Every technical expert has a secret up his or her sleeve when it comes to getting the job done. Mechanics, engineers, plumbers etc all know certain tricks that help them to solve most issues you and I can encounter.

Cricket groundsmen are not that different either. They know a thing or two about how to maintain the square, outfield and pitch. Whenever there is excess rain or heat, experienced caretakers know what to do to get the ground ready to host a match. Using charcoal on plates to dry wet pitches, boundary ropes to soak up dew are all part of their arsenal.

But the groundsmen at the R Premamadasa Stadium in Colombo might have come up with the most bizzare, and frankly unsettling, tactic.

Crows are a menace in the Sri Lankan capital and they are known to harass passers-by. So in order to keep the pesky birds away, the groundsmen in Colombo reportedly placed a dead crow next to the playing area to ensure the surrounding remains clear before the fifth and final ODI against South Africa. We must say, it’s the one of the most disturbing things we have seen on a cricket field.