The Bangladesh Cricket Board has launched its first-ever Curator Level-1 Course in the country, aiming to strengthen professional expertise in cricket pitch and ground management and develop a new generation of qualified curators.
The two-day course began Tuesday at the Bir Shreshtha Shahid Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s Grounds Committee organising the programme.
Tony Hemming, BCB’s head of turf management and an ICC-accredited curator and soil specialist from Australia, is conducting the course. BCB curator Zahid Reza Babu, who oversees the Chattogram venue, is assisting Hemming as co-trainer.
Around 30 ground staff from Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Purbachal, BKSP and Fatullah are attending the Chattogram leg of the programme. The participants will undergo practical training on the second day before sitting for an examination, with successful candidates set to receive BCB certification.
The initiative is part of the board’s broader effort to improve the standard of cricket grounds across the country and create a pool of professionally trained curators capable of working to domestic and international standards.
According to Grounds Committee member-secretary Mazhar Uddin Omi, the course is also intended to create opportunities for Bangladeshi curators beyond the country’s borders.
“Our main goal is to develop skilled curators for both Bangladesh and overseas assignments. There are already some Bangladeshi curators working abroad, and we often receive requests for curators from other countries. Usually, they have to travel to Dubai for a Level-1 course, but this time we have arranged it in Bangladesh,” Mazhar said.
The second phase of the course will be held on August 23-24 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, where another 40 ground staff from Mirpur, BKSP, Sylhet, Khulna, Barishal, Bogura and Rajshahi are expected to participate.
A total of 70 ground staff will take part in the two-phase programme, which the BCB hopes will contribute to sustained improvements in pitch preparation, turf management and playing conditions across the country.