The position of Honorary Curator at all cricket grounds is a voluntary position which is up for election each year.
There appear to be much better results achieved at grounds where the same competent curator has been in charge for several years, compared to those grounds with frequent changes of curator.
India has a small number of very experienced curators. Every effort should be made to utilise this experience to maximum effect. I heartily commend the work of the BCCI Grounds and Wickets Committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Kasturi Rangan and his four assistants.
Recommendations
I urge all State Cricket Associations to review carefully whether the voluntary curator system is working for them, and whether changes to the system are needed. In NZSTI's view the system of electing the curator each year is not conductive to the qualities of continuity, expertise and experience, need for the curator.
Alternative options include:
1) appointing a curator for a fixed term (say three years)
2) employing a professional curator with a suitable background
3) appointing an assistant curator so all expertise is not lost once the curator retires
It is good to see that the need for curator training is recognised by the BCCI (Appendix 15). In addition to a formal training course, there needs to be an annual meeting and conference for all curators in India to get together and share their experiences.
In any system with voluntary curators, there will be new curators starting each year. There needs to be on-going training and support available for these people.
In the long term, it is inevitable that curators will be professionals that are trained and qualified. Many cricket ground curators in other parts of the world have come from the golf course greenkeeping industry.
Cricket could work collaboratively with golf in India, to develop a joint training programme that benefits both sports. This is the system in New Zealand, where cricket curators train for exactly the same qualification as golf course superintendents do.
For more information on the training system in New Zealand contact Martyn Baker of the New Zealand Sports Turf Industry Training Organisation.
Another worthwhile resource for curators is to subscribe to magazines providing information on cricket pitch preparation. The NZ Turf Management Journal has published a significant amount of research information in recent years (Appendix 16).
