By Nick Creely

South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) grounds manager Trent Kelly (pictured left) believes Karen Rolton Oval (KRO) in Adelaide has earned the right to host more elite cricket after a successful Sheffield Shield final and domestic season. Kelly, who alongside his staff of seven, worked tirelessly to prepare the pitch and ground for the thrilling final between South Australia and Queensland from March 26-29.

The ground recently introduced two drop-in pitches, brought in from Adelaide Oval two years ago, providing women’s and men’s professional cricketers with two elite facilities to utilise.

“With the introduction of the drop-in pitches it’s definitely enabled us to handle a greater volume of cricket matches,” Kelly said.

Karen Rolton Oval has hosted WBBL, WNCL, Sheffield Shield, One-Day Cup and international women’s matches, and Kelly is adamant the re-development, drop-in pitches and overall professionalism of his staff in managing the turf has made a major difference.

“We’ve learnt a lot about how to manage our turf coming into and out of football season and coming into cricket season,” he said. “Over seven or eight years we’ve changed a lot of management things from turf programs to introducing drop-in pitches, grass lengths and how we renovate the ground. The more you do it and the more you use a venue, or a machine, the better you’ll get at it.”

While Kelly advocates for more cricket to be played at the ground, he understands there is a “threshold”.

“I personally welcome more cricket at Karen Rolton, but obviously there is a threshold and breaking point but if you’ve got good discussions with Cricket Australia and the states in terms of scheduling, and the ground staff gets an input, then why not?” he said. “The grounds are there to be used but you can never compromise the quality of the surface at any stage. You want the best pitch, the best surface and the best facilities for the players to utilise.”

Editor’s Note: In the next edition of Australian Turfgrass Management Journal, ASTMA reporter Nick Creely covers the Sheffield Shield final held at Karen Rolton Oval. He speaks with Kelly, a former SA quick bowler himself, to look back on the raw emotion of the occasion and his team’s preparations for the biggest game of the 2024/2025 Australian first-class season. Photos courtesy of the South Australian Cricket Association.