‘The game needs a great series’: the pressures of preparing an Ashes pitch

I n April Ben Stokes was asked what kind of pitches he was hoping to play on in the Ashes, and his response was unequivocal. “We’ve been clear with the ground staff what type of wickets we want and they have been responsive,” he said. “We want flat, fast wickets.” In the hours after the interview was broadcast, Gary Barwell’s phone started pinging.

Barwell, head of sports turf and grounds at Edgbaston since 2011, will be responsible for the wicket used in the first Test, and this news came as a complete surprise to him. “I was on holiday in Miami and I got sent the clip,” Barwell says. “I can 100% tell you I have never been told that.

“I know they want good pitches, that’s all I’ve heard, and I don’t think that’s unusual. I’ve never been asked to produce a pitch for England in all the time I’ve been here. I get asked to produce a good cricket wicket and that’s it.”

If the situation was different at any of the four other grounds the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has chosen for this year’s Ashes, Barwell would almost certainly know about it, the groundskeeper grapevine being particularly active. “Like anything, only the people that do the job understand the job,” he says. “All the first-class head groundsmen are on a WhatsApp group, and they’re always supportive and helping each other.

“I can honestly say it’s as nice a bunch of people as you could ever wish to meet. On the first day of a Test I’ll have a load of messages, really genuine, wishing me good luck. If it doesn’t go right you’ll get messages asking how you are. It’s a real community feel, really embracing each other’s success.”

That community can be important, because on the rare conditions when a pitch does not behave as expected there is no doubt who