As the players from the Indian and English camp drew praise for an exciting first Test, the real heroes were the ground staff at Edgbaston. The head groundsmen at Edgbaston Gary Barwell revealed that the key was to keep watering the pitch and the outfield in the weeks leading up to the game. Around 150,000 litres of water had been pumped in and spread around the ground through pop-up sprinklers under the outfield.
“Moisture is the key here. Else, the pitch can crack up,” said Barwell.
“If you dig up to four inches, you will hit sand. We have been pumping water to keep is colour. If the outfield dries, the moisture would escape from the pitch. It literally cracks and it gets virtually uncontrollable.
“This is different from normal sprinklers. These can pump in 47,000 litres of water in 35 minutes.”
“Two days before the game, we then decide how much grass to keep and carefully monitor the moisture levels.”
