Pitch Preparation Process

The 10–14 day process of rolling, watering, mowing and drying a pitch to the curator's match-day spec.

'Pitch' comes from the Old English 'piccean' — to fix or plant — referring to the strip 'pitched' between the wickets.

MCC's Laws (first codified 1744, current 2017 edition) set the 22-yard pitch and playing-area dimensions cricket still uses today.

Heavy rolling compacts clay layers; controlled watering allows bonding; final mow sets grass length.

Curators target a specific behaviour profile (pace, bounce, turn) for the match brief — home advantage starts here.