Adelaide pitch to be slow: groundsman

For the first time at the Adelaide Oval, drop-in pitches are being used and the outfield grass was only laid six weeks ago – changes due to a $535 million redevelopment, to be completed next March.

Hough says the pitch for Australia's battle against England starting Thursday should be typically Adelaide, but a little slow.

"We are trying to produce a typical Adelaide Oval pitch, something that will be good to bat on and something that will hopefully spin as the game goes on," Hough said Tuesday.

"We think it's pretty close to what we have had in previous years. It might be a little bit slower this year, being brand new."

The oval re-opened last month and the initial two Sheffield Shield games produced run-heavy draws.

The drop-in pitches were grown within the oval precinct but Hough admitted nerves about the Test strip.

"I'm nervous going into every Test," he said. "It has been nervous, it has been exciting ... we're doing all we can to produce a typical Adelaide Oval pitch.

"It's going to take us time to get it exactly where we want it, there's no doubt about it. They (drop-in pitches) behave slightly differently.

"The soil is coming out of the exact same location as what was out here when Don Bradman was playing.

"Same soil, same grass. Everyone has just got to realise it is brand new ... and it's going to get better the more we work on them and the more we use them."