Fifth Test, The Brit Oval, 8-12 September


Head Groundsman, Bill Gordon, 11 years in charge


THE Oval is the oldest Test match venue in the world, and the place where the Ashes originated in 1882. It is quite fitting that this year’s last Ashes Test will be played here. It may even be the decider for the series.


I wasn’t here for the opening Ashes game, but I have been with the club for 40 years, so I know the wicket reasonably well. My preparations, like most cricket groundsmen’s, began last autumn with our usual renovations when the square was scarified, topdressed and overseeded.


The weather dictates our workload. The square has had two fertiliser applications since the spring and, at the moment, the Ashes wicket is covered to protect it from any adverse weather.


The main preparations begin two weeks before the start of the Test, mowing, verticutting and scarifying to remove grass from the wicket, gradually reducing it to the match height of below 2mm. Weather permitting, we will carry out in the region of 15 hours total rolling time to get the true, consistent surface required.


I want a wicket that will provide a good test to both batsmen and bowlers.


5


Third Test, Old Trafford, 11-15 August


Head Groundsman, Peter Marron, 22 years in charge.


I HAVE spent the last five years rebuilding all the wickets on the square. All are of consistent construction with 200mm of Surrey loam, having a clay content less than 30%.


The square is small,


accommodating only 11 first class wickets. It is mowed with Lloyds Paladins and maintained at a height of 6mm.


The biggest factor that will affect the pace and performance of the wicket will be the weather leading up the Test. With Manchester being one the wettest regions in the country I have to be prepared to cover the square and run up areas as quickly as possible.


Test wicket preparations begin seven days beforehand, reducing the sward each day to a final height below 2mm. Mowing is interspersed with rolling. I judge the rolling requirements by instinct, feel and experience. Walking across the square and placing my thumb


into the sward, coupled with what the weather is doing or forecast, is enough for me to decide the level of maintenance required.


Any watering, if required, is done by hand. The wicket will be mowed prepared and marked out the day before the Test, and covered up. In fact, knowing what the weather is like up here, the whole square may be covered a complete week before the match.


The Old Trafford wicket is generally known to be very bouncy during the right conditions, and more favourable for spin bowlers. At the end of the day, however, it will be the weather that determines how it plays.


Where’s your money? I believe the Test series will be very close however, being a proud Englishman, I will be backing England to take the Ashes. Peter Marron


3


“The weather will be an


important factor” PETER


MARRON


2


Second Test, Edgbaston, 4-8 August Head Groundsman, Steve Rouse, 12 years in charge.


I AM only too aware of the pressure facing myself and fellow colleagues for the forthcoming Ashes. Each year there is more and more pressure being put on us to provide consistent surfaces, not only on the match wickets, but also on all the practice net areas. As with most internationals, there are a lot of extra requests for facilities to be made available for practice and player preparations leading up to the Test.


As with the other venues the Test wicket has been set aside, with preparations starting way back last September when the whole square was renovated, scarified, aerated, top dressed and over seeded.


In mid March we carried out our spring renovations, light scarification to open up the sward, overseeding and fertilising. However, the weather was particularly poor, cool and wet, which slowed down germination. In fact, the results were so poor I decided to re-seed again in April using Rigby Taylors R9 seed mix.


We achieved some good pre-season rolling, setting up a good base for our season. The Test wicket is at a stage I want it to be having good even growth and being maintained at 12mm.


Our Ashes Test wicket preparations begin on 24th July. We will flood the wicket getting water down to a depth of 75- 100mm. The art is to control the rate at which the wicket dries out. This will be heavily influenced by the weather. We want the wicket to dry out slowly, thus preventing any cracks appearing. We use a combination of covering and rolling activities to achieve this whilst, at the same time, gradually reducing the height of the sward, bearing in mind that you cannot put back on what you have taken off.


As always the weather will be the biggest factor that dictates what we do and when we do it. We have some TTS climate covers that enable us to cover the whole square and bowlers run ups, if necessary.


Like all the Test Groundsmen I want to ensure we have produced a pitch that provides an even


consistence


bounce, and lasts the whole five days, giving both teams the chance to play a very competitive game of cricket.


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