Gujarat Cricket Association
Date of inspection : 14 September 2002
Present : Nadim Memon (Contractor to GCA)
Kalur Thakore (Assistant Groundsman)
Vikram Patel (Hon. Sec. GCA and members of the BCA Board)
Kasturi Rangan (BCCI)
Dhiraj Parsana (BCCI)
Bill Walmsley (NZ Sports Turf Institute)
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Present condition of ground
The cricket square has been re-laid to BCCI specifications. The cricket soil used is a mixture of parts red soil to 1 part black soil. The cricket square has been sown with hybrid couch and establishment is nearly complete. It should be well established by the time the 20 days allowed for establishment is up. The cricket square is commendably level. The outfield has had pop-up irrigation installed and red subsoil has been applied to improve surface smoothness. There is still work to be done on both the outfield and the block to achieve full cover and a level surface. Good progress is being made.
Prospects for sporting pitches
The mixture of red and black soils has a reputation for producing good cricket pitches with a hard surface. Our initial assessment of the soil suggests that it may be more difficult to achieve top performance than with other soils (Appendix 2).
A key factor will be achieving adequate consolidation of the new soil with pre-season cross rolling. Core samples taken from the pitch at the visit showed the soil was still loose and crumbly, as expected for a new pitch. The new soil will need to properly consolidate and fuse into a dense mass. Sometimes soil resists efforts to compact it because hard soil aggregates resist breaking down. Uniform consolidation of new pitches can also be a problem.
