The what, how and why of drop-in pitches | ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2024

Cricket has existed as a sport for more than four centuries. Change has been slow to come to the age-old game; however, cricket is no longer the sport it was even two decades ago. 

Cricket has undergone multiple transformations in the 21st century to become more market-friendly, sustainable, and climate-conscious as a sport. One such innovation has been the drop-in pitches being used in many corners of the world. 

The drop-in pitches generated even more curiosity when it was decided that the newly built international cricket stadium in New York would feature drop-in pitches from Australia. 

So, here’s the million-dollar question:

What are drop-in pitches, after all?

A drop-in pitch is a pitch that is prepared away from the stadium and then brought into the stadium at the beginning of the season with the help of giant cranes. When the use is over, the pitches can be removed and returned to their nursery.

Notable grounds use drop-in pitches, including the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Adelaide Oval, Optus Stadium in Perth, and many others in New Zealand. 

How did the need arise? When did they start?

Multiple stadiums in countries like Australia and New Zealand host cricket, rugby, football, hockey and other sports/events on the same ground. 

As cricket is only a summer sport in these countries, other sports, like Aussie Rules Football, played during the winter, face issues using cricket grounds because of the wicket block with pitches in the middle. 

Hence, a method was devised to cut and scoop out the pitch, fill the pit left behind (which is first levelled with cement) with sand, and then roll artificial turf over it, which makes the centre wicket block (where the pitches are situated) as grassy and smooth as the outfield. 

And do you know which famous cricket personality was one of the pioneers of using drop-in pitches? 

Kerry Packer!

What links Packer and drop-in pitches?

The Australian cricket administration prohibited the tycoon Kerry Packer from using the major cricket stadiums in Australia. Hence, Packer had to use some football venues for his tournament. 

But how would he bring a whole cricket pitch in the middle of the stadium? For that, Packer hired a curator, John Maley, who planned and executed the installation of the drop-in pitches. 

He grew the pitches indoors in greenhouses (which allowed him climate control), using perforated trays to facilitate the growth of Couch grass (also called Bermuda Grass), which covers the top surface of the pitch. Then, the pitch trays were lifted from the greenhouse and transported to the ground using a truck. 

Is the modern method of preparing drop-in pitches similar? 

Principally, yes! 

Of course, modern engineering and technology have refined the processes involved in producing and installing drop-in pitches. 

The gigantic operation at the newly built modular stadium in New York to prepare it for the upcoming T20 World Cup offers the best peek into the preparation of drop-ins because it involves the pioneers of the field. 

Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions (AOTS) is to drop-in pitches what Apple is to smartphones. 

Damian Hough is the head curator of the AOTS, which has now become a full-fledged pitch consultancy business. The ICC contacted him to prepare the four drop-in pitches needed for the wicket block at the modular stadium being built from scratch at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County, New York. The challenge was to grow the pitches in the USA itself, which has no discernible pedigree in cricket pitch preparation. 

The pitch trays needed to prepare the pitch were constructed according to pitch doctor Hough’s instructions. They were then transported to the USA, and Hough’s team members helped assemble them in Florida. 

“The reason the pitches are being grown in Florida (and not New York) is that it’s the warmest part of the USA during winter. New York is regularly freezing, and grass doesn’t grow at that time of the year, so we couldn’t possibly build them there given the time frame and had to find the best climate,” Hough told Cricket.com.au.

After the trays were ready, the dark clay-based soil called ‘Black Stick,’ used in baseball pitchers’ mounds, which display a character similar to Australian pitches, was put in the trays in 50 mm layers and rolled instantly. 

This helps the trays take on the properties of the soil as soon as possible, which is critical to the quality of the pitch. Then, the soil was topped with washed couch grass, which held the rolled soil in the trays nicely. 

After that, the pitches were cut into sections, dug out, and finally transported to the venue in New York from Florida, where they were installed in the pit created for them in the wicket block. 

India will face Pakistan on that pitch less than a month from today (May 21). 

What is their nature like? 

The drop-in pitches should be prepared to mimic the nature of the wicket block in which they are placed. That’s why the curators try to use the original soil used in the wicket block (it’s easy to guess how the New York pitch will behave now, isn’t it?). 

However, that has often failed, and the drop-in pitches turn out more or less the same. That’s why they have supported the batters, stayed intact for most of the game, and didn’t break, allowing consistent pace and bounce. 

Tom Cooper, who has played cricket for the Netherlands and South Australia, told Cricket.com in an exclusive chat, “They [drop-ins] are generally beautiful to bat on. The groundsmen know what they are doing and put in a lot of effort. They are as good as your normal pitches, if not better.”

But drop-in pitches can’t be all good, right? What are their cons?

Of course, there are cons in drop-in pitches. 

To begin with, despite curators’ best efforts to prepare them using local/specific kinds of soil, most drop-in pitches are hard and don’t break because they are prepared in metal trays. 

Once they are in the tray, the grass tightly holds the soil. Moreover, because many such trays assemble one pitch, the cracks in one tray may not transfer to the other even after the assembly.

This also leads to drop-in pitches being similar worldwide, and they have been criticized for heavily favoring the batters. However, the drop-in pitches prepared by AOTS for Adelaide Oval have been widely praised for retaining the square’s original character.

Maybe that’s why they are now world leaders in this innovation!

What’s the future like for drop-in pitches? 

To answer in one word, BRIGHT! 

It takes specific temperatures and conditions to prepare the pitch exactly as the curator wishes. With climate change affecting weather patterns worldwide, pitch preparation is likely to be affected.

Moreover, with the growing financial needs of the game, cricket grounds need to keep generating revenue throughout the year. For that, they need winter sports and events like weddings, and the pitch hinders them. 

Drop-in pitches solve both of these issues and have the potential to immensely aid cricket in an uncertain future plagued by global warming and omniscient market pressure.