There were many exploits to admire in Islamabad United’s record-breaking Pakistan Super League victory over Peshawar Zalmi this weekend.
Usman Khawaja’s 53-ball century was sparkling. Asif Ali was on the league’s fastest half-century before being cut just before making it.
And the team’s tally of 247 for two was the highest ever for a Pakistani team – not just in PSL history.
Was there anything, however, more remarkable than the fact that all of those batting records were achieved on a field hosting a 72nd major game in a season that apparently never ends?
By the time PSL hit its peak on Thursday night, Zayed Cricket Stadium will have hosted 81 matches since the IPL first decamped to the United Arab Emirates in September.
That number includes two test matches, which represented seven full days of cricket between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe earlier this year.
Then, when it comes to PSL, take into account that it was agreed that he would be transferred to Abu Dhabi on less than two weeks’ notice.
And yet, when competition resumed, players encountered real pitches and a green spruce top outfield.
All in the height of the UAE’s summer, when that country’s cricket grounds are generally out of service as they prepare for vital maintenance for the upcoming season.
There are many reasons for Abu Dhabi Cricket’s success. Above all, to have a head gardener – Mohan Singh – who is referred to as a “magician” by those who understand this stuff well.
And also, thanks to the fact that they were able to rely on the expertise of the greenkeepers of some of the largest golf courses in the city.
A few months before PSL arrived in the capital – and long before it was even suggested that Abu Dhabi would host – a team of staff from Yas Links and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club entered to help the team at the cricket stadium. The results have been spectacular.
It was not always guaranteed. “They’ve never done this kind of work before, and sometimes, if the grass isn’t used to it, it doesn’t work,†said Corey Finn, golf course manager for Yas Links. “It’s fantastic what he did.”
Finn, a New Zealander who studied agronomy in the United States and also worked in Ireland, Fiji and Qatar, helped oversee the “cultural renovation†of the outfield.
Coincidentally, they’re currently undertaking a similar turf revitalization at Yas Links, and Finn explains that the process can be aggressive.
“If you never wash your face, it would slowly build up dirt and dead skin,†Finn said. “We basically do that to the turf when we go there once or twice a year.
“We’re going to rip out all the dead organic things underneath, and when you wash your face you’re basically doing the same thing. We remove all this organic matter that the grass produces throughout the year.
“We drill holes and bring the air down into the ground. It’s nice to be able to make a difference.
Matt Boucher, general manager of Abu Dhabi Cricket, said they came up with the idea of ​​borrowing golf knowledge soon after setting up football pitches at the site.
“We wanted to provide some support on all three cricket surfaces and five football surfaces, as far as the turf is concerned,†said Boucher.
“There isn’t much of a difference between a FIFA standard football pitch and the best fairways in the world. Learning from them the science behind how we might improve our facility was the starting point.
“There’s a quarter of a million square meters of playing surface. We wanted to distribute the load, and that’s where the relationship with Troon [Golf] entered.
“It’s almost the peak of summer, and we still have a lush, verdant outer field.”
Although Thursday’s PSL final will mark the end of the 2020-21 season, it won’t be long before cricket resumes, with IPL set to return to the United Arab Emirates in September.
It is also possible that the competition will be followed by the T20 World Cup.
Considering the volume of cricket it would bring, Boucher is happy with their decision not to go for a major pitch overhaul – which would have taken four to six months, rather than the eight weeks it took.
“At this point we had no idea the Pakistani Super League would come to Abu Dhabi, but we had a feeling there would be a busy season starting in August,†Boucher said.
“We made the decision at that point to do a minor overhaul rather than a major overhaul. It was obviously a very important decision.