Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to appoint Tony Hemming, an Australian curator with extensive experience in curating pitches for international events, as their new chief curator.
The Australian curator, who has previously worked with FIFA and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, brings a wealth of expertise in turf management and ground preparation. His notable contributions include the development of football grounds in Saudi Arabia.
He will replace Agha Zahid who has been PCB’s main curator since 2004 and has been part of the Chairman PCB Curators Committee for the last 20 years.
Hemming’s new role with the PCB will focus on preparing top-quality cricket pitches for three key venues such as National Bank Arena in Karachi, Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
These three venues are scheduled to host the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025, a mega-event that will see Pakistan welcome the world’s best cricketing nations.
Before this appointment, Hemming served as the Head Curator of the ICC Cricket Academy, where he honed his skills in creating and maintaining high-standard cricket pitches.
The Australian curator’s main job will be to train the local curators of Pakistan and ground staff according to the international standards of the game.
His experience at the Academy, combined with his international portfolio, makes him a valuable asset for the PCB as they aim to deliver a successful tournament.
The PCB’s decision to bring in Hemming underscores their commitment to ensuring that the pitches for the Champions Trophy are of the highest quality, providing fair pitch conditions for all participating teams.
As Pakistan gears up to host the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time since 2004, the inclusion of an expert like Hemming can prove to be the right move to showcase the country’s capabilities in organizing major international cricket events.
Pakistan will host the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy in February-March next year with the tournament including eight-top ranked international men’s national teams.
