As England and Australia prepare themselves for the upcoming Ashes series in 4 days’ time, a big revelation has come forward.
It is from the head groundsman at Edgbaston about the types of cricket pitches.
Previously, media persons had questioned Ben Stokes on the quality of tracks that he wanted for the Ashes.
In reply to this question, Stokes had commented that he has requested the groundsmen and staff to prepare flat and fast wickets for the Ashes.
However, now the head groundsman Gary Barwell of Edgbaston has refuted this claim.
I was on holiday in Miami, and I got sent the clip. I can 100% tell you I have never been told that, I knew they want good pitches; that’s all I’ve heard, and I don’t think that’s unusual. I’ve never been asked to produce a pitch for England in all the time I’ve been here. I get asked to produce a good cricket wicket, and that’s it.
Barwell states that ECB is not producing quality tracks for England
Meanwhile, Barwell has praised the quality of the Premier League pitches which are of better quality than cricket pitches.
He has also stated that this is because of the little to no involvement of the ECB in pitch maintenance, they have had to rely on other sources.
On the other hand, the involvement of other sources has really improved the quality of cricket pitches.
Football’s got the money, of course it has, but the Premier League has been a real help in pushing standards. They back the grounds manager, and with cricket, I think the progress that’s been made on pitches has been potentially a little bit despite ECB involvement rather than because of it. With the Premier League, it’s one common goal to have an amazing pitch; rugby’s similar. The level of research and interaction with groundmen from the ECB has not been at that level.
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