The five day Curators Orientation Programme for curators from new entrant states (the North East) organised by BCCI and hosted by Assam C.A at the Barsapara international cricket stadium in Guwahati received an overwhelming response from the attendees. 

The attendees in the workshop were fairly new and had a lot of interesting insights and were keen to know more about the science behind pitch, its properties and the various factors that go into the making of an ideal cricket pitch. 

Some of them though had been involved with the job but were unaware about certain elements such as pitch soil selection and preparation. There were separate theory and practical classes on the same wherein the soil structure and soil mechanics from an agricultural and engineering point of view were discussed. The theory on the same was further simplified on a ‘need to know’ basis that would suit best the beginners. The practical workshop on the other hand stressed on various other aspects such as soil solid, soil moisture and soil air for pitch construction and preparation (rolling). 

The following were the three main subjects picked from the curators’ manual both in theory and practical. 

1. Pitch construction 
2. Pitch soil 
3. Pitch preparation (Rolling :- relation between soil moisture and air). 

Topics such as outfield construction, renovation and operations of sophisticated ground equipments were also touched upon. The BCCI believes that such efforts and workshops will help the associations to raise their standards in pitch making and will continue to hold such programmes periodically.