The ICC's pitch specialist Andy Atkinson and Tom Moody inspect the Brabourne surface © AFP

In 1999 South Africa toured New Zealand and the first two Tests ended in high-scoring draws. At Auckland, Darryl Cullinan overtook Graeme Pollock’s highest score for South Africa scoring 274 runs. At Canterbury, Herschelle Gibbs scored a magnificent 200. It is worth recalling that both these pitches were treated with glue technology! I questioned then if this was good for the game, and now I repeat this question.

Earlier in 1998 at the Commonwealth Games South Africa won the gold medal after playing a semi-final against Sri Lanka which went down to the wire on a pitch that crumbled and broke up. In the final, our pre-match talks revolved around batting first because the pitch favoured the team batting first.

However, after taking a look at the pitch we noticed that it had been treated with glue and it was obvious that it would not break up as it had earlier. So Shaun Pollock, on winning the toss, put the Australians in and South Africa went on to win batting second.

The glue causes a sheen on the surface and is slightly tacky to walk on and it definitely changes the surface. It also hides the fact that the groundsman has not been able to prepare the pitch properly because of weather, over use or in New Zealand’s case Rugby Union being played on the same surface.

Should the laws of cricket allow groundstaff to use elements other than water, sun and clay to prepare the pitches, should glue be allowed? It would seem that in dire circumstances it might be used to shore up inadequate pitch preparation as was the case in Mumbai. While this is an extreme case I have massive reservations about it being used in a Test and, indeed, even the one-day arena.

Incredibly, South Africa who won the toss in Mumbai in their Champions Trophy encounter against New Zealand chose to field first. But such was the nature of the surface that even Stephen Fleming agreed that it was a sub-standard surface. I say “incredibly” as there must have been signs that the pitch would break up!

My reservations about using an artificial substance like glue in the Test match arena is that the conditions should remain natural for the longer form of the game and pitches should deteriorate normally as they do. Indeed, the final game at Wellington on the 1999 tour mentioned earlier was played on one of the best cricket surfaces I have seen and a result was achieved with the ball turning on the last day. On the Auckland and Christchurch pitches it was obvious that the surfaces would not deteriorate enough to allow the bowlers to force a result.

It would be interesting to see how the glued pitch reacts when water or heavy dew mixes with the glue. Will it make the pitch harder to dry or more sticky? This of course might be a problem during a rain-affected game. I do not know the answers to this and I wonder if they have been researched?

The ICC must in my opinion discuss the use of glue for pitch preparation very carefully!
I think the use of glue could help at school-level tournaments, clubs etc as they do not have the equipment or knowledge, or where water is at a premium. Children thereby would be able to play on better surfaces than some of them do.

There are a number of countries below Test match level too whose soil has very low levels of clay and they too could gain from the use of the glue technology. However, the game of cricket at the highest levels needs natural conditions, as no two pitches are the same and this anomaly is the beauty of the game.

In one-day cricket there is solid argument for a surface that remains the same for both innings and if glue assists then it should be used. Especially since, floodlit cricket and early morning starts in the sub-continental winters make it tougher for the groundstaff to prepare pitches that will remain the same.

I personally am of the opinion that no artificial substances should be used in the final preparations of a pitch in any form of cricket. The groundstaff have to learn how to prepare a wicket for Test cricket and also for one-day cricket. We live in a modern scientific era where plenty of data is available.

In conclusion it is vital that the education of groundstaff includes understanding how soil binds together with root growth, when they should water and when they should roll.

Cricket is a great game to play and a fun one to comment on. I would like my blog to reflect the views of the playing and coaching fraternity and I will try and cover as many topics as possible. Including Pakistan, drugs in sport, modern training methods for cricketers, the itineraries that put players in the red zone as far as injuries are concerned and to explain the many myths that surround cricketing technique.

Those of you who wish to know more about this game and want to voice their opinion are most welcome to let me know what you are thinking. I will try and address these issues as well as others that occur.

Let's get "stuck" into the first one!