Magazine - Drop In Pitches for Adelaide Oval

By Editor in Cricket on 5th Jul 2010 6:00

Adelaide Oval famous wicket square will be dug up and replaced with drop-in pitches when Australian football returns.
 
The oval's Stadium Management Authority confirmed yesterday drop-in pitches would "definitely" be used when football and cricket were reunited at the venue in 2014.  World-renowned curator Les Burdett, who retired yesterday, would be retained as a consultant to oversee the drop-ins' preparation.

Taking out pitches for winter improves the centre square surface on grounds used for both football and cricket.

The SMA's decision represents a big win for AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, who has long been pushing for drop-in pitches to be introduced at the SCG and the Gabba, without success. But it is a defeat for the cricket purists who place great stock in the varying conditions provided by pitches defined by their local environments.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting's distaste for the one-size-fits-all of drop-in wickets is well-known, as he prefers the challenges tossed up by varying conditions.

At his final press conference as Adelaide groundsman yesterday, Burdett hosed down fears of a cricket landscape with homogenised wickets across the nation. "The technology's got better and better," Burdett said.

Under Burdett, the Adelaide Oval wicket was regarded Australia's best and one of the world's best. It typically had a green tinge on the first morning before flattening into a batting strip and taking turn on the final days.

Source & More: www.theaustralian.com.au

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