“Here’s one for you! When we do produce a track with consistent pace, bounce and carry, why do the teams playing on it insist on the heavy roller to try and calm it down?”


allowed to purchase a new set of covers and some more side sheets for the new ground just outside of the main campus. Yes, I hear you saying, private schools get everything. Well, I admit we don’t do too badly at Oakham, but extra covers and sheets means extra work and, I can assure you, keeping 5 cricket squares plus net areas means very long days. Mid way through the season I was hoping never to see set of covers or sheets ever again! Mike, my assistant, must have taken similar sentiments home with him. He told me he had been dreaming, and had been awakened by a sharp knee to the groin - he had got his partner well and truly battened and pinned down under the duvet! The boys of all age groups have had some belting tracks to perform on this year, and quite a few former records have been surpassed. The Leicestershire county cricket club’s festival week went well. The 4-day championship game against Somerset was always destined for a draw when most of the first day was lost to rain. Both umpires gave that track top marks. The Totesport track for the Sunday, also against Somerset, was never quite finished off due to the poor weather during the week. The pace was not quite there, and marked accordingly. Here’s one for you though - when we


do produce a track with consistent pace, bounce and carry, why do the teams playing on it insist on the heavy roller to try and calm it down?


School cricket is now over, but


representative cricket goes on through the summer holiday, ending in the second week in August, which gives us two weeks to turn everything around back to winter sports. At this point I always hope the weather is kind.


Our renovation work:-


THE first operation was obviously to take down all the practice area’s nets and posts. Then they were double mown to a height of 4mm, with play. Scarifying then took place, across play, on the diagonal, and then with play. Another double mowing, across play.


I was not satisfied that enough fibre had been removed, so another pass was made across play with the blades screwed down another 2mm.


Then the big boy came into play - a Sisis V600 deep linear scarifier, set to a depth of 25mm. Running with play, the first two nets went well. The third net didn’t hold against the blades, ripping chunks out in between the blades, which were set at 19mm centres. I half expected this to happen as nets 3 and 4 were over used, rolled at the wrong moisture content i.e. dry underneath, with the top half an inch wet, causing root break. The deep slits that these sort of machines leave illustrate root break perfectly.


Once the area has had the V600


through, it receives an application of Micro de-thatch, to help break down the old or dead fibres below the surface; a couple of new fairy rings also


get some treatment. A 6.9.6 pre seeding fertiliser is applied, Advanta MM50 seed at 35grm per square metre, possibly at a higher rate on the worst affected areas. If the weather holds, we will be able to power spread the loam onto the whole area and then lute in, paying attention to levels. If the rain beats us, loam will be applied bag by bag and luted in. We do this because once the soil gets wet between the cuts, any vehicle running on it will close the grooves up to such an extent that the new loam will not be able to be worked in at the same rate as in between the wheel marks. Once the area settles, different levels will be noticeable, as well as different density profiles. Further aeration will take place 3 to 4 weeks later, once the old and new grass has had time to put some roots down. A Sisis Javelin vertical spiker, with 5 inch pencil tines will be used, operated by our faithful John Deere 955. She is 10 years old now, but still the best rig on the spikers.


Such a vigorous operation should not be necessary next year, but whether it’s a Sisis V600 or Graden or Koro the principle is the same - get that rubbish out.


Good luck to all you cricket


groundsmen out there, especially the county boys. Whilst you are still pulling covers and sheets about, we shall be done and dusted - apart from a small matter of 9 rugby, 5 soccer, 5 hockey, 2 Astros and 2 lacrosse pitches to look after!


Oakham’s scrapbook: Dismantling the net


area. Using the big boy! Mowing with and across play


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