The Ultimate Cricket company
Cricket is a most precarious profession;
it is called a team game but, in fact,
no one is so lonely as a batsman facing a bowler supported by ten fieldsmen
and observed by two umpires to ensure that his error does not go unpunished.
John Arlott, An Eye for Cricket

There is no glory in practice but without practice there can be no glory.


Good cricket can only be played if a pitch provides consistent ball bounce of an acceptable height,
with the ball coming off the pitch onto the bat at a fast enough pace to make a lively and entertaining game.
The four key playing characteristics of clay pitches are bounce, pace, consistency and turn.
Most pitches change in one or more of these characteristics over time with the main changes taking place during the first three days of a match.
The three factors that most determine the performance of clay cricket pitches:-
• Bulli/Clay
• Pitch maintenance and preparation
• Type of grass.
The response of pitches to spin bowling usually increases over time, however, a pitch that is moist at the start of a match will show some early
turn until it dries out.
For more of these fine tips on pitch performance and responses, please have a look at our cricket pitch maintenance section.

Turf Cricket Pitches

We at Turfscape pride ourselves on our reputation for constructing new turf cricket pitches,
not only in South Africa, but also in Namibia.
Our clay cricket pitches is constructed using the highest quality bulli available in South Africa.
Read more information on our Bulli (Cricket pitch clay).

Both our high quality clay sources is extensively used throughout South Africa on school, club and international level for pitch construction and maintenance.
Our Bulli is well known to comply to all four of the key playing characteristics i.e.(bounce, pace, consistency and turn).

Coarse bulli, mixed with fertilizer is used in the first and primary layer. It's important to have a good quality course bulli for this layer, bulli with strong swell/shrink characteristics. This will provide a pitch with good bounce and pace.
It's very important to make sure that you use a clean high clay content bulli during this phase, to prevent a dead-cracked surfaces within 2 year of establishment. These clay soils must have a high binding strength (which is closely correlated with bounce and pace - the greater the binding strength the greater the pace and the higher the bounce).
Organic matter in the bulli will have a dampening effect of both pace and bounce.
All our pitches are constructed lying true North with a 1% slope for the water to drain off the pitch area.
The depth of the bulli/clay layer depends on the usage of the pitches, e.g. International Standards, Club or School standard or Practice facilities. Recommended depths range from as little as 70 mm to 150 and even 300 mm, but the upper 100 mm or so should always comprise pure bulli.

The next phase in construction is the top layering of the pitch with sifted (fine) bulli to enable us to level the pitch and to provide a fine bedding for the grass to be planted.

Turf Cricket Pitch Grass

After leveling the pitch, the grass is planted.
It is very important that all soil must be washed out of the roots and sods.
No soil or organic matter are to be mixed with the bulli.
Grass species commonly used: (specie: Cynodin Transvaalensis (Golf green).
The important characteristics of the grass you planning to use on your cricket pitch should be as follows:
(a) the grass must obviously grow well in a heavy clay soil
(b) tolerate wear well, it should have a good underground root system
(c) it should preferably also have a strong rhizome (underground stem) system since these rhizomes can play an extremely important role in binding the pitch together and in preventing cracks from opening out too wide (provided the pitch is evenly grassed).

Turf Cricket Pitch Grass

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