Cricket - Turf Pitches

We pride ourselves on our reputation for constructing turf cricket pitches. We only use the highest quality bulli in all our construction.


Turfscape only make use of clay sources approved by the United Cricket Board of South Africa for pitch construction, to ensure that the pitches comply to all four of the key playing characteristics i.e. (bounce, pace, consistency and turn). Coarse bulli, mixed with fertilizer is used in the first and primary layer. It's important to have a good quality couse bulli for this layer, bulli with strong swell/shrink characteristics. This will provide a pacey-bouncy pitch.
It's crucial important to make sure that you use a clean high clay content bulli during this phase, to prevent dead-cracked surfaces within 2 year of establishment.
These clay soils must have a high binding strength (which is closely correlated with bounce and pace - the greater the binding strength the greater the pace and the higher the bounce).
Organic matter in the bulli will have a dampening effect of both pace and bounce.
All our pitches are constructed lying true North with a 1% slope for the water to drain off the pitch area. The depth of the bulli/clay layer depends on the usege of the pitches, e.g. International Standards, Club or School standard or Practice facilities.
Recommended depths range from as little as 70 mm to 150 and even 300 mm, but the upper 100 mm or so should always comprise pure bulli.
The next phase in construction is the top layering of the pitch with sifted (fine) bulli to enable us to level the pitch and to provide a fine bedding for the grass to be planted.

After leveling the pitch, the grass is planted. It is very important that all soil must be washed out of the roots and sods. No soil or organic matter are to be mixed with the bulli. Grass spesie commonly used: (specie: Cynodin Transvaalensis (Golf green).
The important characteristics of the grass you planning to use on your cricket pitch should be as follows:
(a) the grass must obviously grow well in a heavy clay soil
(b) tolerate wear well, it should have a good underground root system
(c) it should preferably also have a strong rhizome (underground stem) system since these rhizomes can play an extremely important role in binding the pitch together and in preventing cracks from opening out too wide