The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Stadium pitch being re-laid

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Friday, Jun 27, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Stadium pitch being re-laid

G. Narasimha Rao

One wicket is being added to the existing five

Relaying being done under the supervision of ACA Curator K. Naga Mallayya
The total cost of relaying is estimated between Rs.10 lakhs and Rs.15 lakhs

— Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

For a strong wicket: Work in progress at the cricket pitch at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in the city.

VISAKHAPTNAM: Relaying of the ACA-VDCA stadium turf pitch is expected to be completed by July-end and the pitch will be match-ready by August-end. One wicket is being added to the existing five on the 100 x 60 feet pitch.

Consultant

The low bounce of the first three wickets observed during the Deodhar Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches held during March and April was the reason for relaying the pitch, said ACA-VDCA Stadium Administrative Committee chairman and vice-president of ACA P.R. Narayanaswami.

A consultant of Hong Kong-based Leisure Turf and Landscape Ricky Aitken, who was involved in relaying of the Lord’s pitch, has been engaged by ACA secretary V. Chamundeswarinath to do the job here. Mr. Aitken, who came here when the work commenced, suggested that the ACA has an additional wicket and the six wickets would be used alternately.

A cricket pitch will have a brick base and a ballast (metal stone chips) of three to four inches thick over it. A red earth layer of 10 inches thick and a two-inch thick black cotton soil layer will be above the ballast layer. Then grass is planted on the black cotton soil layer.

At the ACA-VDCA stadium the brick and ballast layers have been retained and the rest were removed. It was found that there was eight inches thick of sand on the ballast base of the first three wickets, which was the reason for the low bounce.

The pitch is being prepared by laying two-inch-thick red earth layer, rolling it and scarifying it. This process is repeated five times for the 10-inch-thick red earth layer and twice for the four- inch thick cotton soil layer to prepare a compact pitch.

The black cotton soil layer will be a blend of 63 per cent of clay, 27 per cent silt and 10 per cent sand. Bermuda grass to be planted on the top layer will be brought from Bangalore while the black cotton soil is brought from Bondapalli in Vizianagaram district.

The relaying of the pitch is being done under the supervision of ACA Curator K. Naga Mallayya. The fifth and last red earth layer is being laid now. Rain stalled the work for several days in recent weeks but two weeks’ buffer time in the schedule has taken care of the delay.

After the first layer of black cotton soil is laid, Mr. Aitken and his partner would come here on July 12 to supervise laying the second and last layer.

The total cost of relaying the pitch is estimated between Rs.10 lakhs and Rs.15 lakhs.

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