Groundsman gets a taste of Indian fervour

New Zealand Cricket's High Performance Centre turf manager Karl Johnson got a taste of what it is like to be a cricket celebrity during a recent visit to India.

Johnson was working at the Cadence Cricket Academy in Pune, a private academy where the owners wanted to produce better pitches for the better cricketers they were encouraging.

He said the Academy pitch was not a true indication of Indian grounds because it was something of an oasis of green compared to the surrounding countryside.

As part of his visit Johnson also talked with the ground staff at the Academy about their pitch preparation which had largely been done on historical grounds with the reasons why things were done a certain way not having been passed on in the teaching process.

The pitch was of couch grass which he was familiar with while the outfield was a bluegrass, typical of grass in hotter areas.

"The pitch was very much under-prepared, and they didn't do a lot of rolling," he said.

Johnson said he prepared a pitch in the way it would be done in New Zealand, although normally he would take 10 days in his preparation he only had six available during his stay.

And of those six, two were spent getting enough water onto the pitch to do the job he wanted.

"They had a four-ton roller away in a corner that they had never used before. They always used a one-ton roller," he said.

However, he got to the stage where he thought the pitch would provide greater pace and bounce, which was the purpose of his visit.

Then the Academy players tested it out. Firstly with a wicket-keeper and two bowlers. The bowlers felt they were able to get more bounce out of the pitch and the wicket-keeper said the ball was coming through higher and hitting his gloves harder.

A batsman went out next to join them in the trial and after his session he reported that the ball was hitting the bat harder than before while he also found he was able to play shots behind the wicket.

Johnson said one six foot tall 14-year-old especially enjoyed it.

"He was firing the ball in at around 130km/h and he hit one guy in the ribs.

"My job was done, but what was interesting was what was able to be achieved and to tell the ground staff why things were happening," he said.

Johnson was also assessing changes being made at the Poona Cricket Club ground which is being extensively remodelled with the thought that New Zealand might one day look to establish a connection in India to help younger players come to grips with playing cricket on the subcontinent.

"It would be great for a young cricketer to experience life, to play in those conditions and to get used to the heat.

"It blew me away how mad they are about cricket," he said.

Johnson experienced that first hand when visiting another ground where a game was in progress. It was duly stopped to allow him to go out and have a look at the pitch, and resumed once he had finished.

"The whole experience was something I'll never forget," he said.