BRIGHT and MACKAY...
Moves are afoot to transform Sussex County Cricket Club’s playing surface at Hove into one fit for the country’s most successful side of the last decade. Tom James meets Head Groundsman Andy Mackay, the man mixing science, sense and passion to give it his best shot
behind what he does will stand him in good stead, he believes, as will possessing an avid interest in studying turf from a cricket perspective. “I find the peculiarities of the wicket fascinating. After all, it’s what we all strive to get right,” Andy insists. Pressure of fixtures is increasingly
proving a headache for him and his team. “We have fifteen wickets in total here, ten of which are to first-class standard. The weight of fixtures means we’ve used every one of them so far, putting major pressure on the main square, which is showing its age under the strain.” With Sussex being one the ‘driest’ county clubs in the country, keeping a healthy green surface throughout the year is a task nigh on impossible to achieve, Andy adds, but he remains in bullish mood. “There is no real solution to our
problem. We just have to make it work as best we can and pump water on to it when we have the opportunity. Our
shallow profile means the square naturally dries out quickly.” “We struggle to produce wickets with any pace in them here at Hove, although remedial measures last autumn have meant a slight improvement this season.” “This is based on the condition of the surface at Hove, which has a serious soil fracture - a deterioration typical of older cricket squares, in this instance caused by an incompatibility of loams. The soil fracture - at 25-30mm deep - is the optimum level for ruining a wicket and the reason why our square has a low bounce and a lack of pace,” he adds. “In addition, on some wickets, there is an 11-12% organic content in the soil that has built up over time. This square is probably similar to most other First Class squares as they were back in the eighties and early nineties but, while other counties relaid their squares back then, our square was actually playing well at that time.” “It’s time we relaid the square. The
received wisdom says it needs relaying after 25 to 30 years. Ours is 140 years old. So, starting in September, we'll be excavating two wickets at a time under a plan to replace them all over a 5-6 year period. Although I’d love not to have to renew the whole square, I’d rather someone shoot me down for trying and failing than for not trying at all,” he states in typically forthright fashion. Andy explains the process to be undertaken. “We will use a Stihl saw to cut down the side of each wicket to give a good line, and a digger is then brought in to excavate to the required level. We’ll be looking to lay no more than 125mm of cricket loam. This is laid at two inches at a time - we’ll use a Surrey GOSTD mix similar to the 125 - we’ll heel in well, rake over the surface and then add the next layer.” “Although several alternatives exist
when replacing wickets, we ultimately want a solid base. The results of testing on our sub soil will be back from the STRI any day now, but it is likely that
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