US Pitches for T20 World Cup Being Imported from Australia

The pitches used in the United States at this summer’s men’s T20 World Cup will have had quite the journey when the first ball is bowled at the tournament – being transported over 14,000 miles.

They have come in by ship from Adelaide in Australia, via Florida, as organisers run a major global cricket tournament in the USA for the first time.

Matches will be played at bespoke venues in New York, Texas and Florida.

The opening game between USA and Canada, and the biggest game of the group stages, India versus Pakistan, will both be played in the States.

There are 16 matches being played in the US, with the other 39 being held in the West Indies.

Adelaide Oval pitch curator, Damian Hough, says getting the States ready for cricket is quite the undertaking, especially when it comes to preparing cricket pitches.

A clay-like soil, which is also used at baseball venues in the US, is being used together with a particular grass which is suited to warmer climates and resistant to rolling and heavy use.

The trays were transported in a shipping container on a boat from Adelaide to Florida in January.

It will then take Hough and his team 12 hours to bed the pitch in at the venues, some of which are being purpose built for the tournament.

Damian Hough.