ARDENT AJIT LOOKS TO EXCEL AS CURATOR-UNION CRICKET CLUB
Some people tend to think that curatorship is a job of experience person who has spent some significant years on cricket field and someone who knows well about soil and water. This assumption is proved wrong by a young lad as he is now preparing pitches for United Cricket Club. After playing cricket for few years Ajit’s career took a u turn as he started to prepare pitches instead of going and playing on it. “I just joined a year ago. I am still a novice in this field. I used to play cricket before but I was going nowhere as a cricketer. So I decided to have a go at curatorship. I am now enjoying my job,” said the youngster.
It was not easy for him to come into this field and prepare pitches. “I used to play cricket so I was well aware about the basic requirements while making a pitch. I have played on so many different kind of pitches. It really helps having played cricket earlier. You know what exactly the players are expecting from pitch. Pitch plays an important role in any game. It’s our duty that the standard of a pitch will be maintained throughout the game. It is a huge responsibility which my club has put on my shoulders,” said Ajit.
“Frankly speaking the geographical location doesn’t matter much while preparing pitch. We can make any kind of pitch at any part of the world. Of course the work force and time required might vary but it is quite possible. Currently we make pitch as per demand of the players for the private tournaments or non MCA matches. For tournaments organized by MCA like Kanga league or Times shield, I prepare pitches according to my opinion.”
Ajit talked about the pitch of Union Cricket Club which he is made ready for new season by him recently. “This pitch is a good pitch. It has excellent bounce and there is no real covering of grass. But as per my observation, teams prefer batting first here after winning the toss. Overall this wicket is sporting wicket, the bounce remains even throughout the match. The response from player has been very nice about this wicket. I always like when I hear them saying that the wicket was fantastic after the match”
Ajit shared some key tips which makes the pitch bouncy. “I think it depends on which roller you use. We use a heavy roller here and role frequently so that the surface becomes flat and hard. We use normal Lal Mitti to prepare the pitch here this also helps getting a good bounce. According to me, the heavier and bigger roller you use, you can extract more bounce from the wicket. The very top layer of wicket plays key role in deciding the behavior of ball after pitching on surface. That’s why you need to have it firm and hard. This can be achieved by using heavier roller,”said Ajit.
On normal days he starts his work early in the morning. “For Kanga league the outfield gets disturbed a lot. So we have to put the soil to level it. Currently the pitch is a fresh one. We started making it May ending. It’s a 2 month long process we dig the square then put some grass in it and then do some covering of soil after few rains. This wicket works fine for entire season. Only the grass gets deteriorating. So we work on that to get some fresh grass on top of wicket. I am also getting good assistance from senior curators who are here with me. They are always around and tell me different tricks for preparing a pitch. I am looking forward to this new season. Every season teaches you some new things and I am just eager to learn all those things,”said the youngster.