Cricket Pitches & Ovals Line Marking

Quick answer: Line Marking Australia marks cricket pitches and ovals to the Laws of Cricket. The pitch is 20.12 metres from stump to stump and 3.05 metres wide, the popping crease sits 1.22 metres in front of the bowling crease, and the return creases run at least 2.44 metres behind it. We mark turf and synthetic pitches, often before finals.

A premier cricket club in Brighton called us before their finals campaign. The umpires had flagged that their popping crease was marked 5cm too far from the stumps. Five centimetres might sound trivial, but it gave bowlers an unfair advantage on no-ball calls. The club needed the pitch remarked to ICC standards before Saturday's elimination final.

Cricket crease and pitch dimensions

Cricket crease marking isn't approximate work. The popping crease must be exactly 1.22 metres from the bowling crease. The bowling crease marks the position of the stumps. The return creases extend at least 2.44 metres behind the popping crease. These dimensions haven't changed in over a century because cricket's laws depend on them. A short-pitched delivery, an LBW decision, a run-out call at the crease line, they all rely on those white lines being exactly where the laws say they should be.

The pitch itself must be 20.12 metres from stump to stump and 3.05 metres wide. At either end, the creases create the defined batting and bowling zones that determine legal deliveries and dismissals. Mark them wrong and you compromise the integrity of every match played on that surface.

We had a difficult situation at a regional ground in Shepparton in 2017.

Who sets the rules for cricket markings?

Crease and pitch dimensions come from the Laws of Cricket, written by the MCC and used by the ICC and Cricket Australia. Boundary size is set by each competition, so we confirm it with your club or association before marking. Most ovals switch to football in winter, and we can mark both codes on the same ground.

See our AFL field line marking, sports field line marking, and our wider sports facility line marking work.

Temporary and seasonal line marking on grass fields

Line Marking Australia marks grass sports fields for every season, including soccer, AFL, rugby and cricket ovals for schools, clubs and councils, and re-marks them as the grass grows. Our Victorian crew runs a GPS robotic line marker that sets out fields accurately and repeats the same layout each week, which suits venues with several fields.

Club and sponsor logos on grass

We also paint club crests and sponsor logos on ovals and pitches for game days and finals, using turf-safe paint that grows out with the grass.

Standards and council rules we follow for cricket pitches

• The MCC Laws of Cricket, used by Cricket Australia: 20.12 m between the stumps and a pitch 3.05 m wide.
• A popping crease 1.22 m in front of the bowling crease, and return creases at right angles running at least 2.44 m behind it.
• Wide guidelines and fielding circles marked to your competition's playing conditions.
• Grass-safe line paint on turf, and the curator's or council's rules for the square.

Council and site rules on every court and field job

• Approval first. On council reserves, school grounds and club facilities we work only with the owner's written approval, plus a works permit where the council asks for one, and we follow the council's open space and reserve conditions.
• Safety paperwork. A Safe Work Method Statement and site induction under the Model WHS Regulations, with the work area coned or fenced off until the paint has cured.
• Insurance. Certificates of currency for public liability and workers compensation, at the level the council, school or club specifies.
• Working with children. On school and childcare sites our crews hold the state check, such as a Working with Children Check or Queensland blue card.
• Stormwater. No paint, wash water or grit goes into drains, in line with state EPA rules. We contain wash water and take waste away.
• Right paint for the surface. Court paint the surface maker approves, so your surface warranty stays intact, and grass-safe line paint on turf.
• Hours and bookings. Work is timed around council noise local laws and the club, school or council booking calendar.