Cricket pitch

A cricket pitch is the central strip of the playing area between the wickets. The pitch is 22 yards (20.12 m) long and 10 feet (3.05 m) wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the pitch.

State of the pitch

If the grass on a natural pitch is longer or more moist than usual, the pitch is described as green. A green pitch favours the bowler over the batsman as the ball can be made to behave erratically on longer or wet grass. Most club and social cricket is played on pitches that professional cricketers would call green.

Related Topics:
Bowler - Batsman - Ball

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A sticky wicket is a pitch that has become wet. This causes the ball to behave erratically, particularly for the slower or spin bowlers. However, the pitch is now generally protected from rain and dew preceding and during games so that a sticky wicket is rarely seen in first-class cricket. The phrase, however, has retained currency and extended beyond cricket to mean any difficult situation.

Related Topics:
Spin - First-class cricket

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As a match progresses, the pitch dries out. The Laws of Cricket prevent the pitch from being watered during a match. As it dries out, initially batting becomes easier as any moisture disappeares. Over the course of a four or five-day match, however, the pitch begins to crack, then crumble and become dusty. This again favours bowlers, particularly spin bowlers who can obtain large amounts of traction on the surface and make the ball spin a long way.

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This change in the relative difficulties of batting and bowling as the state of the pitch changes during a match is one of the primary strategic considerations that the captain of a the team who wins the coin toss will take into account when deciding which team will bat first.

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