‘The game needs a great series’: the pressures of preparing an Ashes pitch

Gary Barwell hopes the Edgbaston pitch does not become the talking point in the first Ashes Test. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

Ben Stokes was asked in April what kind of pitches he was hoping to play on in the Ashes. His response was unequivocal. “We’ve been clear with the ground staff what type of wickets we want and they have been responsive,” he said. “We want flat, fast wickets.” In the hours after the interview was broadcast, Gary Barwell’s phone started pinging.

Barwell, head of sports turf and grounds at Edgbaston since 2011, will be responsible for the wicket used in the first Test and this news came as a complete surprise to him. “I was on holiday in Miami and I got sent the clip,” Barwell says.