Cricket Pitch Soil Water—An Elixir for Pitch Behaviour

Abstract

Pitch soil moisture controls the morphological, physical, chemical, biological, and mineralogical activities of pitch soil complex and is highly dependent on the quantity and quality of pitch soil colloidal complex (both inorganic and organic). The exclusive colloidal behaviour desired for the pitch comes in the form of high swelling and shrinking capacities, good cohesive soil structure, plasticity, elasticity, high water holding capacity (WHC), compression levels, etc. These are totally dependent upon the presence and absence of available (as capillary water in the macropores) or non-available (as capillary water in the micropores or hygroscopic water tightly adsorbed to the clay micelle forming the diffused double layer in vapour form) water in the pitch soil complex. The entire art of pitch curatorship revolves around achieving the best available consistent compression levels (at a predetermined optimum moisture content) in the pitch profile via the different roller weights and rolling schedules, and uniform deep drying of the pitch profile (both in liquid and vapour form) via the pitch grasses. The pitch will behave differently if it is prepared at different levels of entrapped available water within the pitch profile. Furthermore, the swell-shrink behaviour of clay and humus-dominated soil pitches is completely dependent on soil moisture levels in order to provide the pitch profile with the maximum bulk density. The extent of swelling and shrinking is limited to the presence, absence, or movement of water in the pitch profile. Nearly all forms of soil moisture (either gravitational, capillary, hygroscopic, or film moisture) are available in the pitch profile during the match pitch preparation and during the match days. Due to diurnal weather variables such as temperature, relative humidity, evapotranspiration, dew, solar radiation, and so on, their movement and retention within and just above the pitch profile (either in moisture or vapour form) generate the desired pitch surface behaviour. The available water capacity (PAWC), water holding capacity, and retention capacity of pitch soils with smectite, illite, or kaolinite-dominant fine clay differ, resulting in different pitch surface behaviour. The art of regulating the pitch behaviour at the time of the pitch preparation process and during the matches by regulating the moisture level within the pitch profile has a scientific logic and reasons behind it. The following chapter is an attempt to unravel some myths related to the quantitative and qualitative use of water within the pitch profile and to correlate and establish the scientific logic and reasons behind them.