Performance of geotextile roofing felts and natural grass roots in a cricket pitch

The bounce and penetrometer resistance (PR) of a cricket pitch for three different crack-control conditions was investigated. In total, 15 miniature cricket pitches were prepared using the conventional procedure, natural grass roots and geotextile roofing felts combined with varying proportions of fine sand and bentonite clay. The rebound ball height and ground PRs were measured with a designed bounce meter and pocket penetrometer, respectively. The properties of the pitch soils (e.g. crack width, moisture content and field densities) were also measured. The results of the test programme indicated that the pitch with the geotextile crack-control system provided a higher coefficient of restitution (CoR) and PR than the other two systems. The test results also suggested that, in order to reduce significant growth of crack widths to provide a good cricket pitch, the clay content under geotextile roofing felt should be kept at 50–65%. Several equations relating the CoR and PR with crack width and the physical properties of the pitch soil were developed for use in pitch characterisation.