Calcutta: The curators of all the 10 venues scheduled to host the ODI World Cup games will assemble in Mumbai on Wednesday, where they are set to be addressed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) head curator Andy Atkinson.
Even the curators of the centres staging the warm-up matches of this World Cup will be present at the meeting.
Alongside Ahmedabad, which is hosting the opener of the tournament proper featuring defending champions England and last edition’s runners-up New Zealand on October 5 as well as the November 19 final, Eden Gardens, Bangalore, Chennai, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and Pune are the other venues which will host the Cup games.
Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram, along with Hyderabad, are the centres for the warm-up fixtures that begin from September 29.
“It’s a norm to have such a meeting before every big tournament.
"The one on Wednesday will be kind of a seminar where the ICC head curator is expected to give a few of his inputs and suggestions to the curators of the venues that are hosting the World Cup matches as well as the warm-up games,” a BCCI source told The Telegraph on Sunday.
BCCI chief curator Ashish Bhowmick, too, will be present at the meeting.
The pitch preparation and works related to the outfield are underway in all the centres. The aspect which the ICC head curator is likely to emphasise is preparing surfaces that will aid strokeplay and fetch batsmen lots of runs.
“Keeping matters such as television viewership in mind, they usually suggest pitches that will yield more runs with not too much of movement or assistance for the bowlers. Curators could also be asked to keep a certain amount of grass content on the pitches so that they don’t crumble later in the month-and-a-half-long competition,” another BCCI insider said.
“Besides, the number of practice wickets that each centre requires, together with the amount of rolling and watering every wicket needs will be spoken about,” the insider added.
After meeting the curators on Wednesday, Atkinson is likely to visit each of the venues to oversee the preparation of the pitch and the outfield.
