The use of glue on cricket pitches to improve their quality will gain even more credibility today when the revolutionary technique is used for the first time ever in an international match.

New Zealand and Sri Lanka will play their Champions Trophy clash today in Mumbai, India on a pitch which is to have polyvinyl acetate glue (PVA) sprayed across it before the start of play ? in exactly the same way that the groundstaff at the National Sports Centre did a month ago when Bermuda played their first game on the much-maligned North Field square in almost two years.

PVA is a sealant used by builders for attaching tiles to roofs and walls and this season was approved for use in limited overs matches by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The sealant has been used at several English county grounds as well as at Old Trafford in Manchester ? one of the oldest Test venues in the country.

Up to now, however, the application of PVA has been viewed very much as an interesting experiment, though its use in the most important international ODI tournament outside the World Cup now signifies that it could become an increasingly important resource for groundsmen across the cricketing world.

NSC head groundsman Trevor Madeiros read about PVA in an English newspaper earlier this year, before seeking the permission of the Trustees to give it a try.

As a result, a second-string Bermuda XI were able to play visiting Trinidadian club side Clico Preysal on a grass wicket ? with national coach Gus Logie and players from both sides impressed with how reliable the surface turned out to be.

This was a far-cry from the last time the national team played games on the square ? against the West Indies and Barbados in September, 2004 ? when the crumbling top surface and the resulting uneven bounce left the pitch bordering on the dangerous.

Meanwhile, Andy Atkinson ? the International Cricket Council?s pitch expert who on a visit to Bermuda in November, 2004 memorably stated that the NSC?s square was ?more suitable for growing carrots? ? is in India at the moment supervising the glue?s application.

?It is not a panacea ? it will not make a bad pitch into a good pitch,? he warned yesterday.

?But it has been proven to be an effective method of preventing pitches from disintegrating as the game goes along.?

Long-time Old Trafford groundsman Peter Marron was also quoted yesterday as saying he has been astonished so far at how effective PVA has been on his wickets.

?I thought somebody was having me on when I first heard about it,? said the man who presides over currently the fastest and bounciest international pitches in England.

?But when sprayed across the pitch it hardens into a glossy layer and binds the soil together for long periods ? meaning the pitch tends to play more or less in the same way in the 100th over as it did in the first.?

Like the NSC?s in the past, the surfaces for the Champions Trophy have come in for severe criticism because of their tendency to break up alarmingly even before the first innings has been completed ? something which has prompted a succession of low scores.