A cricket pitch is a 22 yard long and 10-meter wide surface that is made of natural components. The Cricket pitch is made on a rolled clay or grass surface. There are three main forms under which a cricket pitch can be categorized. The first type of pitch is a dead pitch, this kind of pitch has no grass as it is rolled extensively and therefore does not attract any moisture. The soil used to curate these wickets is black soil. Wickets like these are found in the Indian subcontinent and are used only for one day and T20 matches. Due to the lack of grass, the ball does not swing too much after the first few overs and keeps low, so the batsman is supposed to play the ball as late as possible.once the batsman is used to it, it is all about the shots played by the batsman. Matches on these pitches are very high scoring and there is limited scope for the bowler to have the upper hand on him.
The second kind of pitch is a dusty pitch, the surface of which is unrolled and contains a lot of cracks on it. It is covered with a thin layer of dust before the start of play to make the full 22 yards evenly poised. Spinners have an advantage on this kind of a pitch as they can make the balls turn heavily off the pitch. The bounce on these pitches is moderate, so the batsman has to just time the ball well.
The third kind of pitch is a grassy pitch, also known as the green top. This pitch is tailor-made for bowlers who can get the ball to swing and seam off the pitch. This pitch is considered to contain quite a bit of moisture which helped the ball to skid after pitching on the wicket. The ball on this wicket is known to be unpredictable because of the moisture content.
After knowing how each pitch behaves differently, we cannot ignore the speed factor associated with the nature and bounce of the pitch. So the way of calculating the speed of a pitch is by taking into account the speed of the ball before it pitches on the wicket and after it pitches on the wicket and if the difference of both is more than 20 km/ph is regarded as slow and if the difference of the speeds is less than 15 km/ph then the pitch is deadly fast. Generally, the nature of the pitches depends on the soil and the climatic conditions of the place. The higher the clay content in the ground, the higher the bounce the bowler gets.
Speaking of climate, the weather along with toss and other smaller factors play a huge role in determining the final result of a cricket match. Most of the time climate and weather is something that captains take into consideration while making the decision after winning the toss. Good weather conditions and clear skies can help the batsmen in scoring more runs. Similarly overcast and humid conditions can assist the bowling side. Here we will discuss the effects of the weather and playing conditions on a cricket match.
Firstly the clear blue sky is always proffered by the batsmen only because the ball in these conditions doesn’t swing a lot. Even though the clear sky doesn’t make any difference as far as the seam bowling is concerned even though if the sun is directly above the pitch, then it usually takes all the moisture away from the pitch in quick time, making it a luxury for the batsman. This is why you will see more runs being scored in clear conditions as compared to dark overcast conditions. Even though in modern cricket you won’t see green pitches too often however if the conditions are warm and the grass has dried up quickly, it will again start assisting the batsmen.
On the other hand, fast bowlers love to bowl in overcast conditions because the ball swings and moves in the air. The fast bowlers prefer these conditions as compared to clear skies. If there is rain in the air or the humidity levels are high then again it helps the slower bowlers. When the climate is rainy then pitches also have lots of moisture in them that spin bowlers can take advantage of, also in such conditions, the pitch takes a long time to dry out, therefore, giving the bowlers full opportunity to have a go at the batsmen.
Very well researched! An interesting and informative read!! In other words, it was awesome 🙂