Summer Sports - Cricket
Windswept, and INTERESTING!
Sharing a latitude with Juneau in Alaska and St Petersburg in Russia, Aberdeen’s Mannofield
Park is the most northerly One Day International accredited cricket ground in the world. Tending its surface in all weathers is Head Groundsman, Ken McCurdie
N
o more cutting. No more rolling and no more crease marking! Time to put the feet up and relax for six months ... or so some people think! Pah! Renovation time is when my season begins! I suppose my renovation procedures are
broadly similar to the rest of the UK, following tried and tested methods that have been established over many years. Being located in Aberdeen, my main consideration is the dropping temperatures almost as soon as the cricket season ends, so speed is of the essence for renovations to be effective. Founded in 1857, Aberdeenshire
Cricket Club is situated within a degree of the latitude of Juneau, the capital of Alaska in the West and St Petersburg, Russia in the East which, I believe, makes our ground at Mannofield Park the most northerly One Day International accredited ground in the world. The Grampian mountain range is a few miles west of the ground and offers valuable protection from the weather fronts which predominantly come from
that direction. The end result being that drier but colder conditions are prevalent here, whereas the areas to the western side of the mountains have the advantage of the Gulf Stream, which promotes milder but wetter weather. Comedians frequently comment that “Scotland doesn’t have a climate, just weather!” and “We have two seasons - July and Winter!” Presently, I’m sitting in the umpires’
room which is looking across a windswept outfield; winds are gusting to 50mph, fortunately, the mobile covers have been stripped and the four sightscreens pinned and guy roped down. This year, I managed to get my
renovations started in the second week of September, although two problems had to be resolved whilst in the middle of the cricket season – the hiring of a tractor- mounted scarifier and the increasing cost of getting loam into the northeast of Scotland.
Since starting here in 2001, I had been able to simply lift the phone to Sisis and obtain the use of a TM1000 scarifier for
Ken McCurdie operating the drop spreader 88 PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2012
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