When the opening ball is bowled in the men's T20 World Cup in the United States this summer, the pitches have travelled more than 14,000 miles. They arrived by ship from Adelaide, Australia, via Florida, as the organisers conducted the first-ever major international cricket event in the United States.
Customised locations in Florida, Texas, and New York will host the matches. The two most important group stage matches, India vs Pakistan and the USA vs Canada opener will take place in the United States. 39 of the matches are being hosted in the West Indies, with 16 of them taking place in the US.
Additionally, preparing cricket fields is a major task in making the United States ready for cricket. Damian Hough, the curator of Adelaide Oval pitches, stated, 'Our goal is to produce pitches that have pace and consistent bounce, on which the players can play their shots.' Hough is responsible for cultivating pitches in Australia and shipping them to the US. 'We want entertaining cricket, but there are challenges.'
When the ten drop-in pitches were first planted in trays at the beginning of October 2023, work on them began. The goal was to create four pitches that were ready for a game and six practice strips by dividing each pitch into two trays.
This specific grass, which is suitable for warmer areas and resistant to rolling and hard use, is combined with clay-like soil—which is also used in baseball facilities in the US. In January, the trays were sent from Adelaide to Florida aboard a boat in a cargo container. Since then, they have grown in a warm environment (at the time, New York was experiencing frigid conditions), before being transported by truck to their final location.
Two drivers will be hired to operate each vehicle, reducing the amount of time they spend on the back of a lorry and the need for breaks. After that, Hough and his group will need a full twelve hours to get the pitch adjusted at the locations—some of which are being constructed just for the competition. Hough, who is a guest on this week's Stumped podcast, stated, 'I have mixed feelings.'
'Although I'm quite happy, there are still some unknowns, so I'm also a little nervous. 'This procedure takes a while. We know that we have tried our hardest. 'We hope that the cricket pitches will be fine since we have carefully considered every scenario and problem that may arise'.
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