multiple sports, drop-in pitches are not uncommon. Auckland's Eden Park, for example, is used for both cricket and rugby. Drop-in pitches help solve the problem of having cricket pitches on football and rugby fields and enable wickets to be produced in a controlled environment away from field traffic. The aim of the portable pitch technology is to provide better wickets for cricket as well as minimising the muddy centre square for other sports. They are fully prepared off the ground, transported to the stadium before the game, used and then taken back after the match is completed.

The wickets are prepared in the traditional manner on a holding frame. They are then transported as a single slab (25 m long, 3 m wide, 200 mm deep) using a purpose-built, low-floatation machine that minimises damage to the outfield. They weigh around 30 tonne. The pitch generally arrives at the ground with the lifting frame attached. A bed is excavated on the edge of the wicket table and the pitch is then lifted into position. The lifting frame is attached to the slab by steel rods threaded through the eyelets of heavy gauge corkscrews embedded in the pitch.

The best part about these pitches is that they are durable. The Melbourne Cricket Ground has been for using these for the last few years. The soil and grass used on them are similar to those on traditional pitches. The biggest benefit of this technology is that it allows for more mature grass and root systems to develop, untouched by sand or other debris from the Australian Rules football season. Other grounds using drop-in pitches include the Westpac Stadium in Wellington and the Colonial Stadium in Melbourne.

These wickets do not behave vastly different from permanent pitches. For example, the World Cup pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground is playing the way it normally does - good carry for the pacers, the ball coming on to the bat and a little bit of assistance for the spinners. That's because the conditions and weather in which they are prepared remain more or less the same.

However, the biggest criticism that drop-in pitches have been facing is their batting-friendly nature. With cricket increasingly becoming a batsman's game, these pitches have been witness to some high scoring matches. The India-Australia Test series prior to the World Cup - where drop-in pitches were used in all four matches - saw big scores. Some experts felt that the wickets were more "subcontinent-like", offering very little to the fast bowlers. In a way, these pitches have helped Asian teams to acclimatise better to alien conditions in the World Cup.