Summer Sports - Cricket
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We deliver a complete range of pitch solutions including: · Natural pitches, squares and outfields
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Wicket raked, brushed, cut and rolled. Time to apply the final touch, with approval from the club’s tame pheasant, Ronnie
driving into the car park as a long-time member or for the very first time. The square is cut by a pair of Lloyds 21in Paladin mowers equipped with 11- bladed cylinders. The most recent arrival - a Paladin TG model - was purchased in early 2010 as an ex- demonstration machine complete with turf groomer. “This mower is used to
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prepare the wickets for every game,” explained John. “It’s the first machine we’ve ever had fitted with a groomer, and I like the consistent finish it produces.” The second Paladin is at least twelve year’s old and is kept solely for the initial cutting of wickets earmarked for games coming up a week or two ahead, enabling two men to mow simultaneously, albeit at different heights of cut. “The ECB assessment states that grass length needs to be longer across our square, so height of cut has been raised on the older machine to more than 10mm, leaving the newer Paladin to prepare the final strip at around 5mm,” said John. “In between, we use a hand-operated scarifier/brush to help stand- up the grass and prevent runners, finishing off with a heavy roller.”
Despite the somewhat negative feedback received regarding the length of the grass sward, John Blyth pointed out that spring grass cover across the square had been the best he had seen for many years. “Although the ground drains really well overall, we like to verti-drain out-of- season to break up
compaction and encourage infiltration rather than suffer from run-off,” he said. “Last winter, the verti-drain was set to work at around 175mm deep instead of the normal 100mm, helping produce deeper rooting of the new grass seed sown as part of last autumn’s square renovations. Early season growth was excellent.”
When it comes to the supply of grass seed, fertilisers and pesticides, Mumbles Cricket Club has relied, for a number of years, on the recommendations of a specialist amenity adviser. Last autumn, the seed
mixture recommended for the square was TT23 for tees and wicket renovation, a perennial ryegrass mix with a Gromax seed coating sown at a rate of 35gm/sq metre. Prior to broadcasting and luting-in the seed across the heavily-scarified surface, the groundstaff applied
Headland’s Xtend 15:2:20, a slow-release granular fertiliser with added magnesium, also at a rate of 35gm/sq metre. This treatment was
complemented, a week or two later, by Headland’s Greentec Moss Killer Pro, a 4:0:4+9% iron mini-granule, designed to control moss whilst helping harden up the turf ahead of winter.
During the spring and summer, the square receives applications “as and when necessary” of Headland’s Xtend 22:2:8, a slow-release granular fertiliser, also with added magnesium, applied at a rate of around 35gm/sq metre.
When Pitchcare visited last month, the outfield was scheduled to receive a late
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