“Seagulls - hundreds of the bloody things! The damage they cause to the covers runs into thousands of pounds”
St James’ Church - the target for six hitters
The ground has no drainage system but relies solely on the free draining nature of the underlying soil. These soils also provide a sub foundation for the square and, without doubt, have been a contributing factor to why Phil has managed to produce some of the best batting wickets in county cricket. “Taunton has always been a good batting wicket” says Phil. “You’ve only got to look back through the records. Some of the greats of the game, including The Don, have praised the wicket here.” But the search for something
Trusty old Ford 1210 and SISIS spreader Simon hand watering the square New workshop and mess room 18
more bowler friendly goes on. It was suggested that koroing off the top one inch might be an answer, so Phil duly obliged, with the assistance of Dave Bates at Total Turf Solutions. “The news got round the press and they all pitched up to see the first game on it, which was against Middlesex” says Phil. “I prepped the pitch as normal and left a bit of grass on. Middlesex went on to declare at 600-4. In reply we made 880 all out. So you see, it’s just the nature of the soil that dictates the wickets here.” Phil will prepare a four day wicket for between ten and fourteen days, depending on the level of the match and weather conditions. One day wickets are usually prepped for four to five days. “The wickets are so good here that they don’t need any more than that” he says. Phil does not stick to a rigid height of cut and has never measured it - “I just instinctively know what’s right” Winter renovations involved scarifying with a Graden in several directions, with the final pass in the direction of play. Between 8-10 bags of loam were applied to each strip and oversown in three passes. Phil took the opportunity to trial various grass seed mixes across the square. “We’ve looked at various types and, for our conditions, Evita Majestic is the clear winner. It gives us a tighter sward, stronger root growth, is more resistant to rolling and has less poa in it. It allows me to keep more grass on the wicket, something we like to do here. It might be a bit more expensive than other types but I’m going to use it through the summer and right across the square from here on in.” When Cranfield University were last here they took a core sample and were so impressed with the
depth of the roots that they rushed off to their car to get a camera to photograph it!” Five tracks where renovated using
Surrey Loams GOSTD with the remainder being dressed with Ongar loam. One track was completely relaid, dug out to a depth of 50mm, refilled with Ongar loam and oversown with Evita/Majestic. The whole square was then fertilised using a 6:5:11 ratio granular fertiliser. Winter work on the square involves keeping the grass in check, feeding with an 8:0:0 to maintain colour and harden the plant, and aeration when conditions allow. The outfield is also aerated as many times as possible.
Phil, Simon and Dan carried out between 25-30 hours of pre-season rolling starting across the square, then diagonally, before finishing in the line of play. “I’m confident that we have done enough to achieve the right results” he says. “Guidelines are all very well, but they are just that - guidelines. A good groundsman will instinctively know when he has done enough, based on his experience of the square and weather conditions. Watering of the wickets is done by hand to control moisture levels. The club has invested in TTS Climate Covers and, more recently, the new Stuart Canvas covers. And this is probably where Phil has his biggest problem. “Seagulls” he curses. “Hundreds of the bloody things. The damage they cause to the covers runs into thousands of pounds.”
The population appears to be
increasing (Taunton is only twenty- five miles from the coast) and they are opportune scavengers. “We’ve tried everything - whistles, drums and a permanent scarecrow. We’ve even resorted to letting off fireworks, which seems to have some affect, but we can’t be here all the time, like the bloody gulls are!” The building of the new stands has transformed the ground. Taunton is one of the smaller grounds on the circuit. Its straight boundaries are still amongst the shortest in first-class cricket. These are sixty yards to the Sir Ian Botham Stand and fifty-three yards to the old pavilion.
Included in the building work is a brand new workshop and mess room for the groundstaff.
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