mow it as much as we can and, if we are lucky, it won’t rain too much or dry out too much. Our biggest problem is that without being able to scarify, spread loam and carry out proper maintenance to the square in the autumn we run the risk of a build up of thatch, and that will hardly produce a test wicket. Until mid July, the outfield belongs to the sheep, and they do a pretty good job of keeping it short and green even if the droppings smell like - well, like sheep shit. Come July, there’s a flurry of
activity; we borrow a topper and a seven ton roller from another local farmer and get to work on the outfield. Our pride and joy (apart from the roller) is our gang mower. Once we’ve got the outfield in shape we keep it cut twice a week, and there are few better ways of spending an hour than to drive seven miles round
and round on a weekday afternoon, listening to the Test match and looking at one of the best views in the country. We look forward to extending our hospitality to all those teams who played us at home in the first half of the season. On a Sunday afternoon at deep fine leg, dressed in my immaculate whites and confident that I’ll not be required to field more than a couple of balls, I admire the view, curse the bowlers who scratch their run up marks into my field and the batsmen who scour out their middle and leg guard, and contemplate what a wonderful game cricket is.
Is it worth all the effort? Oh yes. It’s a way of life. Resist change, drink warm beer, listen to the sound of leather on willow, the buzzing of bees and the gentle murmur of the countryside. And the teas are heaven.”
Every year we fill up the roller with petrol, check the oil, offer up a quick prayer - and it starts with just a couple of yanks on the handle
From this ...
to this, in just three hours! What are you like?
Ian Smith, Grounds Manager at St Albans School - trying to get his life straight in an ungroovy world!
Who are you? Ian Smith, Grounds Manager at St Albans School Woollam Trust, a 73 acre multisport complex north of St Albans.
Status? Married to Kay for 20 years, son Sam (17) and daughter Jenny (15). I love them all (well, most of the time - teenage kids!!).
Who is your hero and why? Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Completely focused on the goal. He has raised over 10 million pounds for charity doing near impossible challenges, conquering his own fears at the same time.
What is your dream holiday? Rural England on a sunny day, pint in hand. I would be happy to never walk into an airport terminal again!
What annoys you the most? Liars, cheats and people who always put themselves first.
What would you change about yourself? My impatience (come on, I said my impatience!)
Who wouldn’t you like to be? Sir Ranulph Fiennes. I don’t like the cold and couldn’t think of anything worse than frostbite. (Ranulph cut off the finger tips of his own hand when his frostbite got so painful. He did it in his garden shed with a junior hacksaw putting his fingers in a vice, cutting off the dead bits until it
started to hurt and bleed.)
Favourite record, and why? I have a compilation CD of the Rat Pack and other old crooners. Kay and the kids take the mickey out of me, calling me an old git, but sing along to the classic tracks!
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? I’d snuggle up with Kay by the log fire.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Buy my idyllic English country cottage.
If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be? A jazz guitar - I tend to go off on tangents with different ideas.
What is the best advice you have ever been given? Treat people how you would like to be treated yourself.
What’s your favourite smell? Steak and kidney pudding on a cold winter’s day.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Thoughtful, focused, progressive.
What talent would you like to have? To be able to mow straighter lines - my staff are better at it than me!
What makes you angry? People who can’t mow straight!
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Celebrities who promote the use of drugs as being ‘groovy’ should be made to do community service, being taken to see what it does to real people’s lives and its victims, then see if they still think it is groovy!
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