MICHAEL Hylton, the curator at Sabina Park cricket ground, says he aims to match or improve on the mostly high standard of pitches provided this season in home Test series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

In the recent three-Test clash between West Indies and Sri Lanka — which ended 1-1 — pitches at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago, Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia and Kensington Oval in Barbados had fair covering of grass.

The first match of the two-Test series against the Bangladeshis, won by the home side at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua last week, had a similar surface.

All offered a balanced contest between bat and ball, except at Kensington Oval where conditions decidedly favoured bowlers.

Attention turns to Sabina Park for the second Test, to begin on Thursday. Yesterday afternoon there was considerable grass on the batting square, a sure sign of a likelihood of lively pace and bounce for faster bowlers and a recipe for an entertaining match.

“We’re looking forward to the second Test between West Indies and Bangladesh. In the series before, against Sri Lanka, the pitches they played on seemed good for cricket, in general,” Hylton told the Jamaica Observer moments after sprinkling water on the strip earmarked for the second Test.

“We plan to have a similar pitch here: good for the cricket. If you bowl well and bat well, you get wickets and you get runs. Hopefully we (the Sabina pitch) will be the best of the lot, so let’s see come Thursday morning. [The Test being] competitive between bat and ball, that’s what we want,” he reiterated while in the presence of Kent Crafton, the Cricket West Indies (CWI) regional curator.

In recent years, CWI has placed heavy emphasis on improving the quality of pitches in the Caribbean.

It is an area that has been of concern to cricket observers, with bone-dry pitches across the region producing low and slow bounce, offering so much help to slow bowling, that it has exaggerated the competence of some otherwise ordinary spinners.

Conversely, it has discouraged some of the fast bowlers in the region, making them totally innocuous in some cases.

Crafton’s role in providing technical assistance includes preparation and maintenance, as well as pitch allocation, rotation, and outfield drainage and management.

“It’s so far, so good. We’ve got the grass on the pitches [and though] maybe it’s not 100 per cent, we’re heading in that direction and we are extremely happy with what we have had so far,” Crafton said in reference to curators around the region catching on to the renewed focus on pitches.

“We’ve had four Test matches so far and we’ve been quite comfortable with all four. In my opinion, Queen’s Park was the most improved, and I must say well done to the guys down there because it was good preparation that got them to that position.

“Here at Sabina, I must say I’m really impressed with what has been done to be where we are right now. It’s a beautiful pitch and the levels are great with good grass cover and we expect a belter here,” the St Lucian told the Observer.

Hylton expressed appreciation for the part that Crafton has played in the turnaround across the region.

“We must say thanks for the role that the West Indies curator has played in lifting the general standard of the pitches and fields in the Caribbean. It has been good working with him; we’ve learned so much and we hope it continues,” Hylton said.