For the first time, Dubai has a world class cricket stadium which may soon become the hub of world cricket due to its strategic location, presence of International Cricket Council (ICC) headquarters and its Global Cricket Academy at the Dubai Sports City.
Under the guidance of Tony Hemming, a renowned Australian curator, the organisers have transformed the desert into a splendid green oasis. Turf wickets in the middle were created after intense research and analysis at this 25,000-capacity, state-of-the-art stadium which was built using world’s best equipment to ensure it stands tall among the best cricket stadiums in the world.
‘The soil for the pitches is being brought from Nandipur in Pakistan. It is the same as used in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi cricket stadiums. The clay content is 66% for which we conducted research in Australian laboratories, comparing it with the Australian soil before making this wicket,’ discloses Hemming.
'Tifway 419’ Bermuda grass will be on top with 200 millimetres of clay. There will be seven pitches at the centre, four with slope towards the west side while three slope towards east. This slope will be conducive to little bit of movement of the ball,’ he explains. The grass for the pitch is imported from Ernie Els Golf Course in the United States.
‘The grass is very adaptable. We had enough time to establish a root system that is able to hold the clay together. We had cracking patterns appear in the pitch, the way we wanted it to.’ 'Though we have created a wicket suitable for the ODIs, it can be transformed into a durable Test wicket in the future. Ex-Pakistan Test star Mudassar Nazar who had look at pitch feels it has look of a Test wicket than a ODI,’ says Hemming.
Since Pakistan-Australia ODI series is a day-night affair, to avoid too much of dew Hemming said the outfield will be sprayed with a chemical-specific product a week before the games.
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