In July 2010, on the last day of the summer term, we started renovation work on one of our cricket squares - it was to be renovated in two stages. The first stage
Core samples from the existing square,
informed us that clay content and root structure were at a good density with no visible root breaks. There were signs of a pan but, with our ongoing winter aeration programme, there were clear, healthy roots breaking through. Plus, there was the school’s busy fixture list to consider for next season, so I was confident that we made the right decision. We, meaning myself and our assistant groundsman, Danny Luton, who has been working alongside me for the past
end and, again, marked out with a 2" line to join up with the rest of the square. This made work on the new tracks easier to identify without disturbing the other pitches, which were to be renovated in the next stage. Three bags of Bar Extreme grass seed and seven 1 tonne bulk bags of Kaloam were ordered. On the last day of term, when everyone
was to add two additional wickets (10ft wide) to either end of the square. We are a prep school, but ten
day pitch preparations are carried out to a high club/county standard. The longest wicket being prepared at any one time is 20 yards for U11s, then 19 yards for U10s - 18 yards for U9s and so on. Our squares are always renovated and maintained to full length, so 21 and 22 yard pitches can be prepared if and when required. This square is ninety years old and flat as a pancake, with no saddles! The outfield is a little bumpy in places, but that’s also work in progress. A decision had to be made how far down to excavate the already clay-loamy rootzone. Was it necessary and worth the expense of removing the top 100mm or so for two wickets either end of the square? If so, why not dig everything up?
ten years. I feel it’s important that we get the right people involved, including our school bursar, who is always keen to see how we spend the budget and make sure we get it right - or wrong - but learn from it. Subsequent to confusing ourselves after a lot of thought (ten minutes), we decided to work with what we had got. The first job was to re-measure and
square off the cricket square. Then, with our pitch marker, a 2" line was marked out around the whole of the square (like a box), then 10ft wide marks put in either
had left by midday, Danny skillfully sprayed the two strips with glyphosate using a knapsack with a spray shield. The area was left for ten days, then the whole square was scarified with our tungsten tipped bladed cassette fitted to the Dennis FT mower. Any dead thatch and fibres were removed with a rotary mower, and then our Wessex tractor powered brush was run over the surface, with the aid of a blower, to clean up any remaining debris. The next job was to flood the whole area. Then, a combination of watering and spiking to aid water to penetrate the surface in readiness for the next stage - very importantly, by working with moisture levels, we got the soil conditions correct to maximise the full benefit from our
What we did on our holidays...
Or, more accurately, what we did during the school summer holidays.
Andy Johnson, Head Groundsman at The Blue Coat School in Edgbaston, guides us through the work carried out on his cricket square
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