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Champions Trophy 2006
ICC to use chemical spray to offset dew at Mohali
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Mohali
October 24, 2006
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The battle against dew: it will be chemical sprays now after ropes,
sooper-soppers and mops have all failed to do the trick
© Getty Images
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In an attempt to reduce the extent of dew on the outfield, the
ICC has decided to use a chemical spray
tomorrow morning for the Pakistan-New Zealand clash at Mohali. Ropes,
sooper-soppers and mops have been tried as solutions but the dew
factor continues to play a critical role in one-day games, especially in
the subcontinent, with the balance tilted heavily in favour of the team
batting second.
APSA-80, a chemical manufactured by Amway, will be employed at
Mohali. "I cannot tell you the percentage level, exactly, by which the dew
can be removed. But experts suggest that it has been helpful," Brian
Murgatroyd, ICC's communications manager, told Cricinfo. Chemicals had
been sprayed on the outfield before, during an India v South Africa
one-dayer at
Centurion Park. On that ocassion India successfully defended 234 and
interestingly it was Harbhajan Singh, the offspinner, who starred in the
second innings. The dew has often rendered spinners ineffective, making it
difficult to grip the ball, but that one instance suggests that the
chemicals might assist in negating the dew.
Apparently the idea came from John Bracewell, New Zealand's coach, who
suggested the solution after observing the outfield last evening. "We'd
discussed several ideas like starting games early and so on," Murgatroyd
continued, "but we decided to do a bit of research into the chemicals and
came upon this as an effective solution."
David Richardson, the ICC's Manager, Cricket, said: "Dew and the effect it has on day-night cricket has been something that everyone is conscious of.
"And although it has not played a major role in the ICC Champions Trophy so far we are keen that should remain the case for the rest of the tournament and that every match should be a fair contest between bat and ball."
He also revealed that it would be ensured "that outfields are not watered on the day of a match and that they are cut shorter to reduce the amount of grass that is available for dew to cling to".
The procedure is not believed to have any effect on the ball.
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is staff writer of Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
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