While augurs of English cricket's destiny debate the merits of covered or uncovered wickets in developing world-class bowlers and batsmen, scientists are getting to the root of the problem.

Cultivars and ``particulate size distribution'' may become part of the vocabulary of the public bar expert following a study initiated by the England and Wales Cricket Board into the construction and composition of the perfect cricket pitch.

The work, by Dr Bill Adams of the Soil Science Unit, University of Wales Aberystwyth and Dr Stephen Baker of the Sports Turf Research Institute in Bingley, means that the choice of sticky wicket or flat track will not be in the hands of God and the groundsman, but the result of a precise formulation of clay, sand and grass.

Designer soils - unusual combinations of clays and sand of a given particle size that do not occur naturally - are being developed by Dr Adams to customise performance in the quest for a perfect pitch.

Several pitches of different design could be constructed on a cricket square or one end of the pitch could be made to play differently from the other.

Clay already accounts for 30 per cent of the soil in first-class pitches, providing a flat, sealed surface that does not break up easily and bonds when dry. It also determines how ``quick'' the wicket will be.

The problem for spin bowlers is that flat surfaces do not provide enough friction, or grip, for the rotations they impart to the ball to make it deviate from a straight line.

By adding sand, which is not normally found in cricket soils, ``we can affect the bite of the ball,'' said Dr Adams.

The granules of sand offer more friction and will enable the bowler to turn the ball more. Because the sand weakens the soil ``we have come up with a designer soil with a higher than usual clay content and mix in different size sand fractions'', said Dr Adams.

A second study is comparing the performance of different cultivars (strains) of grasses when subjected to the soils and conditions found in cricket squares.

Plots to simulate different pitch constructions will eventually yield pure data - such as moisture content and root depth - as well as degrees of bounce and seam movement, as balls are bounced and bowled by machines. One day, a groundsman wanting a certain type of pitch may consult a Bingley ``menu'' and get the right recipe.