Pitch creating excellence. And that does look a beautiful pitch to bat on. Looks like it has alot of bounce on it which makes it a hard pitch to bowl on. Great job.
Could it handle my two foot leg spinner pitching outside leg and hitting off ? Haha ! I wish. Serious hard work in preparing that surface, though. You must have leveled it before even planting the grass. What kind of grass did you use ?
Hey Mate, That'd be a great delivery (sounds like it might be 'Ball of the Century'-like) :P We were fortunate enough that the surface was fairly flat beforehand - this grass is now mostly kikuyu; the Santa Anna Couch has well and truly been taken over, but the kikuyu is quite well self-repairing :)
Hey I love this video and im trying to make a backyard pitch as good as this one. I was wondering if it matters what type of grass you have because i have zoysia grass and it looks terrible when i mow it to a low level (lots of grass runners and uneven ground). Can a cricket pitch still be made? PS. how heavy is your roller?
Apologies as we're about 4 years late coming back to this, but just getting back to posting more content after a hiatus for some time. But, if you still have zoysia, a cricket pitch can most certainly still be made! It may be worth purchasing (if possible) a reel/cylinder mower (like the manual-mower we have), that cuts really fine/where you can collect the fine clippings as well. As for the uneven ground, that might be something that you may wish to address after mowing it down as low as you can - then using a topsoil to fill in gaps and to flatten it out. Our roller is about 100kgs or so.
What's underneath the grass... clay ? Is it an authentic cricket pitch or just dirt and mud underneath the grass.... Have u ever used a cricket ball on it....
Hi Jack, that's a good question and it depends on how healthy/green you'd like your pitch to start off. The pitch in this video would need a fair bit of water to keep it from getting dusty real quick; I'd suggest mowing 2 levels lower than your surrounding grass then 2-3 levels lower each day, mow down 1 level each cross to avoid clogging up the mower with clippings. After about 3 days or so you'll then be able to mow at the lowest level (real important you don't mow low too quickly if you want to keep the pitch from getting dusty) which is ideal for a consistent pitch (also depends on manual mowing/rolling etc). If you do mow down to the lowest level quickly I'd suggest giving the pitch a good sprinkle that same evening. We have kikuyu grass which isn't really ideal for a cricket pitch but it can endure a fair bit of wear and tear; handy for a lot of backyard cricket!
No worries Jack, hope you're able to produce a first class wicket in the backyard! Be sure to send photos to our Facebook page at Backyard Sports and we'll share them if you like!
Nice to see our rollers in use :) for anyone ever wanting to replicate they are online to the public Australia wide - www.turfmate.com.au/subcat/33/4/turf-tools/rollers
If you're a new cricket club just starting out with a patch of land, In your opinion it worth doing something like this as apposed to putting in an astro Wicket? What are the costs and practicalities? Cheers
Very good question! To build/maintain a good cricket pitch table will cost tens of thousands of $$$ for sure - depending on where you're located (we're in Melbourne, in Australia where couch grass and Merri Creek soil are most common), you'll need a decent base, but then irrigation and equipment (heavy roller etc). It may well depend on how well-supported your club is - again, depending on your location, you may be able to apply for a number of grants to help you if you're upgrading your facilities :)
@@1BackyardSports we're bringing an old club here in Canada back to life after 80 years. The obvious choice would be astro but we're interested to learn more about how these backyard pitches play as a budget option. At this stage we're only looking to play amongst ourselves with the odd friendly.
@@alpinecricketer Legendary - would love to hear more about the club, if you have any photos/footage we can share amongst our pages - @1backyardsports across all socials - Instagram and Facebook :) I'd say if you're not using a hard cricket ball/if you're using an incrediball/plastic ball, then you may get away with making a cricket pitch similar to how we've done so in the backyard. - The climate though does come into factor; being quite cold in Canada, in the long run if you're playing with hard equipment, then a hard-wicket may be a long-term solution - just need a flat, concrete base and then the carpet over the top!
@@1BackyardSports I've done a couple of videos already on my channel. We do not actually have a home yet in the town but last summer we did go play against one of the clubs in the valley in a T20. We've just begun working with the provincial cricket association to find options to build a pitch and grow the club. I'll be doing more videos over winter. I'll drop you a message on Facebook though, lets keep in touch!
@crashpal holy crap, that was 4 years ago, I'm coming back because I moved houses since then and I'm looking to make a new surface to use a bowling machine on.
Good question! We have used a hard plastic 'incredi-ball' on this pitch quite regularly. A proper 156gm leather ball could potentially break windows so we've generally stayed away from using one; in saying that we have used one and it's gone okay; it has the potential to break up the surface however if the pitch is dry.
hey, I'm thinking of making a pitch for my 13th party and wanting to do the creases on the grass but my dad says that normal white paint is bad for the grass and won't allow me to put it on. so what type of paint did u put on and what happened to the grass? plzz respond thanks. (great vid)
Hi Oscar, You can actually purchase turf paint purposefully for sports (i.e AFL, Soccer etc) played on grass. If your dad can get you to Bunnings, ask about Turfmaster grass paint :)
This is a roller purchased from Bunnings - we used a liquid-sand substance and filled it right to the brim; it hardens over a short period of time and therefore makes the roller pretty heavy!
Great question Jack and apologies for the slow reply! Our roller is filled with a liquid-sand-type substance; it hardens and weighs a lot more than just filling with water itself.
You most certainly will get swing if you pitch it up and let the ball fly through the air! The pitch is only just short of full length so we do still get a fair bit of swing :)
We have covers if there is play scheduled! If not, then it's always nice for the pitch to have a decent drink if it needs to be repaired before making it again!
Good question! The cylinder mower makes a great difference, but leading up to this video with the motor-mower we mowed it down one level at a time, mowing cross-ways as well; you can see in the video that the rake was required to get all those excess thick cuttings off the surface too!
+ashton taylor Given to us after working at the Imparja Cup for NT Cricket and Cricket Australia :) Search up 'NT Cricket Imparja Cup' on RU-vid to check out the event :)
Hey mate! You don't need a cylinder mower but they can make an incredible difference! I'd suggest with the motor-mower to ensure you mow cross-ways as well though :)
I have make a backyard pitch and wherever my cousins come to my house we play there but the problem is even the medium pacer get alot of bounce and the ball swing lot which is really hard to handle and really hard to bat on we always set a close field and the batsman got out within mins how can i make a batting friendly pitch?
+Uzair Ali Hey Mate, yes it sounds like you have a very bowler-friendly pitch. Just wondering what type of ball you may be using? Have you top-dressed the pitch and let the grass grow through the soil in the lead up to the season? If you have any photos we'd love to have a look on the 'Backyard Sports' Facebook page :)
+Jordy Mcdonald This one took a couple hours; was still a bit green due to the lack of sun/rolling! I'd refrain from scathing the grass in one mow though; this pitch (as you can see at the start of the video) was cut slightly lower than the rest of the lawn then left a day to recover before cutting it down to the lowest level :)
Probably not keen on sand on the pitch itself (we do have a clay-based soil underneath), but maybe in the outfield (we do have Santa Anna Couch that has taken off where it's more sandy).
Rolling the pitch will always make the surface more consistent with even bounce and carry; it can always be a fun challenge for the batsman if there is no roller available though which creates more entertainment for the players however!
Good point Joe! Most of the time on this wicket the front leg is cleared to make room for the cross bat shot through the vacant area on the leg side; be sure to check out our other videos for more technical batting faults haha!
Hi Aidan, Apologies for the slow reply. The stump-stickers we were lucky enough to be given after working at the Imparja Cup with NT Cricket and Cricket Australia!
