Perhaps the biggest accolade for the new outfield is silence - that probably says it all corrected.”
ECB funding meant that the outfield could be completely rebuilt rectifying any anomalies in surface levels and improving drainage at the same time. “Drainage was not the main
Bill Gordon
fixture, was hoping for a good downpour to see how the surface dealt with the rain. The law of sod meant that April was the driest and warmest in recent years; perfect for cricket but not for testing out the new drainage!
Meanwhile, in deepest Surrey ...
According to Head Groundsman, Bill Gordon, as far as he is aware, the surface at the Brit Oval had not been relaid since 1845, however, it was the period during the war when the ground was commissioned as a Prisoner of War Camp, that adversly affected the surface. “The ground was turned into a POW camp in case we were invaded,” he says. “In the event it never held any prisoners but, on a hot summer’s day, you could see the marks all around the outfield where the fence posts had been put in. The surface levels had never been
22
problem," said John Mallinson, Managing Director of J Mallinson Ormskirk Ltd., the company chosen to perform the design and build. “The Oval is built on silty, black soil, which we ameliorated, adding 3,000 tonnes of sand to improve the porosity. We then installed 5,000 metres of
pipe drainage at three metre centres.” At the same time, Lakes and Greens installed a new, computerised Rainbird irrigation system.
“Seeding the new outfield in the non-
growing season was out of the question.” said Bill. “It would have been too risky. You wouldn’t have got an even coverage in time for the new season,” Lindum’s MD, Stephen Fell, took a sample of LT5 Ryetees turf, a rye grass, smooth stalked meadow grass, and fescue mixture to the Brit Oval for Bill’s approval. “We recommended the LT5 turf as one that provides a dense sward that would allow a good ball roll as well as being able to put up with some hard wear,” says Stephen. “This same mixture was also used at the Glamorgan, Lancashire and Gloucestershire grounds,
although there it was supplied as a washed turf for rapid and strong establishment.” Once Bill had ordered the 13,000
square metres required, in big rolls, Mallinsons had to ensure that the ratio of sand and soil in the new rootzone would be compatible with that of the new turf. “We had to bear in mind what happened in Antigua over the winter, when the turf broke up and players’ feet went through it,” he says. “We needed a five sand, three soil ratio.” The last of the new turf, (avoiding those areas where the ashes of famous past cricketers, such as Jim Laker, were spread) was laid in the final week of February. Rooting was rapid and the team were practising on the pitch by the end of March.
“I’m full of praise for Mallinson’s
project manager, Richard Aspinwall,” Bill continued. “He gave 100% and there were times during the reconstruction when they were knee deep in muck and bullets.”
The new turf surface has bedded in well and held together. Bill has given it a light feed of fertiliser and he’s verti- draining, when he can, between fixtures. Perhaps the biggest accolade for the new outfield is silence. According to Bill, “not many people have said anything.” That probably says it all.
Lindum Turf - 01904 448675
www.turf.co.uk
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