H3 Hybrid Cricket Pitch Installation & Construction in Australia
Experience Next-Level Cricket with the installation of Gabba's H3 Hybrid Pitch!
What is the Gabba H3 Hybrid Pitch?
Testimonials from Experts and Players on the H3 Hybrid Cricket Pitch
“The PCA endorses this Pitch technology as it believes this is the future best practice way of achieving a turf wicket at every club with the district.” – Terry Arnold, President Peel Cricket Association WA
“As both a player and coach, it is great to be able to play and train regularly on a consistent surface that offers something for both bat and ball.” – Rusty Theron, USA National Team Player and MLC Academy Bay Area Head Coach
“It is important to train and play on quality, consistent turf-like surfaces in order to increase the standard of cricket in the US. The Hybrid wicket represents a step in the right direction.” – Unmukt Chand, Former India U19 Winning Captain and Captain, Silicon Valley Strikers
“Given the climate in the North-West, it is difficult to maintain turf wickets. The Hybrid Pitch presents an opportunity for high-quality players in the region to play more on surfaces that behave like a turf wicket.” – Smit Patel, MLC Contracted Player and Captain, Manhattan Yorkers
“This has the capacity to change the game here in the US, particularly in areas where the climate prevents maintaining turf wickets. I am looking forward to the next time I can play and train on this surface.” – Liam Plunkett, 2019 World Cup Winner (England) and Captain, The Philadelphians
“This partnership represents a watershed moment for cricket infrastructure in the United States. Given the challenges associated with installing, preparing, and maintaining turf wickets, the H3 Hybrid Pitch supplied by our partners at Gabba Sports Netting and Surfacing has the potential to benefit cricketers at all levels of the sport across the country.” – Justin Geal, Vice President of MLC Cricket
“As an organisation we are interested in the benefits innovation can give our volunteers. In principle, hybrid wickets will reduce the cost of maintenance on wicket blocks & more importantly save voluntary man hours on preparation times. In a climate where high amounts of rainfall are expected during our playing season, having a wicket that can be prepared in a matter of hours, rather than days, will increase participation rates across the state.” – Sam Curtis, State Infrastructure Manager, Queensland Cricket
Testimonial from a highly qualified pitch curator
According to Bird, the H3 Hybrid Pitch enabled Australian cricketers to practice on a surface conducive to spin when touring to countries like India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The ability to mimic these conditions with such accuracy was a major breakthrough, allowing players to prepare for international cricket in the best possible way.
Moreover, Bird pointed out that synthetic cricket pitches can be constructed quickly, making them an excellent option for regional venues who wish to move away from traditional turf and synthetic grass wickets.
Showcase of the H3 Hybrid Cricket Pitch in Action
Current Hybrid Pitch Installation Locations
- Alan Border Field, Brisbane, Queensland
- Townsville Cricket Association, Queensland
- Ingham Showground, Townsville, Queensland
- Bowen Cricket Association, Townsville, Queensland
- Blacktown Olympic Park, Cricket NSW, New South Wales
- Peel Cricket Association, Western Australia
- Vanuatu Cricket Association
- Malawi Cricket Association x 2 Installations current
- ICCA, Dubai
Cricket USA/MLC Cricket Preferred Supplier With a total of 22 x Gabba H3 Hybrid cricket pitches set to be installed across the region by the end of the 2023 season, so far a total of 7 have been installed, the most recent being:
- ACA Park St Louis
- South Elgin Sports Field Chicago
- Prairie View Playing Fields Houston
- Morgan Hill Sports Complex San Jose
Testing
We have had professional teams like Kent, Lancashire, Durham, Indian Premier League teams, ICC Associate countries and international teams such as Pakistan, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka. All have been positive in comments, England coach Peter Moore’s “It’s amazing this had not been tried before, it really challenges the batmen & bowlers”.
Independant Testing
Evaluating Hybrid Turf Pitches for Community Cricket: Preliminary Report prepared by Jonathan Connor – for CRICKET AUSTRALIA
LECTURER | JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY | PROJECT RESULTS
PLAYER & MATCH INFORMATION
The average age of respondents (i.e. players) was 37.5yrs (± 14.2), and represented a mix of predominately amateur senior grade (66.7%), and masters players (29.6%), with few juniors (3.7%). Overall, there was a reasonable equivalence between a number of contextual factors that may influence responses, such as match outcome, dominant skill of player, and game time (Table 1). However, it is noted that bowlers were the most represented players (> 50%), while batters and wicketkeepers were in the minority.
Table 1. Dominant skill, match outcome and game time of all respondents completing
a questionnaire on the suitability of the hybrid pitch.
| Dominant Skill | Match outcome | Game time |
|---|---|---|
| Batter 33.3% | Win 40.7% | Morning 55.6% |
| Bowler 55.6% | Loss 59.3% | Afternoon 44.4% |
| Wicketkeeper 11.1% | Draw 0.0% |
PLAYER PERCEPTIONS: BALL CHARACTERISTICS OFF THE PITCH
Players were asked to report their perceptions of the speed of the ball off the pitch (e.g., fast, slow), the bounce height (e.g., high, low), and the number of lateral deviations (i.e., turn, spin) occurring when contacting the pitch (e.g., minimal, severe). In regard to the speed of the ball off the pitch, most players (58%) reported encountering a moderate ball speed, while 19% of players either reported the pitch being slightly faster (19%) or slightly slower (19%). In regard to ball bounce height, 42% reported experiencing a standard bounce height, while fewer reported a slightly lower (31%) or slightly higher (15%) bounce height than normal.
Finally, the majority of participants (42%) reported a standard level, or less than standard level (35%) of lateral deviation (e.g., spin, turn) off the pitch, while few players reported more than standard amounts of lateral deviation occurring (15%). No players in this group indicated they experienced severe levels of lateral deviation (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Percentage of respondents (players) and their descriptions of the speed of the pitch (slow to fast), bounce height (low to high) and number of lateral deviations (spin; minimal to severe).
PLAYER PERCEPTIONS: PITCH CONSISTENCY
Consistency was rated reasonably highly across all four (4) metrics. These metrics included pace of the ball off pitch, bounce height of the ball off the pitch, amount of spin (i.e. turn) of the ball off the pitch, and whether the breakup of the pitch surface was consistent (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Average score of respondents (scale 0 to 5) and their rating of the consistency of the pitch; in relation to pace off the pitch, bounce height, spin, and pitch break up (e.g., cracks appearing).
H3 Hybrid Cricket turf Development
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- ICC Academy 1
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- ICC Academy 2
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- Major League Cricket
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- South Mandurah
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- Vanuatu Cricket
