Groundsman's Guide to MCC Laws for South African Pitches All Ages 2026/27

From Laws 6 to 8 (2026 edition):

Pitch: 22 yards (20.12 m) long, between the bowling creases, and 10 ft (3.05 m) wide: 5 ft (1.52 m) either side of the line joining the middle stumps. Next to an artificial pitch closer than 5 ft to the middle stumps, the pitch ends at the join.

Non-turf (artificial) pitch: at least 58 ft (17.68 m) long and 6 ft (1.83 m) wide.

Creases (white lines):

Wickets: 9 in (22.86 cm) wide, three wooden stumps and two wooden bails, centred on the bowling crease. Tops of the stumps 28 in (71.12 cm) above the surface, stump diameter 1.38-1.5 in (3.50-3.81 cm). Bails may not stick up more than 0.5 in (1.27 cm) above the stumps; each bail is 4.31 in (10.95 cm) long.

Junior cricket: pitch length and stump and bail sizes are set by the national governing body, Cricket South Africa.

Under Law 19:

• The umpires decide the boundary of the field of play before the toss, and it's fixed for the whole match. No part of any sightscreen may be inside the field of play at any stage.
• Wherever practicable, mark it with a continuous white line or an object in contact with the ground (such as a rope or cushion).
• White line: the edge of the line nearest the pitch is the boundary. Flags, posts or boards used only to highlight the line must sit beyond it and aren't themselves the boundary.
• Object on the ground: the boundary is the edge of the grounded part of the object nearest the pitch.
• No continuous marking: flags, posts or boards can mark points, and the boundary is the imaginary straight line between the two nearest points.
• Any boundary that can't be identified in these ways is decided by the umpires before the toss. An obstacle inside the field (for example a tree) isn't a boundary unless the umpires decide so before the toss.
• If a solid boundary marker is disturbed, the boundary is treated as being in its original position. The marker goes back as soon as practicable (during play, as soon as the ball is dead), and any part of a fence or marker that has come inside the field of play is removed at the same point.

Crease markings (Law 7) are white lines; the bowling and popping creases are measured to the back edge of the marking and the return creases to the inside edge.

The pitch must not be rolled during the match except as Law 9.1 allows:

• Before each innings (other than the first) and before each day's play after the first: up to 7 minutes, at the request of the batting captain.
• After a delayed start: if the start is delayed after the toss and before the first innings, the batting captain may ask for up to 7 minutes extra. The umpires must refuse if they agree the delay hasn't significantly affected the pitch.
• Choice of roller: if more than one roller is available, the batting captain chooses.
• Timing: rolling before play on any day must start no more than 30 minutes before the scheduled (or rescheduled) start. The batting captain may delay it until no less than 10 minutes before the start.

The order before play each day is: mow the pitch (finished at least 30 minutes before the start), clear debris, then roll.

These are the Laws' defaults. A competition's own playing conditions can vary them, and where they do, those apply.

Who mows (Law 9.3.1): all mowing before the match is the Ground Authority's sole responsibility. All mowing after that is done under the umpires' supervision.

How often (Law 9.3.2): so conditions stay as even as possible for both sides, both the pitch and the outfield are mown on every day of the match on which play is expected, if ground and weather allow. If the outfield can't be fully mown for other reasons, the Ground Authority must tell the captains and umpires what will be done instead.

Deadlines on each day (Law 9.3.3):

Clearing debris (Law 9.2): the pitch must be cleared of debris

• before each day's play: after mowing and before any rolling, between 30 and 10 minutes before the start;
• between innings, before any rolling; and
• at all meal intervals.

Any method the Ground Authority chooses can be used, unless the umpires think it could damage the surface, in which case it must be done by hand. Debris may also be cleared by hand before mowing and whenever either umpire thinks it's needed.

Watering: the pitch must not be watered during the match (Law 9.4).

Re-marking creases: creases are re-marked whenever either umpire considers it necessary (Law 9.5).

Footholes (Law 9.6):

• The umpires make sure holes made by bowlers and batters are cleaned out and dried whenever needed to keep play going.
• In matches of more than one day, the umpires allow, if necessary, re-turfing of the bowlers' footholes in their delivery strides, or the use of quick-setting fillings.

Securing footholds (Law 9.7): during play, players may use sawdust to secure their footholds, as long as it doesn't damage the pitch and isn't unfair play.

Non-turf pitches (Law 9.8): all the rolling, sweeping, mowing, watering, crease and foothole rules apply wherever appropriate.

Under Law 10 of the 2026 edition of the MCC Laws:

Before the match: covering is the Ground Authority's responsibility and can include full covering. The Ground Authority must still let the captains inspect the pitch before they nominate their players, and let the umpires carry out their checks of the pitch, creases, wickets and preparation.

During the match, unless something else was agreed before the toss, on each night of the match and, if appropriate, whenever play is suspended:

• the whole pitch plus at least 4 ft (1.22 m) beyond it at each end must be covered, and
• the bowlers' run-ups must be covered where possible.

Removing covers:

• Overnight covers come off as soon as practicable on each day play is expected.
• Covers used during the day, or overnight covers that couldn't be removed on time, come off promptly as soon as conditions allow.

The umpires agree the use of covers with the captains before the toss. This Law is the default: a competition's own playing conditions can set different covering arrangements, and where they do, those apply.

After every men's or women's Test, ODI and T20I, the ICC match referee completes a Pitch and Outfield Report, including comments from both captains and the umpires where needed. Pitches are judged on how they play; a good contest, a long match and strong individual performances can count in the pitch's favour.

Test pitches should let all skills show and, if anything, slightly favour the bowlers. They're expected to wear, with more uneven bounce, seam and spin as the match goes on, but should never "explode".

ODI and T20I pitches should favour shot-making and behave consistently all match. Unsatisfactory means excessive unevenness, excessive seam movement, minimal carry and/or bounce, or excessive spin. The lowest criterion decides the rating. Unfit means dangerous.

Outfields are judged on appearance (evenness of surface and grass cover), performance (ball speed and bounce), safety (predictable bounce, freedom of movement) and recovery after rain. Unsatisfactory includes excessive bare patches, irregular bounce, slow pace, or drainage so poor it causes an abandonment or an unacceptable loss of playing time. Unfit means dangerous to bowlers or fielders.

The venue is given demerit points under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process:

• If both the pitch and the outfield are rated badly in the same match, only the higher number applies (for example, both Unfit = 3 points, not 6).
• Demerit points stay active for a rolling 5 years.
• 6 points: the venue's accreditation to host internationals is suspended for 12 months. 12 points: suspended for 24 months.
• After an outfield rating that earns points, further outfield ratings at that venue within 2 months don't add more points, to allow time for the outfield to recover.

Appeals: the home board (Cricket South Africa for a venue in South Africa) can appeal a rating that earns demerit points within 14 days of being notified. A three-person ICC panel decides within 14 days, using the match referee's report, the home board's report (including the ground authority's submissions), the match video and the grounds of appeal. Its decision is final.

World Test Championship: if a Test is abandoned and the pitch or outfield is rated Unfit, the visiting team gets the points for a win and the home team for a loss.