The preparation of a cricket pitch is and always should be one of those with a special knowledge and training necessary for this specialized task.

They are many facets to the selection and preparation of the soil and grass to make a picture that these must be handled by those specially trained.

The lot of an umpire in this scenario is one that can only be built on his experience of what types of pitches have been presented to him over a period of time and the lessons learned from the behavioral patterns from many games played.

It is with this formula in mind that I had to present to you a broad spectrum of thoughts from all the umpires currently officiating in first-class Cricket in this state. Ideally, an umpire would like to see a pitch fully prepared to have a complete cover of grass over the entire surface, duly rolled to present a true hard area. Whether a the pitch plays fast or slow is of no concern to him so long as it plays evenly.

The difficulty of a pitch is manifest mainly when it is patchy and therefore becomes two paced making the difficulty evident for both the player and the umpire.

As a pitch wears, its character changes but with a fully grassed pitch where the root growth holds the soil in a binding state the changes are than even and more accessible.

Over a four or five day match this gradual wearing change is a lot easier for both players and umpires to make the decisions of judgment so necessary to a good game of cricket.

The main thing a Groundsman must attempt under district conditions is to prepare the pitch on the second day as close as he possibly can to the one he presented on the first day. I am firmly of the belief that there is no worry anyone, player or umpire, administrator or even Groundsman can be absolutely sure as to the way a pitch will play until it has been played on.

The Groundsman has somewhat of a walk-up start on the others because all of the fact that he is privy to the way it has been prepared, but to all those persons aforementioned, the way it will play is at best an educated guess.

Pitches the world over the vary according to many factors, such as, weather patterns, bases on which the ground is formed, the soil in pitch construction, the grasses etc. district pitches similarly change because of their geographical locations and these other factors I have mentioned and umpires should wherever possible try to gain some knowledge of the these aspects.

This far I have talked of a pitch prepared for play in ideal conditions, but what of a pitch that has been affected by the elements of rain.

A far more difficult pitch on which to make an assessment, I catalog wet pitches in two forms, a pitch prepared after wet and a pitch fully prepared and then the wet an umpire should always be aware and take into consideration these circumstances.

At this point I must make it clear that an umpire should have only one thing in mind as he prepares to make judgment on a pitch for play if - EQUITY - my favorite word.

There should be no thought of the compilation of either of the teams, in a competition, etc. they should only have in mind as to whether the pitch is playable and safe for all who are too play on it.

The Laws of Cricket guide the umpire in as much as Law3, Note says "The umpires shall consider the ground as unfit for play when it is so wet or slippery as to deprive the bowlers of a reasonable foothold, the fieldsmen, other than the deep-fielders, of the power of free movement, or the batsmen the ability to play their strokes or to run between the wickets. Play should not be suspended merely because the grass and the ball are wet and slippery".

This is where the Groundsman, when available, should be brought in as the third man in the umpiring team, the umpires having made their judgement would then seek the guidance of the Groundsman who is better equipped with the know-how as to any work that will bring the pitch to playing condition.

Throughout my umpiring career particularly my years in first-Class cricket I always, before I went to inspect the pitch affected by rain, invited the Groundsman to join us in the centre to give that specialized advice if and when necessary.

It would be foolhardy for umpires to make any decision on a pitch that would be impossible to attain, for example, should the umpires decide to play in one hours time they need to know from the Groundsman whether the goal was attainable.

I mentioned earlier the need for the ideal pitch to be evenly grassed, not patchy, and this need is never more evident than when the pitch is rain affected.

A further area of importance is the bowlers approaches which need to paid particular attention as they must be firm enough to ensure a safe run-up to the pitch and a firm follow-through to run off the pitch.

I am rather appalled in these days of covering pitches how little attention is paid to the protection of the bowlers run-up.

How ludicrous it is to have a pitch covered to maintain its dryness only to find the umpires have to suspend play because the bowlers can't run up to bowl on it.

More attention should be given to extending the covering along the area of the approach.

I have been asked to outline the points to be considered when marking the Groundsman Award, in other words, what is need to get 20 out of 20.

First_Class grounds of course have all points available to them as do only a few of our district grounds, but most grounds are another story.

Due to industrial conditions with local governing bodies controlling grounds in most cases the Groundsman is not available on playing days and so one of the scoring points is lost.

The Groundsman will score for his preparation and presentation but under these circumstances would not be available for such things as the advice I previously mentioned, the repair needed to get a pitch ready, the re-marking between innings or intervals.

The scoring of points for preparation not only applied to the pitch itself but also to the entire playing area.

Added to this is the the crease markings, how correct they are in dimensions, how they are aligned from end to end, how they stumps are placed in the creases.

When the Groundsman is available he is judged on his attitude to any suggestions or questions of the umpires in their desire to get a game under way and continuing throughout the allotted playing hours.

Having said all that in a broad sense, let me present to you in two parts an umpires thinking, in precis, on the two subject matters for presentation to this seminar.

Fitness for Play

A. Match Pitch (Prepared Strip)

1. Surface Water

a) How much.

b) Extent of area.

c) How quickly can 'drying' take effect.

2.Damp Patches

a) How large.

b) How soft.

c) Extent of area.

d) Number of patches.

e) What line or position

i. on a length

ii. short of a length

iii. in an area where the ball is likely to land or bounce will not place a batsman in danger.

f) Batsman's stance position

3. Bowlers Approaches

a) Surface water

b) Soggy patches

c) Can they be improved.

4. Bowlers Footholds (delivery stride and run off)

a) Can they be improved with sawdust/clippings.

B. Pitch Surrounds

1. Surface water

a) Extent of cover.

b) How quickly can drying up take effect.

2. How soggy

a) What can be done to firm it up.

b) Can fieldsmen field the ball with confidence and without fear of injury.

c) Outfield

3. Surface water and/or sogginess.

a) Extent of cover.

b) Location of surface water.

c) Does it pose a problem.

How can a Groundsman get 20 out of 20 - Umpires View

1. Aside from being present, and marking/remarking the creases and sweeping the crease area, he should ensure :-

a) Stumps are pitched on the back edge of the creases.

b) Creases are clearly marked and not too thickly.

c) Popping crease extensions are present, marked out to 4 feet on each side of the pitch.

d) Markings are painted 1 foot either side of the centre stump and 4 feet in front of the popping creases (danger area observation)

e) The pitch is cut exactly 10feet across, i.e. a further 8 inches wider than the return creases.

f) Stumps should be set firmly, holes pre=soaked, spaced correctly and vertical, grooves not flattened.

2. Material on hand should include sawdust, grass clippings and bowler's markers.

3. Grass clippings are particularly useful in drying wet patches and areas, when used in conjunction with rolling. etc.

4. Pitch should, whenever possible, be hard, grassed, flat and true. Pitch should be prepared to play the same way on each days play.

5. The outfield should be lush, mown not too finely, but flat and neat.

6. If the pitch is wet, bowlers run ups are important. Areas around the pitch can be 'hardened' by the spreading of loose soil across the surface.

7. Surface water is a problem, but if the day turns out sunny and a breeze is blowing, the pitch will dry suprisingly fast. Thus Groundsman and/or Umpires should not be too hasty in calling off games because of conditions. Surface water in the outfield can generally be disregarded.

8. Provided the bowlers have reasonable run ups, and the batsmen are not inconvenienced in their stance, play should be able to be resumed much quicker than seems to be at present.

9. A pitch with a green tinge to it is generally thought to bounce the best.

10. The Groundsman should ignore all advice from players, officials etc. but may care to listen and liaise with the Umpires when rain is about and he is in a position to attempt to make the pitch and surrounds possible for resumption of play.

11. All extraneous equipment, covers, rollers, slip machines \, etc. should be outside the field of play. Sightscreens should be in good condition, mobile and available for immediate use. Fences in good condition, if boundary marked by line or rope, then distinctly marked and indicated by cones or appropriate apparatus.

12. Notwithstanding all of the above, the Groundsman should always be prepared to offer constructive opinion and advice where the Umpire's lack of local knowledge presents any problem.