Era : UnCovered Pitch

http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmana...53061.html

Nearly another 70 years passed before the ultimate point, for good or ill, was reached with authorisation of total pitch protection

against rain at all times for Test matches in 1979, and for all first-class games in 1982.

Now, a further four years on, many counties are again of the opinion that it is a better Championship :

when pitches are partly open to the elements.

After the second war, cricket continued to move cautiously in the matter of covering.

The 1947 Code contained the first actual Law on the subject.

Law 11 stated The pitch shall not be completely covered:

during a match unless special regulations so provide.

In 1958 Special Instructions for Umpires in first class matches laid down that if both captains

and umpires were in agreement that a pitch was already so saturated that more rain could

substantially delay resumption, then the whole pitch could be covered.

The voluminous Regulations for First Class Matches, 1962, carried one astonishing entry.

At the end of the section on Test match covering came :

In 1963 the pitch to be covered only at weekends or perhaps when saturation point is reached.

In 1966 the Advisory Committee, nothing support in the counties for a move back to uncovered

pitches, decided that, while allowing weekend and night pitch protection,

there should be discretion for home counties to adopt less covering.

But in 1969 it was back to a standard regulation. 

The march towards full covering seemed to have been resumed, but in 1971 there was a hiccup.

The Test match conditions were unaffected, but for others first-class games :

only covering of the ends was allowed, at the times including nights and weekends.

However, total covering throughout was eventually authorised in 1979 :

107 years after the first move in this intricate and wavering affair.

Most modern batsmen have not experienced the challenge of a sticky dog

NOR unnastan what a sticky wicket really means :

except it is the name of a Pub ...hahaha  [img alt=]http://www.westindiesforum.com/Smileys/forum/raspberry-tounge.png[/img]