Pitch consultant recruited to liven up the nations pitches

To some it will seem a rather perverse idea. Sri Lanka's spinners have created havoc amongst the world's best on their home grown slow turning surfaces, but now the cricket board wants to liven up the pitches.

When Graham Ford, the South African coach, returned from his inspection of the Galle pitch just before the start of the First Test match in July 2000, he wore a crestfallen look. The barely covered surface was biscuit dry and the cracks were already crumbling on the edges.

Unashamedly the curator had produced a wicket to suit to Muralitharan. He is sure to do so again when England tour early next year. When Sri Lanka tour South Africa in five weeks time they expect the antithesis of Galle: quick, bouncy tracks with enough juice to fire up the South African fast bowlers. Maximising the advantage of home conditions is fair game in world cricket today.

Thus, at the first glance, it appeared strange to hear that the Sri Lankan cricket board wishes to create greater bounce and pace in Sri Lankan pitches. To achieve this they have recruited the services for Andrew Akinson, former head groundsman at the Wanders Club in Johannesburg and groundsman for the ICC KnockOut Trophy, to act as a pitch consultant.

He has just returned home after a whistle stop tour of the islands pitches. Seventeen grounds were visited in just under two weeks. He will return for seven days in December and then again to oversee the final stages of preparation of the Dambulla wicket in time for the England tour.

Thilanga Sumathipala, President of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) and an ardent fan of improvements to the pitches in the country, explained to the media the rationale: "Whatever money you provide to develop the game in Sri Lanka is wasted unless we upgrade the pitches."

It is his stated quest to make Sri Lanka the best test nation in the world. One hurdle to such lofty ambition is that the Sri Lankan team struggles on the fast tracks abroad. The players techniques have been honed on sluggish wickets; steepling bounce is a rude shock to the system. In short, if Sri Lankan cricket is to reign supreme, then the players need to quickly increase their technical prowess on brisk surfaces.

But, can the wickets really be quickened significantly? Is it conceivable that the likes of the WACA in Perth can be transplanted into Sri Lanka? Well, not quite, according to Andy Akinson.

The Essex groundsman appears to subscribe to a rather holistic approach to pitch preparation: "Every ground and pitch has got it's own conditions and one of the things that I have stressed to the guys here is that you have to create a wicket to suit the natural conditions in which you are playing."

"I am a great believer in using the natural raw materials from where ever you are making the wicket. There is no need to bring in things from the outside unless you are like Dubai and exist in the middle of the desert. In Nairobi we used local grasses and soils and we will do the same here."

There appears little cause of alarm for the twirly men. The balance of power is not about to shift greatly in favour of the fast bowler or batsmen. Akinson is proposing minor adjustments to prevent serious deterioration over he duration of a match and to improve the carry of the ball.

He has spoken to the groundsmen and suggested the use of greater amounts of clay and new techniques for the planting of grass. To the BCCSL he has recommended the urgent replacement of machinery.

The initiative is praiseworthy and will help to improve the standard of domestic cricket in Sri Lanka. However, when foreign sides tour the country, the authorities should not be afraid to request pitches that favour the home side. Cricket these days is competitive and there is no shame in making life difficult for the opposition.