In an attempt to reduce the extent of dew on the outfield, theICC has decided to use a chemical spraytomorrow morning for the Pakistan-New Zealand clash at Mohali

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Mohali24-Oct-2006

The battle against dew: it will be chemical sprays now after ropes,sooper-soppers and mops have all failed to do the trick © Getty Images
In an attempt to reduce the extent of dew on the outfield, theICC has decided to use a chemical spraytomorrow morning for the Pakistan-New Zealand clash at Mohali. Ropes,sooper-soppers and mops have been tried as solutions but the dewfactor continues to play a critical role in one-day games, especially inthe subcontinent, with the balance tilted heavily in favour of the teambatting second.APSA-80, a chemical manufactured by , will be employed atMohali. “I cannot tell you the percentage level, exactly, by which the dewcan be removed. But experts suggest that it has been helpful,” BrianMurgatroyd, ICC’s communications manager, told Cricinfo. Chemicals hadbeen sprayed on the outfield before, during an India v South Africaone-dayer atCenturion Park. On that ocassion India successfully defended 234 andinterestingly it was Harbhajan Singh, the offspinner, who starred in thesecond innings. The dew has often rendered spinners ineffective, making itdifficult to grip the ball, but that one instance suggests that thechemicals might assist in negating the dew.Apparently the idea came from John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, whosuggested the solution after observing the outfield last evening. “We’ddiscussed several ideas like starting games early and so on,” Murgatroydcontinued, “but we decided to do a bit of research into the chemicals andcame upon this as an effective solution.”David Richardson, the ICC’s Manager, Cricket, said: “Dew and the effect it has on day-night cricket has been something that everyone is conscious of.”And although it has not played a major role in the ICC Champions Trophy so far we are keen that should remain the case for the rest of the tournament and that every match should be a fair contest between bat and ball.”He also revealed that it would be ensured “that outfields are not watered on the day of a match and that they are cut shorter to reduce the amount of grass that is available for dew to cling to”.The procedure is not believed to have any effect on the ball.