The only major renovation to the outfield since the 1860s was to fill in a crater left after a bombing raid in 1940
Peter Marron’s final act as Head Groundsman at Old Trafford Cricket Ground was to oversee the installation of a new drainage system. Undertaken by White Horse Contractors, their Contracts Manager, Jim Crabbe, details the work that was carried out
‘NEW’ TRAFFORD! T
he Old Trafford Cricket Ground, usually known simply as Old Trafford, has been the home of Manchester Cricket Club since 1856 and of the Lancashire County Cricket Club since it was founded in 1864. International Test matches have been played there since 1884 - it was the second Test ground in England after The Oval and before Lord’s. The grounds, in those days, were quite
remote, to the extent that the then groundsman also held the shooting rights over the outfield! The land, when purchased, was noted as a good level sandy field. By the 1880s Old Trafford was considered second only to Lord’s as a cricketing venue. The only major renovation to the outfield since the 1860s was to fill in a crater left after a bombing raid in 1940. The ground has suffered over previous seasons from slow drainage and, with the vagaries of the infamous Manchester weather, the incidence of delays and cancellations had become a major issue for the club.
Having seen the benefit of drainage improvements at other grounds, most
notably Lord’s, Lancashire CCC decided that, as nothing could be done about the weather, a new and efficient drainage system for the outfield would enable more cricket to be played. Retiring Head Groundsman, Peter
Marron, conducted a lengthy investigation in to the best construction methods and specifications. His concern was to tailor the final construction detail to meet Old Trafford’s specific requirements. After a period of consultation White Horse Contractors (Northern) were appointed to undertake the reconstruction of the entire outfield and, after much discussion, a final specification was arrived at. This consisted of removing 400mm depth of the outfield, laying a new drainage system of mains pipe and laterals at five metre spacing, installing a gravel carpet and importing sand based rootzone to a depth of
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