Abstract:
Most of the Cricket batsmen in Indian subcontinent face a great difficulty in batting against fast
bowlers on English and Australian fast and bouncy wickets. The lack of having fast and bouncy pitches in
Indian subcontinent has led to this problem. It had been discovered that the pace and bounce of a cricket pitch
is governed by clay content, clay mineralogy and grass content of the cricket pitch. Local pitches were found
to have high silt content, low clay content and low plasticity due to a difference in clay mineralogy. In this research
“Grumusol” clay was discovered in Murunkan with a comparatively high clay content which is fulfilling
most of the required clay properties of a fast and bouncy wicket. Typical Sri Lankan clay sample used to
prepare wickets, Clay sample from Bangalore and the local “Grumusol” sample from Murunkan were tested
for the clay properties. Results showed that “Grumusol” is most suitable for constructing a fast and bouncy
wicket. Other than the clay as the basic material grass plays a vital role in binding the basic material together
and maintaining the required moisture levels in the wicket preventing the wicket from fracturing during the
game period. Here, Crouch grass was selected as the most suitable type of grass to achieve the desired output
of the fast and bouncy wicket.
Citation:
Perera, W.S.U. & Nawagamuwa, U.P. (2015). Identification of local soils for development of cricket pitches. In M.T.P. Hettiarachchi (Ed.), Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research Symposium 2015 (pp. 9-12). Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa.