Outfield state is part of a plan, says CSA

THE Kingsmead outfield is showing severe signs of wear and tear after Cricket South Africa instituted a scarifying process designed to make it as soft and lush as possible for what is a unique winter Test match against New Zealand starting on Friday.

Kingsmead enjoys a welldeserved reputation for its well-manicured, lush outfield, but spectators and TV viewers will wonder what has happened when they see areas of winter wasteland next week.

Cricket South Africa’s new grounds consultant, former SuperSport Park curator Hilbert Smit, said the reason for the process goes back to last year’s limited-overs series against the Black Caps – which also took place in August – when three ODIs and two T20s were played.

“We received complaints from both teams that the outfields were too hard for the fielders.

“In my view it was worse at Centurion, where there had been a full winter. As a result we made a call that we would scarify both Kingsmead and SuperSport Park to decompact the soil and make the outfields softer.”

The experiment worked well at SuperSport Park – which will host the second Test from August 27 to 31 – because it took place in April, immediately after the end of last season, giving the newly seeded winter grass plenty of time to grow back.

At Kingsmead, however, CSA was only able to get on to the ground at the beginning of July after the Comrades Marathon, and consequently the outfield did not have enough time to recover.

The result in certain areas, particularly close to the boundary in front of Castle Corner, is an unsightly, grassless mess where the scarifying machine dug deep into the soil, taking all the grass off.

The field is only expected to be back to normal in a month’s time, assuming there are sufficient spring rains to help growth.

It is hoped it will be back to its best by the time Durban’s second international of the season – the ODI against Australia – takes place on October 5.

“In hindsight we would like to have done the job earlier,” said Smit.

“But we don’t live in a perfect world and the drought and the Comrades didn’t help us.

“It won’t look good on television but I still believe the ground will be softer for the players.”

Local officials, who believe the outfield should have been left well alone, are none too pleased about the situation.

Last year, the KwaZuluNatal Cricket Union invested R1.5 million in a stadium upgrade, a process that will continue this year at a cost of a further R4m.

Kingsmead is rated the No 4 ground in the country, behind Newlands, the Wanderers and SuperSport Park, a fact that former treasurer Steve Belluigi recently described as representing “a high risk for the financial viability of our union”.

It’s no wonder, therefore, that local officials are smiling through gritted teeth.