All about the cricket pitch

It all happens on a cricket pitch. The balls are bowled, wickets are taken and matches are won. Histories are made and rewritten on this cricket pitch. It’s literally the centre of all attraction.

Cricket pitch is at the centre of the cricket ground. The pitch is 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface of the pitch is very flat and the pitch is usually covered with a little grass.

Different strokes

A cricket pitch is most of the times called by different names. The players, commentators, officials concerning a cricket match usually call it wicket. Wicket according to the Laws of Cricket is Law No 8 while Law No 7 is called the Pitch. Some also call the pitch as the track.

The rulebook says:

Law 10 and 11 of MCC states the following guidelines about the pitch: -

Law 10 - Preparation and Maintenance of the Playing Area

10.1 Law 10.1 – Rolling
The following shall apply in addition to Law 10.1:

10.1.1 Prior to tossing for choice of innings the artificial drying of the pitch and outfield shall be at the discretion of the groundsman. Thereafter and throughout the match the drying of the outfield may be undertaken at any time by the groundsman, but the drying of the affected area of the pitch shall be carried out only on the instructions and under the supervision of the umpires.

The umpires shall be empowered to have the pitch dried without reference to the captains at any time they are of the opinion that it is unfit for play.

10.1.2 The umpires may instruct the groundsman to use any available equipment, including any roller for the purpose of drying the pitch and making it fit for play.

10.1.3 An absorbent roller may be used to remove water from the covers including the cover on the match pitch.

10.2 Law 10.6 - Maintenance of footholes
The following shall apply in addition to Law 10.6:

The umpires shall see that wherever possible and whenever it is considered necessary, action is taken during all intervals in play to do whatever is practicable to improve the bowler’s foot holes.

11 Law 11 - Covering the Pitch
11.1 Law 11.1 - Before the match
The following shall apply in addition to Law 11.1:
The pitch shall be entirely protected against rain up to commencement of play.

11.2 Law 11.2 - During the match
Law 11.2 shall be replaced by the following:
The pitch shall be entirely protected against rain up to the commencement of play and for the duration of the period of the match.

The covers must totally protect the pitch and also the pitch surroundings, a minimum 5 metres either side of the pitch and any worn or soft areas in the outfield.

11.3 Law 11.3 - Covering bowlers’ run ups
Law 11.3 shall be replaced by the following:

The bowler’s run-ups shall be covered to a distance of at least 10 x 10 metres.

11.4 Law 11.4 - Removal of covers
Law 11.4 shall be replaced by the following:

The covers shall be removed no earlier than 5.00am and no later than 7.00am (7.00am and 9.00am for day/night matches) on the morning of the match (including the reserve day, if applicable), provided it is not raining at the time, but they will be replaced if rain falls prior to the commencement of play.

Attention is drawn to Clause 3.5.

The provisions under the above stated laws might differ under Test and ODI scenario.

The danger area

A cricket pitch has a protected area on which no bowler should tread even during the follow-through. This area is also prohibited for the batsmen during the time of running between the wickets. The protected area falls between the wickets which are on the two opposite sides of the pitch.

It is called so because the ball usually bounces within this region and if the bowler spurns it, it may favour the bowling side and give them the undue advantage.

The umpire will issue a warning to the bowler and the captain for the first time the bowler treads in the danger area. Umpire will issue another and the final warning if the bowler enters the vicinity again. The third time if the bowler commits the same offence, he is disallowed from bowling further in that innings.

However, the bowler is exempted from the offence if he is trying to field the ball in that area.

Types of pitches

A green pitch

A green pitch is the wicket where the grass on the pitch is more as compared to the normal one. Since the grass is more, the pitch tends to be moister. This influences the behaviour of the ball as it bounces on the pitch. The ball behaves unpredictably and offers advantage to the bowler.

Sticky wicket

A sticky pitch is the one that becomes wet due to the rain or the dew. This condition favours spin bowlers the best. The spinners and the slow bowlers can exploit the unpredictability of the pitch in their favour. However, the pitch is quickly protected from any rain or dew. So the sticky pitch situation arises very rarely.

World Cup 2007 allowed the match to be continued during the rain also. According to the rule book the play would only stop if the umpires think that the rain is too heavy and would damage the pitch considerably.

The dried out pitch

The laws of cricket do not allow the pitch to be watered once the match is commenced. This detracts the stability of the pitch and thereby helps the bowlers on the last day of the match.