It  is good to see that stadiums have several years supply of soil stock piled. Most State Associations have selected the soils used for the cricket squares based on the soils available locally. I am not optimistic that every soil chosen has the potential to per form to the standard required to meet the BCCI requirement for sporting pitches.

Recommendations

NZSTI suggests that the recent pitch reconstruction work be considered a natural experiment to determine the soils most likely to perform best in India. Allow two years before making a judgement on the soils. This will allow time for new pitches to settle down, and for curators to become familiar with a new soil, where a change of soil has been made.

I recommend having samples of the best four soils tested by NZSTI and local laboratories so they can be accurately described.

NZSTI recommends that the BCCI convene an expert committee, including soil scientists, to help associations identify similar soils locally, or to recommend importation of soil for cricket pitch construction in areas where no suitable soils are available locally.

State Cricket Association should be encouraged to laboratory test samples of potential cricket pitch soils. The BCCI should maintain a central database of the soil analyses and soil locations, so the selection of superior cricket pitch soils can be refined. More detailed laboratory testing is required, possibly using a single laboratory that is prepared to offer specialised testing.

The soil core samples I took from the cricket pitches (Appendix II) have been subjectively categorised into three groups based on a brief assessment of physical characteristics. (Appendix 2). Symbols for each of those groups have been placed on a soil map of India (Appendix 3). I recommend that information on the soils used in cricket pitches is systematically recorded by an expert committee.

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