Chapter twelve

Cricket

12.1
Introduction

In cricket, even more than in golf, the reactions of the ball off the surface form an integral part of the game. If predictable, its qualities can be exploited by those with the necessary skills but, if unpredictable, it can thwart the intentions of the skilled and unskilled alike. Thus the character of the game can be determined by factors that affect the reactions of the playing surface: the weather, the soil and the skill of the groundsman.

The grass is scarcely visible above ground on a Test pitch prepared for play. It has to struggle to survive because most of what the groundsman has to do when preparing a pitch is quite contrary to what he would choose to do to maintain the soil in good heart and the sward vigorous.

The information presented in this chapter derives mainly from a research study carried out in the 1960s and reported to the First International Turfgrass Research Conference held in Harrogate in 1969 (Stewart and Adams, 1969), plus further field-work carried out in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s. Though the main object of this research was to investigate how best to achieve good pitches for County and Test matches, the field evidence soon showed how variable the standard of performance can be from one County ground to another, and even from one pitch to another on the same square (Table 12.1). Later, as the study was extended overseas, it became evident how vastly different is the potential for pace at Test venues world-wide (see Table 12.5). Meantime, P.L.K.Drury, 1978, County Playing Fields Officer, Nottinghamshire, has shown how big a difference there is between the pace achieved on ordinary club and school grounds compared with that achieved at County level (Table 12.1 footnote).

In effect, the main differences between the highest and lowest standards reflects either differences in preparation time or the combined effects of climate and clay content of the soil. Thus, on County grounds, pitch preparation is likely to extend over a period of 10–14 days; this in addition to end of match, end of season and pre-season work. By contrast, most school and local club pitches are prepared in just one day or on the morning of the match. Overseas we see many potentially very fast pitches based on soils much richer in clay than could ever be regularly dried out in a normal British summer. No wonder our top players require time to adapt as they move from one country to another.

Consistency at a modest pace is really all that the lesser clubs and schools can aim to achieve with only a modest period of preparation. This eliminates the use of soils and soil conditions upon which the development of real pace depends. However, with the confidence that consistency allows, basic skills can be learnt that may flourish when tested at more demanding

standards of pace. This same argument can be used in support of synthetic surfaces where resources are inadequate for the proper management of turf.

A game should involve skill, variety and fun; the element of fun normally arising from the intervention of chance changing the odds. The peculiarities of different soils and the vagaries of the climate are elements, therefore, that should not be entirely eliminated from the game of cricket, but scientific research aimed at understanding their influence on pitch performance can help to strike the balance that the game requires.

12.2
Pitch assessment

In the 1960s Imperial measurements were in common use; therefore, measurements in this chapter give these units priority.

12.2.1
Bounce test

The Test and Counties Cricket Board, which is now responsible for the selection of the English national team, is concerned that first-class cricket should be played under conditions conducive to the promotion of the skills necessary for success at international level. They

believe that this requires the game to be played on fast, true pitches. Trueness is a matter of consistency, pace a matter of bounce. Consistency of bounce, therefore, is not a bad measure of pitch quality.

Method

The simple procedure which Stewart and Adams developed in the 1960s to measure bounce was to drop a once-used (60 overs), but sound, cricket ball vertically onto the surface of the pitch from a fixed height of 16 feet (just less than 5 metres). Under these conditions a sound, English ball will rebound off solid concrete to almost exactly one quarter of the dropping height. Sighting the top of the ball against a board marked off at inch intervals, the bounce off concrete is of the order of 52 inches (1321 mm).

The figures for pitches reported in this chapter were all taken after close of play on the final day of three- or five-day matches. They indicate the extent to which the important qualities of uniformity and solidity have survived the full match treatment. The aim, not always achieved, was to record 12 bounces within an area of 2–5 yards (1.8–4.6 m) in front of each wicket. Intact soil cores were then taken from the same areas for subsequent laboratory study.

Review of bounce evidence related to clay content of soil

Table 12.1 indicates the great range in pace to be found on County pitches. Some of this could be related to differences in moisture content, some to variations in soil strength as determined by clay content, but the worst cases of inconsistency had their origin in recent pitch reconstruction or imperfect preparation (Table 12.2).

Outwith the extremes of Old Trafford, which at the time was notoriously easy paced, and Gloucester, where the difficulty was to get the soil adequately dried out in depth, clay content was found to be remarkably uniform, most being within 5% either way of an average of 31%. Note, however, this is half the clay content that might be considered normal in Australia.

12.2.2 Surface consolidation

Comparison of the bulk density of the soil cores in their field condition compared with the density of the same material remoulded and air dried in the laboratory (Table 12.3) indicated considerable variation in efficiency of consolidation during pitch preparation.

12.2.3
Visual evidence of management in soil cores

Visual evidence from soil cores, viewed in section, revealed considerable variation in soil management. This ranged from a neat succession of thin topdressing layers at the Oval, to much coarser, irregular layering at Lord's and Swansea, and in unlayered uniformity in the worm-worked soils at Worcester and Taunton.

12.2.4
Results of laboratory soil tests

A clear relationship was established in the laboratory between clay content and measurements of soil binding strength (see AS SB ratings, Appendix 1). In the field there was found to be general agreement between the bounce measurement and player opinion on pace. When those pitches were excluded which the density measurements suggested were least well prepared, i.e. those with rolling efficiency values less than 80% (Table 12.3), and values for dry binding strength were then compared with the average of the four best bounce values, the following strong relationship emerged:

Alternatively, if values for clay content are used instead of the more immediately relevant

TABLE 12.4 Interrelationships between soil properties, bounce height and pace

quality of binding strength, the relationship takes the form

However, this relationship between bounce and clay content applies only for clay contents between 20 and 40% and, on average, may be wrong, for one case in twenty.

12.2.5
Pitch and soil tests for cricket groundsmen

An important outcome of the research reported above is that it removed a lot of the mystique from the preparation of cricket pitches. It made it possible for a groundsman to objectively assess his achievement and to confirm or refute the subjective and often prejudiced opinions of the players, spectators and commentators. It made clear how the fundamental character of clay content in the soil could limit the pace potential that even a well-prepared pitch could achieve. It made it possible to distinguish a problem of an unsuitable soil from a failing in pitch preparation, and it provided simple criteria on which to base the selection of soil for topdressing and pitch construction.

Bounce height

Using the method described on page 183 the significance of the bounce height values obtained can be interpreted by reference to the standards listed in Table 12.4.

Low values, under 20 in (508 mm) or, worse still, under 15 in (381 mm) indicate a marked weakness in soil strength. This may be caused by any one of a combination of factors: a soil with an inadequate content of clay; unsatisfactory pitch preparation; or something unsatisfactory in the general management of the square. For example, on the pitches recorded in Table 12.1, the poor performance of the old part of the square at Edgbaston in 1966 could not be attributed to the clay content of the soil, whereas this clearly was the problem at Old Trafford in 1967. The bounce values alone could not have made this distinction.

A pitch, bouncing consistently between 25 and 30 in (635 and 762 mm) when a cricket ball is dropped vertically onto it from 16 ft (4877 mm), probably represents a good standard for Test and County play, but the normal club or school game is played on turf pitches that seldom bounce more than 15 in (381 mm).

Particularly high bounce values were recorded at Abbeydale Park, Sheffield in the mid 1970s. Values consistently around 35 in (889 mm) were recorded on the pitch used for the Yorkshire/West Indies match in 1976, and values two or three inches either side of an average of 37 in (940 mm) for the Yorkshire/ Middlesex match in 1976. All this was achieved with a surface clay content of 35%. The injuries experienced by the Yorkshire players on both these occasions suggest that such pitches, even when consistent, are more lively than all but the most talented English batsmen can cope with, certainly when encountered unexpectedly, and the fast bowlers are West Indians.

Consistency of bounce

From field observations and the data recorded in Table 12.1 it would seem reasonable to postulate that a discrepancy of more than 2 in (50 mm) between the general average for 12 bounces at either end of a pitch (third column in Table 12.1), compared with the average of the two highest from either end (second column in Table 12.1), indicates some feature of management requiring attention, irrespective of any problem over clay content. Some examples now follow.

1. At Gloucester (1967) the immediate surface had cracked into a mosaic of very small hard blocks while an inch (25 mm) down, the strong clay soil was still moist enough to be plastic.
2. At Hove and Edgbaston (1967) both pitches were affected by abnormally low bounces along turf lines.
3. At Worcester (1967) the strong clay soil had not been adequately re-wetted and reconsolidated by rolling after previous use and so had cracked up dangerously by the end of the match, much to the benefit of the bowlers.

Soil strength

A simple ASSB or motty test, described in Appendix 1, will indicate any soil strength limitation inherent in the clay content of the soil. For well made ‘motties' every 41/2 lb (2 kg) of breaking strength is equivalent to 1% clay. However, with Australian soils in mind, it should be pointed out that this applies best for clay contents within the range 20–40% and where the clay is not chemically dispersed, e.g. by incautious de-salination.

Interrelationships between soil properties, bounce height and pace

Table 12.4 shows how values obtained in the survey of County pitches carried out in 1966 and 1967 allowed relationships to be made between clay content and dry strength of soil, and between bounce values for a cricket ball dropped vertically onto the surface from 16 ft (4877 mm) and player opinion of pace.

On a properly prepared, dry pitch, bounce height and true pace are likely to be related because both are beneficially affected by the extent to which the surface remains hard and unyielding on impact. Any give, or collapse, will reduce the rebound height and also check forward movement so that a player will complain of the ball not coming nicely onto the bat. The exaggerated forward movement of a ball skidding horizontally off a wet, or excessively lush, green surface is false pace. True pace, where the angle of departure is virtually the same as the angle of incidence, is what the player should be able to anticipate when making an attacking stroke to a guileless delivery. By contrast, false pace will deceive even the well-intentioned stroke. The potential to skid is not covered by the vertical bounce test and could not be predicted from the soil qualities of clay content or dry strength.

12.3
Critical factors in pitch preparation

12.3.1
Achieving the soil's maximum binding strength—theory

Using a soil sample from which gravel and stone have been removed, moisten just enough to allow any previous aggregation to be worked out by rubbing. Then, by rolling between cupped hands, form the whole mass into a firm, coherent plastic ball (motty) with a smooth, flawless surface. If the soil is too wet it will stick to everything; too dry it will not cohere enough to avoid breaking up when rolled; just right it will mould reliably without cracking, sticking to itself but leaving other surfaces clean. The last stage is known as ‘sticky point’. It can be achieved in any soil that has sufficient fine particles for a continuous moisture matrix to provide the necessary flexible cohesion.

On further drying, the water matrix is broken and plasticity gives way to a kind of brittleness, like that of partially set cement. This stage coincides with the colour change from dark to light because the removal of water by evaporation causes drying of the surface first and entry of air into peripheral pore spaces.

Finally, as the soil is left to dry out completely in the air, the residual films of water between clay sheets get thinner, contraction ceases and soluble cementing agents, concentrated by the loss of moisture, solidify to form rigid bonds of varying degrees of permanence.

It is this sequence of events which a groundsman should keep in mind when setting about the task of preparing a cricket pitch for play.

12.3.2
Linking theory to practice

When preparing a pitch for play a groundsman should attend to the following points.

1. He should make his soil sufficiently moist to enable him to achieve integration by rolling into one, coherent, plastic mass. The more clay-rich the soil the more difficult this will be. Hence, a clay content of 40% should be considered the upper limit for cricket pitch soils in Britain. Above this percentage the soil would be difficult to dry out in our climate anyway.
2. Rolling should continue so long as the soil remains plastic, but never drier than sticky point. That is, he should roll only so long as the surface remains dark in colour, or so that the dark colour can be restored by squeezing up moisture from below. If rolling is continued through to the brittle stage it will merely result in fine cracking, making the surface liable to break up during play. Re-wetting the surface from above may well trap air that will balloon on rolling to disrupt the soil horizontally. This may be the reason why the combination of spiking and rolling is a particularly effective way of achieving consolidation.
3. Final hardening of the pitch should be left to the drying of the atmosphere. Rolling of a thoroughly hard pitch may do no harm, but then neither does it do much good, except temporarily to tidy away loose soil and debris that shouldn't be there in the first place.

12.3.3
Surface consolidation

Problem of soil layering

Though an open soil is required for the deep rooting that benefits growth, a hard, compact, level surface is required for the game of cricket. This can be achieved only by a system of management that involves heavy rolling during pitch preparation. Topdressings of heavy loam, 2–3 mm (1/10in) thick, should be applied annually to revive the sward, re-true the surface after scarification and spiking, incorporate fertilizer and seed, bury exposed roots and maintain the clay-rich character of the playing surface. This is the work which Man must take on to mimic the natural processes of opening the soil, burying organic residues and topdressing the surface, these being achieved by earthworms in a fertile pasture. Whereas the natural process of earthworm churning succeeds in maintaining a soil homogeneous, the field evidence points strongly to the man-made alternative ending up as a succession of horizontal layers.

Wheeled traffic across a bare soil will lead to the surface developing a platy structure. This happens even in a uniform soil, let alone one that begins already strongly layered because of the build-up of successive layers of topdressing. While the soil is still moist, rolling may temporarily achieve a measure of cohesion between the layers but the mass as a whole will only remain strongly coherent if nothing incompatible intervenes. This means that soil topdressings must be applied to a clean surface, and the applied soil must be similar in its swelling and shrinking characteristics to the soil already in place. If not, the layers are liable to separate on drying with adverse consequences for pace. Compatibility can be assessed by a modification of the ASSB test described in Appendix A1.3.

Heterogeneous layers will react differentially in response to the uptake of water and the disruptive action of frost. Therefore, reconsolidation of the soil in depth must be given due priority in early spring, making use of the spike and roll combination to aid integration and release trapped air.

Role of grass

To many, cricket is a game played on grass but, at County standard and above, a pitch when ready for play is 90% bare soil. However, grass on a square does have a role to play apart from just blending with the outfield when out of use. If the grass is well rooted in depth it can not only help directly with surface integration, it can help indirectly by actively extending the drying process deeper into the soil. The builders of clay-walled houses used to include straw in the mix to ensure steady drying in depth and prevent the surface flaking off in layers, so the roots and stem bases of the sward will do likewise on a pitch. The premature drying of a surface skin is something that should be avoided.

Earthworms—are they welcome on a cricket square?

Despite the problem of surface casting, which some groundsmen seem to find insuperable, there would seem to be much to be said for learning to work with earthworms, even on a cricket square. However, this is only true if the cast material that the worms bring to the surface is of an adequate clay content to act as a topdressing for the promotion of pace. That means the clay content of the whole soil is important and not just the playing surface. It is probably this limitation that accounts for the different prejudices of groundsmen who have had experience of earthworm activity on their squares.

At the start of the research survey carried out in the 1960s, a gathering of ex-England captains agreed that three County grounds stood out as having been renowned for the satisfactory pace of their pitches over the years: Worcester, Portsmouth and Taunton. On completion of the survey, and despite a general prejudice against the presence of earthworms on cricket squares, it was found that at three grounds earthworms had been retained:-Worcester, Portsmouth and Taunton.

If a groundsman inherits a square on which earthworms are active, and the soil they bring up in their casts is sufficiently clay-rich to act as a suitable topdressing for the promotion of pace, he would do well to try and learn to live with them. Their burrowing and soil mixing activities will benefit drainage, avoid layering and the development of thatch, and encourage deep rooting. Casts can be a problem when mowing or rolling but this problem gets less as the surface dries out during pitch preparation, and any casts that do appear can be removed by brushing.

With modern chemicals, earthworms can readily be exterminated, thereby eliminating the problem of surface casts, but the groundsman must then take on all the jobs that the

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earthworm would otherwise do. Eventually he may be faced with a surface so excessively layered that complete reconstruction becomes necessary.

12.4
Overseas comparisons

12.4.1
Clay content

As shown by the data in Table 12.5, the soils encountered by our Test players overseas may be very different from those to which they have become accustomed in Britain. Best documented is the information from Australia. This indicates a preference for soils with a clay content exceeding 50% and a type of clay which, by comparison with that used in Britain, is markedly swelling in character. Their soils expand and contract a great deal in response to wetting and drying and, by this means, readily fracture.

The use of self-mulching, high-clay soils on cricket squares only begins to make sense when it is realized that first, cricket squares in Australia often form part of pitches used for various types of football during the winter, and secondly there can be a problem of salt accumulation at the surface which has to be leached away through the soil periodically.

Strange though it may seem to use the hallowed turf of the square for vigorous games in the winter, there is some reason to believe that it is the winter game rather than the summer game that suffers most from this pattern of use. The change in the feel underfoot is somewhat disconcerting to a player striding out at full pace. However, studded footwear probably achieves a useful amount of churning to homogenize the topsoil, and any cracking will assist drainage and the removal of salts.

12.4.2
Grass

The preferred grass used in Australia, and other countries with a warm climate, is Cynodon dactylon. This grass spreads very rapidly by surface runners and underground rhizomes. Its common name in Australia is ‘couch’, one of the names we use in Britain for the rapidly spreading, troublesome weed grass, Agropyron repens. Because Cynodon dies back in the winter it benefits from the fine cracking of a strong clay soil to regenerate from below when the increase in temperature allows.

It may also be this contrast in origin of the renewal shoots that accounts for a difference in expression of our thatch problems. A strong clay pitch in South Africa is said to be at its best only for the first two years after the surface has been renewed. Thereafter it becomes more and more difficult to re-integrate by rolling. From the visual examination of intact, core samples it would appear that this problem results from the progressive build-up of grass fibre in an array of vertical cracks leading through to the surface from below. Contrast this with the horizontal orientation of our thatch problem in Britain where organic residues inhibit the integration of annual increments of topdressing. Since there is no mention of any similar problem of vertical integration in Australia, could it be that this is another favourable consequence of the churning achieved by winter use and the annual need for some measure of surface renewal?

12.3.3
Tips from down-under on surface consolidation

When making motties, for the soil strength test, it is useful to check periodically if the soil ball being moulded is still moist enough to stick to absorbent paper pressed against it. Continued rolling beyond this critical limit of stickiness will risk the whole surface breaking up into a mosaic of fine cracks. This is a useful way of demon-strating to groundsmen why, valuable as rolling is for integrating a moist soil in depth, it should not be continued through to the brittle stage.

This same message comes through from two practical procedures used in pitch preparation in the southern hemisphere. In South Africa there is a tradition of rolling over a covering of hessian, stopping rolling when the hessian no longer sticks to the soil, then leaving the surface to bake hard in the sun. In Australia the advice is to scatter fresh grass clippings on the moist soil then roll, squeezing up water from depth, stopping when the clippings fail to adhere to the soil. These practical procedures seem to be aimed firstly at keeping the soil plastic until uniformly consolidated in depth, and secondly at using the evidence of loss of surface stickiness to indicate the point on the drying cycle when rolling should cease and any further consolidation left to the desiccating effect of the atmosphere. This could be useful advice for all groundsmen who are faced with the task of consolidating a strong soil in depth without the surface drying out prematurely. (Refer back to the problem pitch at Gloucester—Table 12.1 and pages 183 and 186.)

12.5
Creating a cricket field

In practice, there are two main approaches to the construction of a cricket field—one puts the emphasis on site selection and the other is manmade and expensive.

12.5.1
A natural cricket field

The simplest approach is to chose a level or gently sloping site that already has in place an earthworm-worked, clay loam or silty clay loam soil, 25–40% clay. Any problem of encroaching ground water should be controlled by peripheral ditches or catchment drains, placed beyond the boundary of the outfield. The surface, from the centre of the square to the periphery of the outfield, should be trued by minimal soil disturbance, aiming to assist the run-off of surface, storm water all the way to interception drainage beyond the boundary.

With summer use only, this could well suffice so long as management is sensitive, not only to the needs of the players, but also to the welfare of the earthworm population that is essential for the conditioning of the soil. Without some effort to avoid acidity and to feed the earthworms by return of clippings, numbers will fall and the natural drainage of the soil will suffer in consequence. Allowed to go too far, this may then require the assistance of a full, sand-capped, slit system of drainage in the outfield, and a catchment drain around the square.

12.5.2
A purpose-made cricket square

Problems arising from the nature of the game

A clay loam, cricket square soil is required to remain level, grassed and consolidated throughout the summer but, as such, it is unlikely to contribute much to its own drainage. Priority has to be given to organizing interception of encroaching ground water and surface runoff without interfering with play. Typically this is what a ‘French’ drain is meant to do but the problem is to fit such a drain around the periphery of the square without unsightly consequences for the growth of the grass, or undue interference with play. Dividing the square into well defined, pitch-wide strips, bordered by sand/gravel slits might appear to be another similar option. The problem with this would be to maintain the slit surface freely permeable and level with the rest of the square without extending the area of sand contamination onto the playing surface of the pitches.

Unlike the situation with winter games pitches, where topdressing with sand is recommended, sand, or even a sandy loam, should be kept off the clay-loam surface of a good quality cricket square. A light dusting of sand onto the surface of a prepared pitch could be used to enhance response to spin but would not be considered sporting, especially if applied surreptitiously to influence the course of a game. But apart from these sporting considerations, it could have long-term, adverse effects on the performance of the playing surface. It will not become properly integrated into the existing surface soil, and any subsequent clay-loam topdressing will be difficult to integrate through it with the layer below. As a result, the weak binding link at the junction will lead to horizontal cracking as the soil dries out after rolling. This will deaden the bounce and eventually cause the surface to disintegrate.

Soil consolidation, like drainage, requires displacement of air and water. Both these potentially mobile components of soil can to some extent be brought up to the surface by spiking and rolling but it is also possible to impel them down through the soil if there is an underlying, drained gravel bed not too far below. Thus, though much attention is concentrated on treating the surfaces of cricket squares to improve pitch performance, there is also scope for rational interference below ground with the same ultimate objective in mind.

Construction

The need for soil compaction being inevitable,

the soil on the square should be kept as shallow as possible, and rafted over a drainage bed of gravel. In design it can be very similar to the bowling green described in Chapter 10, but with the topsoil, above the coarse sand blinding layer, consisting of 100 mm (4 in) of a fertile, loamy sand soil, with 100 mm (4 in) of a fertile clay loam, or silty clay loam soil to form the actual playing surface. Allowance should be made at time of placement for long-term settlement, of the order of one sixth, after the initial firming down of each soil layer. This shallow soil construction is typical of what is at present used in Britain and Australia though there is, as yet, very little experimental evidence to support it in detail.

To assist the movement of wheeled traffic traversing the site during construction, and to add to the stability of the shallow soil profile, it would be advisable to choose an angular, fine version of a trench gravel for the gravel bed, and an angular, blinding sand to separate the gravel from the loamy sand soil above. Where ease of rolling out and trueness are even more important than fast pace, for example at school and club level, the extra silt in a silty clay loam could be beneficial for the actual playing surface.

Essential aids to soil-moisture control

Covers

In the process of pitch preparation it is essential that the soil surface is allowed to dry out progressively after having been fully integrated by rolling out when moist. Any re-wetting will cause swelling and some risk of disruption which may then require reintegration by going right back to the initial stage of rolling out moist. Since the process of drying out may take anything from three to five days the protection of covers is essential if the process is to the completed by a specific date. There may then be other uses for covers during the period of play but, whatever the prevailing rules of the game allow in this respect, the vital role of covers in pitch preparation will remain. As a consequence, provision must be made for intercepted rainfall to be discharged from hosing attached to the gutters directly into the drainage system at either end of the square.

Irrigation

The deep rooting of grass in a worm-worked soil is the best natural insurance against the risks inherent in drought but earthworms, more often than not, are by no means abundant on our major grounds. The alternative of effective irrigation is still something of a luxury in Britain as, so often during a drought, water use is restricted.

It is essential, however, that a water source should be installed, accessible from the surface, and near enough to the square to assist with the irrigation required for preparation and end renovation.

With a shallow soil in place over a drained gravel bed, sub-irrigation would seem to be an option that could help in pitch preparation and maintenance. The construction would have to allow for each pitch area to be serviced separately. However, at this stage any move in the direction of sub-irrigation would have to be considered experimental, as capillary flow through a compact clay loam will be very much slower than through sand.

12.5.3
A purpose-made outfield

A cricket outfield covers of the order of 11/2 hectares (3–4 acres), a very large area of grass to maintain merely for cricket use in the summer. Alternative use varies from the rigours of a full winter programme of football to occasional use for the more compatible game of hockey, or reversion to public use as might be the case on a village green. Over such a wide range of use no one prescription for construction and management could be expected to apply, but there are certain general requirements that should be given precedence if opportunity allows. These are:

• efficient drainage
• evenness of surface
• uniformity of grass cover.

Efficient drainage is essential, even for a summer game, as play cannot take place on a surface that remains ponded after rain. It is not unknown for resumption of play in a Test match to be delayed because of water lying in the outfield.

Earthworms are invaluable for their assistance with drainage and the recycling of organic residues but regular brushing and weedkilling will be essential to maintain an even, uniformly grassed surface suitable for close mowing and acceptable to fielders relying on the true roll of the ball.

Elimination of earthworms or intensive winter use means that, except on steeply sloping land or sand, drainage assistance will be essential. The form this takes will almost certainly involve surface interception by slits linked to pipes. If the system chosen makes use of 50 mm (2 in) wide, sand/gravel slits, the combination of an even surface for cricket and intensive use for vigorous play in winter favours covering the slit surface with a deep carpet of ameliorated fine sand (section 11.2.2, pitch B). If surface interception is ultimately placed in the hands of a mini- or micro-slit system, then surface trueness will be less at risk from slit settlement but regular attention will still have to be paid to sand topdressing and/or repeat slitting to maintain the thin slits functional (Chapter 2, pages 42 and 43).