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Glued to the crease

It brings new meaning to the phrase ''sticky wicket.''

Auckland cricket officials sprayed about 30 litres of wood glue on the Eden Park wicket prior to the first Test between New Zealand and South Africa, which ended in a draw.

The bowlers struggled to remove the batsmen from the crease. Daryll Cullinan scored a South African record 275, and even the tailenders stuck around, with New Zealand's Geoff Allott staying on nought for a record period of time and contributing substantially to the home side's battle to draw the Test.

While the procedure, to bond the pitch together and reduce cracking, is highly unusual elsewhere in the world, it has been done before in New Zealand and was last used in a Test here in 1989.

"It was a great shame that we had to use an artificial substance in order to maintain the integrity of the surface,'' said Auckland cricket chief executive Lindsay Crocker. "Unfortunately the option would have been worse.''

The pitch was the centre of controversy before the match and there were calls for the game to be moved because the wicket was hit by a fungus and hurt by the rugby season.

New Zealand captain Dion Nash admitted he had never heard of a pitch being sprayed with glue before the start of this Test, which featured more than 1,200 runs for only 18 wickets.

"It changes the game from a test of skills to a test of concentration and patience, not only for the players but for everyone,'' Crocker said.

One of Australia's leading curators, Kevin Mitchell Jnr., said he hadn't heard of glue being used elsewhere in the world. The man who prepares the Gabba pitch in Brisbane spent several months studying his craft in England last year.

"They've got to try everything to keep the pitch together,'' Mitchell said today in a phone interview. "I don't think it is ideal if you have a result like this.''

He said the traditional "couch'' grass used on cricket pitches in Australia binds the surface far better than the "rye'' grass tried by the New Zealanders.

Neither captain was critical of the pitch after the close of play.

"Look, the game went five days but with a little luck we could have taken a few more wickets,'' South Africa's Hansie Cronje said after his bowlers took just three wickets on the last day.

"I would have liked to see someone like (Shane) Warne or (Stuart) Macgill bowl on that pitch. It was a good Test wicket that held together for a long time.''

The second Test will be played at Lancaster Park in Christchurch which is notorious for glued pitches. It is a normal practice in Christchurch because of the strong sun.

On a glued pitch two seasons ago, Canterbury scored a New Zealand record 777 against Otago in a domestic first-class final.

"We have to play on wickets that's given to us. I don't think we have much of a choice,'' Nash said. "The pitch was over prepared. It was built up too one-sided towards the batters.''