“Preparing a wicket isn’t the real skill - it’s all the work that leads up to it that’s the true test of a groundsman’s worth”
we will want to incorporate some sort of imported base material. Although gravel is a possible option, the main drawback found with a gravel base is that, without a very deep construction, in hotter weather the wickets can dry out far quicker, and lead to settlement and cracking problems since it effectively severs the wicket from the water table. Other grounds on the south coast that have followed a similar route have come across comparable problems.” “We want to achieve the characteristics of a solid base without any of the problems that come with it. Having capillary movement of water is crucial and I am toying with the possibility of installing a blinding type layer/gritty sand to create a solid base, but allowing moisture movement upwards. This is one possibility anyway.” “After relaying, wickets can take from two to six years to settle and become established, with time needed to achieve a good bulk density.” Andy believes the relaying programme will give Hove a real opportunity to have the best wickets in the country. “We don’t want to be known as a club who can only achieve average wickets. The work will hopefully show its benefits over the next six years, giving us the standards the club deserves.” “Preparing a wicket isn’t the real skill - it’s all the work that leads up to it that’s the true test of a groundsman’s worth, ensuring the bones of what you work with are good.” Sussex CCC have regular fixtures in the four domestic competitions: the LV County Championships, the Twenty20 league, the Natwest Pro40 and the Friends Provident Trophy, as well as the odd tourist match, Second XI and community
games, giving the season an increasingly cramped make-up and groundstaff less time to keep the square in the condition that Andy wants.
That can only worsen with the advent of the English Premier League next year, he believes. “Short gaps between fixtures can give us a real headache,” he declares. “In the hot sun the grass can’t be kept alive long enough for it to establish properly after reseeding. Right now we have a twelve day gap which we will take full advantage of by reseeding, which should take seven or eight days, with establishment ideally by the twelfth day.” Andy’s choice is 100% ryegrass -
Barenbrug Bar extreme mix - finding that it produces
“particularly fine turf, alongside a BarGold cultivar, which establishes well in the South-east”, he explains.
But finding the right seed mix is not always straightforward. “Many clubs are a little in the dark, as conclusive results showing what works best for what soil type have still to be found,” he says. Some believe the recent ECB funded STRI tests, conducted on a Yorkshire hillside over a two-year period, failed to bring about results representative of clubs in the south, but, he argues. “At present, like many other groundsmen, I’m doing my best with what information I have. I still feel
“I’d rather someone shoot me down for trying and failing than for not trying at all,”
14
that the STRI 2003 grass trials should have been used to give us a good set of data, but they seem to have been criticised into non-existence rather than being the stepping stone for some really meaningful follow up work.” Rolling is an issue at the heart of his concerns, and Andy believes that the ECB recommendations on the most appropriate machines to use have failed to be as decisive as he would have wished. “I would have liked to have seen the Cranfield recommendations going a little further in order to actually effect change in the industry and in the manufacture of traditional rollers, particularly in regard to larger drum diameter and heavier roller
weight.” The recent
acquisition of a Benford Terex TV1200 is proof of his commitment to that belief. “It’s not yet ideal, but it is as close as I can currently get to
what I see
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