Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2017 June 28

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June 28

Is first class/List A/Twenty20 cricket impossible without grass?

Is there an artificial alternative that's bearable? Artificial grass was not illegally bad for top level baseball but it sucked so much that It's an endangered species. Then again, baseball does not have the deliveries bounce off the grass. Would a country have to irrigate the strip or the whole stadium, import grass, or wait for artificial grass to be improved enough if it's entire territory was too dry for grass? If it wanted to become a first class cricketing nation. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 13:33, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

The article cricket pitch makes it clear that artificial turf can be used, and often is at lower levels; it's not against the rules of the game on any way, but that at the higher levels it's just not done--Jayron32 14:13, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Grass can be made to grow in the desert; you just need enough water, topsoil and fertilizer. I'm not sure what country the OP is thinking of, but there are football pitches with natural grass in just about every country on earth, and there is no reason why a cricket grounds could not be maintained in a similar way if someone is willing to invest enough money. --Xuxl (talk) 15:15, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Every year, Lawnstarter does an article on artificial turf vs natural grass in the NFL. The 2016 one is here. It is apparent that indoor stadiums tend to use artificial turf and outdoor stadiums tend to use grass. Are there any indoor cricket stadiums at the professional level? 209.149.113.5 (talk) 15:52, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Cricket pitch says that artificial surfaces are sometimes used. One thing to consider about artificial turf would be the same problem as in baseball: You get a more "true" bounce and the outfielders might have to play deeper to cut down on the number of 4's. But then you'd have more hits dumped into the shallow outfield. So wherever the fielders position themselves, scoring is liable to increase. (Whether that's good or bad would be a matter of opinion.) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:14, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Every time the subject of cricket comes up you chime in with some comment of questionable merit. Not everything from baseball is transferable to cricket. In this case, the phrase "more hits dumped into the shallow outfield" is not proper cricket terminology. --Viennese Waltz 16:58, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Ask me if I care what you think. And while you're at it, try actually answering the OP's question. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:46, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

You have to realise that there is actually very little grass on a cricket pitch. It is cut extremely short, and rolled hard, so that the pitch is usually brown rather than green: the grass is really there so that the roots bind the soil together and provide a solid surface that will not break up too quickly from the impacts of the hard ball (though it does need to break up a bit during the game, as that is what makes spin bowling so effective. Artificial pitches get used for training, and at amateur level, but are very unlikely ever to be used in top class matches. They do play international matches in Dubai, which is pretty dry. There is also a technique of growing a grass pitch in a giant tray, which can be dropped into the centre of the field when a replacement is needed. Wymspen (talk) 20:35, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Can the field be vegetation-less desert but the pitch be soil held together with grass roots? Can a cactus be in the outfield like a tree can? Also, if you played on frozen ponds would it lose less speed bouncing and make it hard to score? Would bouncers be more dangerous? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 01:01, 29 June 2017 (UTC)

Most of the above answers seem to be concentrating on the pitch, but of course the OP said "first class/List A/Twenty20 cricket" without grass and the cricket field is normally grass too. Having grass on the field is perhaps not that important compared to suitable substitutes (at least when compared to a natural vs artificial pitch) but I'm lazy to dig through the rules to find out if there is actually some requirement in the rules for it. But the obvious question as raised by Xuxl is why? In most countries the cost of keeping a field with grass compared to artificial grass is not generally going to be significant compared to the other costs associated with keeping a ground suitable for such high level cricket (including the pitch of course). Heck even at a lower level in many countries it's probably still actually cheaper. (The lack of artificial hockey fields in their countries is often cited as one reason India and Pakistan perform a lot more poorly internationally than they used to.) Plus if your pitch is a natural one it makes it easier to have it too. (I think even for a drop in pitch.) There will be exceptions e.g. in some urban developments people sometimes have to use what is available. And as the other responses hinted at the pitch is more complicated given the requirements. I did find [1] which seems to refer to a field and pitch that isn't natural grass and it's said to have some post rain related advantages. But I'm pretty sure having fullon cricket without grass isn't that common, not because of any rules but simply because there's limited reason for it. Nil Einne (talk) 08:49, 29 June 2017 (UTC)

Laws of Cricket swiftly point you to Law 7. 7.5 reads "5. Non-turf pitches

In the event of a non-turf pitch being used, the artificial surface shall conform to the following measurements.

Length - a minimum of 58 ft/17.68 m Width - a minimum of 6 ft/1.83 m See Law 10.8 (Non-turf pitches)."

So the Laws permit artificial surfaces.

And indeed even Test cricket has been played on jute matting. Here's an illuminating article on the subject from just a few months ago. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 09:48, 29 June 2017 (UTC)

The Laws permit non-turf pitches however the "ICC Classification of Official Cricket" says the following of first-class cricket:

"First-Class Matches are those matches of three or more days' duration between two sides of eleven players played on natural turf pitches and substantially conforming to ICC standard playing conditions." Hack (talk) 07:00, 3 July 2017 (UTC)

I'm reminded here of the only Cricket test match played in Canada, way back in 1840. From memory, it was played at the Montréal cricket ground, and at stumps on the first day, Canada had bowled out the USA for a paltry 111, and the Canadian openers were at a powerful position at none for 87. Unfortunately when the teams came back for day two of this five day test, they found the Zamboni had rendered the wicket unplayable. --Shirt58 (talk) 12:07, 5 July 2017 (UTC)