Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough says there has been no pressure to doctor Ashes pitch

ADELAIDE Oval curator Damian Hough has revealed why speculation of doctoring his Ashes pitch is wide of the mark.

Australian captain Steve Smith with curator Damian Hough. Picture: Sarah Reed.

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ADELAIDE Oval curator Damian Hough has dismissed any suggestion his pitch preparations are influenced by external elements as he confronts time and weather extremes entering the pink-ball blockbuster.

There has been speculation that Cricket Australia requested an abrasive, close-shaved strip for the South Australia v New South Wales pink ball Sheffield Shield opener as a precursor for the second Test in Adelaide.

While England curators blatantly tailor pitches for Jimmy Anderson and England’s swing merchants, Hough remains his own master with credibility intact.

“Just to be clear, we didn’t deliberately take grass off or talk to Cricket Australia,” Hough told The Advertiser.

“Our preparation is exactly the same as last year. We are trying to replicate last year’s Test match pitch which was rated highly by the ICC.”

Curator Damian Hough said the preparation for this week’s Test is the same as last year. Picture: Calum Robertson

Australian superstar Mitchell Starc took career best figures of 8-73 for NSW against the Redbacks but the swing of Trent Copeland and Chadd Sayers was also effective finishing with six-wicket match hauls.

“There might be comments made about the pitch reversing and the surface was abrasive but I, we didn’t change anything. I am not sure if they have tweaked the ball. Maybe the ball is doing a bit more,” said Hough.

Hough revealed this week his pitch would be cut to six millimetres, the same height he’s served up for Australia’s 2015 World Cup quarter-final against India.

Moisture readings for the Shield opener were identical to typical drop-in wickets in Adelaide.

“I have got my mower set at six but you wouldn’t fill up a coffee cup of grass clippings. There is so much more to it than height,” said Hough.

“A red or pink ball, we have a bit more of a mature leaf that will spring back in and push out a little bit to the quicks can play a part and the spinners get a little bit of purchase.”

Hough took into account feedback from Test skipper Steve Smith and off-spinner Nathan Lyon in preparing the historic Test strip, the first to be played under day-night conditions.

Hough has developed a coarse, thatch cover for the pitch that will protect the pink ball, offer pace, bounce and spin in a bid to provide incentive for all bowlers.

Torrential rain and unseasonable chill won’t ruin Hough’s surface but will dampen the revelry of a 50,000 weekend Test crowd that was expected to drink Adelaide Oval dry.

Adelaide’s state of the art drainage can handle a Friday night deluge ahead of the opening Saturday of the second Test.

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An intricate radar warning system can pre-empt downfalls as happens for traditional day Tests — rushing the covers out or keeping them on as required.

Hough — Australia’s premier cricket curator — rates pitch preparation like “baking a pie, knowing when to add ingredients” and moisture.

The trick this week has been adding moisture in searing temperatures while knowing there could be massive rainfall on the way and condensation under the covers.