“In a sector like ours, it has be a labour of love to put the hours in and, for many youngsters, I don’t feel the passion is there”
touch. Vic is a man who likes to go back to basics, advocating the benefits of the hands-on approach. “I’m a big fan of hand-scarifying, and we also brush and rake manually each day,” he explains. “It’s a practice used widely at Lord’s, and something that’s not done enough these days. The younger groundsmen prefer to use ride on mowers instead of getting down on their hands and knees,” he says stridently. Benefitting from one assistant over the summer, Vic must knuckle down for the rest of the year to complete the necessary tasks himself. Despite that, he relishes the challenge and recognises his need to ensure standards always remain high - “the long hours are a part of the job you just have to accept.” Still fired with enthusiasm as he turns fifty, Vic fears for the prospects of an ‘ageing’ industry. “I have real worries about the future and the role of the full-time groundsman at this level. I don’t see youngsters coming into the job in the numbers that they need to be. We are expected to work 12 to 14-hour days for little financial reward, and that’s something that just doesn’t appeal to younger people now,” he states. Such a trend could cause a
snowball effect, and he fears that standards will fall if there are moves to a contractor-led industry. “In a sector like ours, it has be a labour of love to put the hours in and, for many youngsters, I don’t feel the passion is there. Not enough is being done to really address the issue.” The future of the
groundsman is a subject close to Vic’s heart, and one he’s become increasingly more active in over the last few years, believing that disillusionment over workload, or their career futures, can set in all too easily. “We’re looking over our shoulders more now than ever, so we can’t afford to get complacent. Top men like Phil Frost at Somerset, Mike Garnham at Kent and Lawrence Gosling at Sussex have lost their jobs controversially, prompting the onset of the First Class Groundsman’s Conference,” he explains. February saw the first meeting convened when, high on the agenda, were issues such as how to protect groundsmen from being chopped unceremoniously after long years of service. Talks of union membership
were rife, Vic reports, with UNITE, among others, aired as possibilities, whilst talks surfaced of involvement with
CACHEMIRE SPORTSTURF PERENNIAL RYEGRASS
CACHEMIRE is one of the new generation of sports Perennial Ryegrass cultivars bred specifically for summer sports turf use.
CACHEMIRE was supplied in 2009 to several leading cricket clubs who have all been extremely impressed with its
performance saying that, in their opinion, it could be the variety to eclipse Sauvignon in its performance.
VARIETY SHOOT FINENESS VISUAL CLEANLINESS DENSITY OF LEAF MERIT OF CUT
AMADEUS 6.2
CACHEMIRE 7.5 GREENWAY
6.9
6.6 7.4 7.4
6.1 7.4 6.9
6.4 7.0 5.9
*Data sourced from the Turfgrass Seed 2010 guide, published by the British Society of Plant Breeders in conjunction with the Sports Turf Research Institute
• Excellent shoot density to give good grass coverage
• Fine leaved variety with low crown helps to produce true even surface
• Excellent cleanliness of cut and visual merit helps to produce wicket with a pleasing appearance
• Excellent regrowth will aid recovery from wear and damage • Good resistance to Red Thread
CACHEMIRE is available either as a single cultivar or as part of our premier cricket renovation mixture
Hurrell & McLean Seeds Ltd.
Tel: 01377 271400 Fax: 01377 271500 Email:
info@hmseeds.com
www.hmseeds.com 87
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