What soil, grass and preparation do natural turf pitches need?

Guidance Note 02 (Playing Pitches) says:

• Soil. Build natural turf pitches from wicket soil with a proven track record locally. Typical characteristics are clay content of 50 to 70%, coarse sand under 10%, pH (water) of 5 to 7, linear shrinkage ratio of 0.08 to 0.15, Emerson class above 4, and total soluble salts under 1,000ppm. Test a sample of the soil before buying it.
• Grass. A dense, low-growing, resilient species. Warm-season couch varieties are preferred in hotter, drier climates; rye grass can be used in colder southern climates such as Tasmania.
• Weekly preparation. Pitches need regular annual turf maintenance plus weekly preparation in season, so that they are prepared hard and flat. The main activities are rolling, mowing at low heights, marking, scarifying, vacuuming and watering.
• Skills. Venue managers should engage specialists, or get appropriate training, to prepare and maintain pitches.
• Covers. Plan pitch covers and a designated storage area. Storing covers on some synthetic grass outside the field of play and run-off area avoids damaging natural turf.
• Rotation. Rotating pitches for games is recommended so a used pitch can recover.