There were big hits, classic catches, record-breaking knocks and electric entertainment in the triumphant return of international cricket in the Top End after 17 years out of the global spotlight.

But none of it would have been possible without the hard working grounds crew at NT Cricket, led by head of facilities Jake Pavlich, who have put together years of preparation to establish the Darwin-based TIO Stadium into a world-class cricketing venue. 

Steve Bailey and his dedicated crew at Green by Nature were responsible for the maintenance and preparation of the pristine playing outfield, which handled the hot and humid conditions with expertise despite some challenges.

TIO Stadium hosted two Twenty20 men’s internationals between Australia and South Africa on Sunday August 10 and Tuesday August 12, with bumper crowds watching the two proud cricket nations square the two fixtures 1-1 to open up the Australian cricket summer. It was the first time international cricket was played at the stadium since 2008.

“It was brilliant, a lot of people worked very hard for a long time at NT Cricket to make this happen,” Pavlich said. “Not me as such, but the whole organisation. It was good to be rewarded for everyone’s efforts. It’s been a mountain of work, even before I got here 18 months ago.”

With skill and precision, two drop-in wickets were installed into the venue in June and were put to the test from July 13-16 when Australia A hosted Sri Lanka A in a four-day match, before attention was turned to preparing the pitch and playing surface for the international Twenty20 matches.

Pavlich said the preparation of the pitch came down to “doing the basics” and adjusting to the elements.

“The drop-in pitch was at our number two oval at the back and that was built in 2018 and before me the team put it back in the stadium but the work has been all year round,” he said. 

“The drop-in sits in our nursery out the back of TIO Stadium where it sits for eight to nine months a year and the current set-up is we can’t do too much to it but roll it, top-dress it, that kind of stuff but it’s not in the ground or anything so it’s a bit hard to work on it until it’s out in the middle.

“We’ve got great weather up here at the moment but with that comes a lot of weeds, disease, pests, so it’s a constant. We’ve hand-weeded the drop-ins regularly so we’ve been doing the basics and from there we just keep prepping and eventually get them to a point where we can develop them into international wickets and really look after them.”

Heavy dew played a part across both nights, particularly in game one on August 10, with Pavlich and the team working tirelessly to manage it to the best of their ability.

“The outfield was significantly wet on the first night, there was a really heavy dew. We sprayed a dew prevention product out there as well and even with that it was still wet which happens up here a lot in Darwin,” he said.

“There’s not a lot you can do about it but it was incredible to see the amount of water coming off the ball. We got lucky the second night, it eased quite a lot with the dew.” 

With the stadium also expected to be considered to host Bangladesh in a men’s Test match in August 2026, having been moved from March 2027 due to the 150th anniversary Test between Australia and England at the MCG, Pavlich said the NT Cricket turf crew were ready to host more international cricket.

“We feel like we’ve got a world-class facility and we’ve got the staffing to do it. The conditions are great for cricket at this time of the year and we feel like we can host whatever comes our way,” he said.

There will be no time for a breather for the turf crew with the Northern Territory to play host to the 2025 Top End Series from August 14-24 across various venues with TIO Stadium slated to feature in nine games in four days. 

Story by Nick Creely/ Pictures courtesy of NT Cricket and Jake Pavlich