Adhesive to be used to improve Brabourne pitch

Polyvinyl acetate (PVA) adhesive will be sprayed on the pitch at the Brabourne Stadium in order to prevent it from deteriorating during the Champions Trophy match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand today.

The decision was taken after Andy Atkinson, the ICC grounds consultant, inspected the pitch on Thursday. Three matches have been played here on three different wickets and the pitch deteriorated significantly in the first two games. West Indies were dismissed for 80 against Sri Lanka while New Zealand bowled out South Africa for 108 after scoring 195 in the first innings. West Indies posted the highest ever total at the Brabourne Stadium and they successfully defended 234 against Australia.

"The PVA glue will be sprayed onto the pitch in the morning in order to bind the surface together and make sure that it lasts 100 overs so that conditions remain consistent throughout the match," said Atkinson. "This procedure has been used before with good results in New Zealand and at Old Trafford in England so we are confident it will be successful. It is not a panacea - it will not make a bad pitch into a good pitch - but it has been proven to be an effective method of preventing pitches from disintegrating as the game goes along."

Five litres of the glue are added to ten litres of water and the mixture is sprayed on the whole pitch. The application procedure lasts 20 minutes after which the pitch is allowed to dry for 90 minutes before it is rolled and ready for play.

Peter Marron, the groundsman at Old Trafford, had told Cricinfo that PVA was a glue-resin compound that puts a hard gloss on the surface so that the pitch lasts throughout the match. He added that this could reduce the significant advantage that one team gains by winning the toss.