Tony Hemming’s pitches could be Bangladesh’s World Cup trump card

On 17 July 2023, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made a decision that may have changed the cricketing landscape of the country for the better and in a big way.

They appointed Australian pitch curator Tony Hemming on a two-year contract, mainly to build the pitch of the new stadium that is being built in Purbachal.

But Hemming can also be seen overseeing the grounds outside of Mirpur, especially in Chattogram and Sylhet. 

Some of his work has seen pitches and outfields improve drastically in Sylhet and Chattogram over the last year.

Bangladesh recorded their maiden Test win at home against New Zealand in Sylhet on what was an excellent pitch that offered something for the batters and the bowlers.

However, the outfield there was not great and there were instances where fielders diving had their knees get jammed to the ground causing small divots. 

This time, less than three months later, the outfield of Sylhet has been as smooth as ever: great to field and dive on and with the ball racing away along the ground. 

That can be attributed to the work Hemming has done as after before and every match, he can be seen walking around in his trademark half-pants and cap and instructing the other groundstaff. 

Hemming's CV is an impressive one, that includes being an International Cricket Soil Advisor & Consultant for the WACA in Perth, Australia and Head Curator of ICC Cricket Academy and Dubai International Stadium. 

He was also an ICC Pitch Consultant for the Oman Cricket Academy. 

His previous roles also include being the Arena Manager of the Optus Stadium in Perth, an International Presenter & Educator for ICC Cricket Academy, and Arena Manager for King Fahad International Football Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

With Bangladesh playing in unknown pitches in the USA for the T20 World Cup later this year, Hemming's work experience may come in handy.

The pitches in Sylhet and perhaps also in Chattogram this series might be created to be as close to those pitches in the new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York and Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is trying to prepare his team accordingly.

"There's little feedback from New South Wales Cricket about Dallas. Washington Freedom played there. I spoke to their GM when I was in Australia. Our recollection from St Vincent is the last Test we played there. We are preparing as much as we can for these unknown factors," Hathurusingha said at the pre-match press conference on Friday.

These pitches overseen by Hemming could help Bangladesh do well in the big tournament later this year.

One thing is for sure, Bangladesh will be learning to play better on sporting wickets now, something players have been wanting for a long time.