at 12 noon, depending on the weather, he will have virtually all the work completed by Friday afternoon. The fruits of Ian’s labour are now being rewarded, with Warwickshire CCC happy to use the excellent on and off field facilities at the club.
Not wishing to miss an opportunity to see how Ian’s tracks would stand up to a forty over game, between a Warwickshire Select XI and a strong Yorkshire side, I arrived at 11.30am, half an hour before the match was due to start. Ian and Aadam were putting the final touches to the square and taking down the practice nets.
Just before the start of the match, two notable cricket groundsmen turned up to
Ian Maddocks and Aadam Kin
to having good pitches is determined by the success of the work done in the autumn.
It is vitally important to remove as much debris as possible, and using the Graden Scarifier is key to his success. As the cricket season comes to a close, Ian begins his renovations by reducing the height of cut (4mm and below), shaving off as much vegetation as possible. The square is soaked to get moisture into the top 50mm. This helps ensure he can get maximum depth with the Graden. The square is then scarified in
three/four directions to a depth of 5mm to remove as much rubbish as possible, the debris is collected using a combination of brushes, blowers and mowers, thereby leaving the top clean and ready to be seeded. Ian uses his Sisis Variseeder to sow his chosen seed - the last couple of years he has used R9, sowing in four directions (two bags). The square is then topdressed with Kaloam (eight bags per track) to restore levels and cover the seed. An application of 6:9:6 NPK granular fertiliser is used to promote growth once the seed has germinated.
The new grass is then mown using
rotary pedestrian mowers, maintaining a height of 20-25mm throughout the winter. Some liquid iron is also applied to maintain colour.
Autumn is a busy time for Ian because he also renovates a number of other cricket grounds in the area. Over the years he has picked up more and more work, building up a reputation for doing a good job, which has enabled him to invest in additional equipment to help him carry out the renovations (sorry, pre- season preparations) more efficiently. Buying a Graden, for example, has made life a lot easier, as has the purchase of a Dennis FT 510 cassette mower. Ian’s pre-season rolling programme is similar to most clubs, starting off with the pedestrian mowers and gradually building up the weight until he can get on with the main roller. Ian has a helper, Aadam Kin, a young,
promising cricketer who, although he plays cricket for Moseley, is glad to work
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with Ian to gain experience.
Ian starts work every morning around 7.00am, and works until he considers the job is done for that day.
His work is heavily planned
Taking down the nets It’s a cover up!
around the fixture list. No games will be catered for unless it has been put on the calendar and Ian has been notified. Senior matches tend to be played on
Saturdays/Sundays, with maybe one or two in the week, whereas the juniors have allotted evening games and training slots mid-week. Wickets are prepared ten to fourteen days in advance. Over that period the height of cut will be reduced from 12mm to 4mm. The wicket will be brushed, cut and rolled to produce a track that can last for three to five matches. Depending on the weather, the use of water and covers is down to Ian. Over the years, he has earned respect from the players and has managed to set some ground rules, gaining help from the players to help move the covers before and after matches. With so much to do at both grounds, Ian is always keen to get ahead of himself, getting wickets prepared early for matches and, therefore, not leaving himself too much to do on match days. So, for a typical Saturday fixture starting
watch; Karl Brotherhood from Solihull School and Graeme Plaistow from Olton & West Warwick CC, who had come along to help out, if required. The track used was one that the club’s first XI had used the previous Saturday. It looked in good condition, with just some minor foothole repairs indicating its previous use. Warwickshire won the toss and put Yorkshire in to bat first. I was privileged to be allowed on the balcony, sitting alongside Dougie Brown, the former England and Scotland international and now on the coaching staff at his beloved Warwickshire, where he played much of his first class cricket. With the track showing plenty of carry and pace, it was rather surprising that, on a wicket that usually produces over 200 runs, Yorkshire were bowled out for just 168.
During the interval, Aadam and Ian cleaned up the creases and gave the track a light roll with the hand roller. A few spots of rain arrived during the interval so, as a precaution, we fetched the raised covers and placed them over the wicket, However, as soon as we got them in place, the rain stopped and we returned them to their storage area. Whilst I was out on the square, one of
the Yorkshire coaches came up to me and asked how I was. I didn’t recognise him straight away, but eventually realised it was Kevin Sharp, who I had worked with at Telford & Wrekin Council, when he was their Cricket Development Officer.
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