Curator Damian Hough confident drop-in pitch at redeveloped Adelaide Oval will be of top standard Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough works on the new drop in pitches to be used at the redeveloped Adelaide Oval. Picture: Matt Turner Source: The Advertiser CRACK curator Damian Hough has revealed the secret vault of ancient soil, wine country grass and local genius upholding Adelaide Ovals new field of dreams. Hough is the man charged with meeting grandiose expectations tied to the redeveloped, 50,000 capacity stadium ahead of Adelaide's Ashes Test in December. It's a high stakes, pressure walk into the "unknown." Yet, Hough exudes the quiet composure of a man who knows he's on a good thing before installing eight drop-in pitches on Monday crucial to the functioning of a $535 million multi-purpose stadium. "Just walking through it gives you a real buzz, it is so exciting," said Hough, who works 12 hour days to honour 130 years of Oval tradition. From a turf manager's perspective we want to deliver a ground that is faultless. We want the public to come through and experience it. Hough and arena manager David Egan will be under scrutiny from purists still lamenting how cricket's most beautiful venue was bulldozed and its revered pitch dug up in the name of progress. The demands of AFL football and events needed to spike stadium profits meant a permanent cricket pitch was a nuisance. While the world famous vista is gone forever, the rare Athelstone clay soil used by legendary ground keepers in Adelaide's old permanent pitches from Arthur Lance, Les Burdett through to protégé Hough has been preserved. Burdett stockpiled a mountain of the museum soil - before it was covered by a housing development in the eastern hills - for use in Adelaide's eight, revolutionary drop-in pitch trays. It is this source of 33-year-old Athelstone soil that Hough believes will retain the characteristics of the exalted Adelaide Test pitch that offered something for everyone before finally breaking up for spinners. It is the soil Les used to go out and hand dig out of a hill. We had it treated and we were able to go back and rebuild these drop-in trays," said Hough who will use drop-in pitch No.5 for the second Test between Australia and England from December 5. It was really important when we did our strategic planning to get the trays as close as possible to what the old square was. "There's not a lot of the soil left but we were lucky enough through Les" contacts to store that soil 30 years ago, retain the history of the soil quality." Drop-in pitches typically offer less variation than permanent pitches with inherent character like the spin friendly Sydney Cricket Ground or fast Perth strip. The MCG's initial drop in pitches proved spongy initially and can take a decade to mature. However Hough believes a high standard pitch associated with Adelaide - perfect for batting before offering turn after tea on day four - can be provided. Adelaide's new pitches were laid 18 months ago at the No.2 Oval advancing compaction. "We are doing everything we possibly can to make sure the characteristics the same," said Hough, who joined Burdett's ground staff in 1997 and succeeded him in 2010. We have laser levelled them, got them right, happy with how they are looking. We got them in 12 more months before we needed. We will do a lot more lighter preparation rolling before we get the bigger puffer out there. Talking to curators in Melbourne you have to increase rolling of drop-ins by 50 per cent. "We will have some centre wicket practices and two Shield games to understand the intricasies of each pitch," A tailor-made, $400,000 pitch transporter is the key to combining cricket and football at the venue, avoiding the centre ground mud-piles that plagued elite football when the codes last shared Adelaide Oval 40 years ago. "We have the flexibility to put one or eight in, it just depends what the program looks like with others sports," said Hough, who will remove the eight drop ins from Adelaide's No.2 ground nursery then tow them into place on the main Oval in a manic Monday for groundstaff. Hough "chewed the fat" and gained invaluable tips from respected peer Cameron Hodgkins who improved the Melbourne Cricket Ground surface markedly while pioneering drop-in pitch use at the great venue. Adelaide-based international experts extended precise advice when it came to cultivating Adelaide's drop ins including Burdett, Peter Semos and golf turf expert Daryl Sellar. "We think we have done everything we can, with the drop-in pitches we got Les and Peter working with us to be the best it can be for Adelaide Oval," he said. It is the same with the outfield, Daryl is one of the leading guys in Australia for his consulting work. We have Adelaide guys who are the best in the business. We have reinforced the profile, turf, and a world class contractor to do it. Of course a pitch is nothing without the green grass that flows to the boundary and masses. Adelaide Oval's turf will be trucked in from the heart of wine territory in Langhorne Creek and placed in early October. "The beauty with the turf up at Langhorne is we are able to roll it out and pretty much play on it," said Hough. Egan is AAMI Stadium head groundsman but will be at Adelaide Oval full time from next month in preparation for the Ashes and first AFL Showdown between Adelaide and Port Adelaide next March. It is good, really enjoyable, we have been able to get new equipment so the outfield is in pristine condition all the time. I have been really lucky, a quality person and experienced person and Dave coming on board," said Hough. While fine leaf Santa Ana couch grass is required for cricket, rye varieties are used in AFL football fixtures. "We are trying to maintain the world class characteristics of Adelaide Oval, fine leaf couch, able to oversow rye into it for football season," he said. Ultimately, Hough and Egan will have to be men for all occasions. We are looking forward to the challenges - the weather or sports. Cricket will want grass at eight millimetres or soccer at 20-25. You have drop-ins, football, Test matches, one-dayers," Hough said. It is just going to be a venue that will be up and about and exciting 12 months of the year. Our plan is to maintain the benchmarks of Adelaide Oval and AAMI Stadium and the only difference if there is no rest period.