Dubai: Dubai's first Test wicket is ready at Dubai Sports City International Cricket Stadium for the opening match of the Test series between Pakistan and South Africa beginning tomorrow.
So far the wickets at the stadium have been used only for one-day and Twenty20 matches and all seven wickets have won acclaim for producing exciting matches. Pitch number five will be used for the stadium's first Test match.
In depth infographics: Turf pitch preparation
Tony Hemming, the head curator of the ICC Global Cricket Academy, and his team created the Test wicket after conducting in-depth research into the science of pitch-making.
Hemming, who has also created Australian, England and Asian wickets at the ICC Global Cricket Academy, said creating a Test wicket was a challenge.
"We may not be able to compare this wicket to other wickets around the world because many factors had to be taken into account for the creation of a wicket here," said Hemming.
The soil for the cricket pitches had come from Nandipur in Pakistan and Tifway 419 Bermuda grass was on top with 200 millimetres of clay, Hemming said.
Good shape
Hemming said he conducted his research in Australian laboratories, comparing various types of soils before he created the wicket.
He also made sure that the grass root system went all the way down through the clay, and that had given him confidence that the pitch would remain in good shape for five to eight days.
"The root system is healthy and is touching the gravel," said Hemming, who began by wetting the pitch to a depth of 100 to 150 millimetres.
The clay was so hard it only had an infiltration rate of 2 millimetres per hour, he said.
The moisture reached the bottom after the pitch dried out by day four.
"What makes the pitch hard is the root that is extracting the moisture out of that area and the surface cracks deep down. This is good for cricket pitches and good for aeration. Oxygen goes down to the root and in clay environment we normally cannot get oxygen down to the roots," he said.
The climate also played a vital role in helping to create a good pitch. Hemming said he prepared the pitch when the temperature ranged between 25C and 35C, when humidity was between 10 per cent and 60 per cent, and with 11 hours of sunlight. The mowing height was fixed at 9 millimetres, double cut with a pedestrian mower. On the second day it is fixed at 7mm, and on the seventh day it is double cut at 4mm.
The pitch is even swept and vacuumed occasionally.
"By dropping a cricket ball from a raised arm height and watching the bounce to the height of your knee, one will get a good idea whether the pitch is fast or slow," Hemming said. "Ankle height will be slow, calf muscle is medium and knee is fast. Generally speaking, allowing the pitch to do the talking at the end of the game you'll know what you have produced."
Will removing of the grass assist spin? "No I get more spin here by leaving grass on the pitch because of the characteristics of grass here," he said.
Hemming explained that just because one leaves a lot of grass on the wicket does not necessarily make a fast wicket too . "It will be a fast wicket only if you have got the base hard. All that the grass does is it provides a lot of lubricant for the ball. You can have a lot of grass and punch and it will accelerate the ball if you have good layer of grass on top. It is very good for slipping the ball through or to carry."
Hemming also revealed a pitch can turn bouncy if the curator has not kept he grass evenly all the time. "He has to grow grass on the pitch and has to keep the grass evenly all the time. If he loses an area he has to regenerate and grow grass in that place back or you may get a high level of moisture and the ball will misbehave in that spot compared to the other spots," said Hemming.
According to Hemming, soil too plays a big role in the quality of the wicket. It is with a lot of care that Hemming has created the wicket. He concluded with one important advice: "Everything should be kept simple and don't complicate things too much."
Profile: Tony Hemming
Tony Hemming carries with him over two decades of experience as a curator. He began as an apprentice curator at the Melbourne Cricket ground in 1984 and went on to become the groundsman of the historic Oval ground of the Surrey County Cricket Club in 1988.
Hemming then moved to Australia to become the curator of Melbourne Cricket Club.
He then went on to create turf for sports like football, AFL, FIFA, IRB Rugby and FIA Hockey. He also was the head curator of Aurora Stadium and Manager of Inveresk Precinct, Launceston, Tasmania, Arena Manager of King Fahd International Football Stadium in Riyadh and Turf Consultant for Turf Technology Middle East in Saudi Arabia, Arena Manager Colonial Stadium (Etihad Stadium), Melbourne. Head curator of Carlton Cricket Club and Football Club in Melbourne.
He has done advanced courses in Horticulture in turf management. Hemming has designed and constructed 22 Asian and Australian pitches and 10 synthetic and four English wickets at the Global Cricket Academy. He was the course instructor in Pakistan Cricket Board's curator seminar and was consultant for Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International football challenge in 2007. Since February 2007 he has been creating the wickets at the Dubai Sports City's international cricket stadium. He has also designed and produced turf management programmes for the hockey, football, rugby and cricket academy wickets in the Dubai Sports City.
"I enjoy being employed in a turf management environment and continually develop my knowledge and skills in preparation of multipurpose turf and to undertake further studies to grow within this industry," said Hemming, who is also a professional cyclist.
