Jane Cable talks with Head Groundsmen Nigel Gray

It seems like only yesterday I was idly watching Head Groundsman Nigel Gray starting to prepare the pitch for the Twenty20 Final. In fact, it was about eleven days ago - and Nigel, more than me, must be wondering just exactly where that time has gone.

As we all know, Twenty20 is a very different sort of cricket, and I wondered whether the wicket preparation differed too. “It’s not different to any other one day game. You just want a reasonably paced, true pitch, which favours the batsmen, because that’s the kind of game it is. The bowlers get a chance due to the style of batting; the fact that the batsmen are trying to get after them at least gives them a chance to get their own back! Unless the weather intervenes and it becomes a bowler friendly pitch, generally the aim is a pitch which is going to produce plenty of runs and provide a batting spectacle for the spectators.”

But how exactly is that done? “You make it dry and firm with minimal grass so you don’t get any seam movement. But not so dry that it dusts up and the spinners come into it to a great extent. The art of slow bowling is a factor in Twenty20 cricket these days and those bowlers are quite successful, but that’s due to their variations rather than the pitch. You need a pitch with decent pace and carry so the batsmen can play their shots.”

Given the summer we’ve had weather-wise, a dry pitch could seem a pretty tall order. Nigel disagrees. “We’ve got the best part of a two week run up to it. We haven’t got to cover and uncover for other cricket when we’re getting ready so we can concentrate our efforts on one pitch and put the covers on and off it without any interruptions. It gives us plenty of scope to leave them off in the sunshine unless it gets too dry, and control the drying out of the pitch depending on what the weather conditions are like overhead. If it rains for ten days, then we do have a problem! But even in this country it doesn’t tend to do that; we’ll get enough weather windows, I’m sure.

“I do check the weather forecast quite regularly. If the long range says it’s likely to be wet for a number of days during the run up then maybe you start a couple of days earlier to give yourself a bit more margin. For a pitch for one day of cricket, it’s easier to get it ready early then hold it with the covers to keep the sun and wind off. It’s a matter of timing and being aware of what the weather might be like. First off, we’ll flood the pitch we’re going to use. Then on the next day we’ll start rolling and keeping it dry to get the finished article for the 26th.”

All the games on Finals day are to be played on the same pitch because it’s far too difficult to move sightscreens, and therefore people, when The Rose Bowl is packed to capacity. Also, as all the games are televised, the cameras can’t be moved either. “At the end of the day” Nigel points out “We’re only playing a maximum of 120 overs and in a one day game you’d be playing 100 overs on it, so there’s not a huge difference in wear and tear. Plus you have four different teams, with four sets of bowlers, so the way the wear and tear happens on the pitch isn’t so concentrated. The damage, such as it is, is more general, rather than to specific areas.”

Once the pitch preparation is complete, I wondered what the big day itself would entail for Nigel and his team. “Hopefully all the preparation will be done by Friday; the boundary will be in, the advertising mats will be on the outfield, the pitch will be ready. With a bit of luck we’ll come in at eight o’clock in the morning, take the covers off, mow the outfield, and touch up the wickets with a trim and a roll. Then we’ll put the fielding nets up for the four teams on the main ground and on the nursery ground. Assuming the sun shines, come 11.30 when the first game starts, we can sit down and watch it. Then all we’ve got to do is sweep and roll between innings. The last game finishes at 9.45 and we’ll put the covers on because there’s a Championship game that starts a few days afterwards.”

But what if it isn’t sunny; what if it rains? Then Nigel will really have his work cut out. “There’ll be all sorts going on. There’ll be umpires – the running order committee – deciding how to adjust the day’s play to fit it all in if possible, changing the lengths of intervals and games. There is a reserve day, but no-one wants to use it if they can help it. We’ll need to be pulling covers on and off, mopping up, and keeping ourselves aware that match starts will be jumping around all over the place.

“We have eight or so people on the ground staff. Normally we’ll run with a crew of five on match days but on Finals day all our ground staff will be in, plus the green keepers because the golf course will be closed. We’ll have upwards of a dozen people here so we can do things speedily, because the quicker we can do things, the more I can say to the umpires that the games will start sooner, and the more overs can be bowled.”

Presumably then, a large part of Nigel’s role in bad weather will be liasing with the umpires. “Yes. I check the weather forecast to see what’s coming up. We have access to radar forecasting so we can see what’s coming towards us so we’ll have an idea of what’s going on. I’ll be able to feed all that to the umpires. There’s four or five of them on the day so some of them won’t be on the pitch and the third umpire always has radio contact with the guys in the middle, so you can tell them if it’s only a light shower and they can stay out while it blows through.

“On Finals day all four counties will want to play as much cricket as they can to give themselves the best chance of being successful. There’s certainly a lot for them to aim for this year.” And given the amount of hard work that’s gone into the preparation by Nigel and his team, they won’t be disappointed.

Head Groundman Nigel Gray

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