Summer Sports - Cricket
Drill ‘n’ Fill was carried out on five strips ...
able to relax in the cosy surroundings of a brand new office facility, kitted out with Sky TV, high speed broadband and all the trappings of a slick media operation. For Matt, it will seem a million miles away from the makeshift facilities he’s operated in up to now. As I reluctantly leave the warmth of the
brew hut to brave the elements and tread the hallowed turf, I discover that, despite the multi-million pound cash injection, a tight rein has been kept on some elements of expenditure. The growing lights standing over the new wickets are certainly nothing like the costly ones you’d find down the road at the other Old Trafford or Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, yet these makeshift constructions seem no less effective, trained on areas dug out and resown with a 50:50 soil/sand mix at the bowlers’ take-off and a 70:30 mix, with Barenbrug seed, in the immediate outfield beyond them. “The lights - 600W, dual-spectrum sodium bulbs - are on from 4.00am to 8.00am and were made in our own workshop.” To my eye, no more ‘Heath Robinson’ in looks than lights that stretch across Premiership football pitches, they offer an insight into Matt’s approach to cost-conscious turfcare. On this dismal day, the new media
centre is an impressive structure. I ask Matt if it poses problems with shadow on the turf. “It does. When the sun is round the back, the building casts a big shadow,
... being infilled with Surrey loam
stretching well out on to the outfield. When’s its frosty, pretty much the whole outfield at this side of the ground is affected.”
A series of small light brown circular
areas on the turf drew my attention. “We’ve levelled up the pop-up sprinklers with sand and seed,” Matt explains. The footholes have been done, too.
“We still have to feed and water the areas under the grow lights as, above 9O
C, the
grass starts to grow, although the rest of the grass isn’t.”
Construction of the temporary seating
area, to allow for the 20,000+ capacity required to hold a Test match, will incur the loss of three of the club’s practice nets, leaving just three available for play until the completion of works on newly purchased land, where three new artificial nets will be installed. The white dust that blew into my face
on arrival, and the snowy coating it leaves everywhere, was evidence enough of the challenges that ongoing construction poses to maintaining a top- flight cricketing venue - a balance between the demands of club expansion and the need to deliver high standards amid the upheaval. The fierce westerly winds can leave a
blanket of building debris and insulation on the ground; time-consuming hassle for the team to remove - and one they can ill afford with the drenched conditions keeping their hands full as the new season rushes up.
“We certainly haven’t been helped with the rain,” states Matt in surprisingly upbeat tone, “but the introduction of the new pitches has gone well nonetheless, as has preparation for the forthcoming Ashes Test match. “ “We’ll be starting plenty of cross-
rolling soon, rolling at 90 degrees along the wicket and then across it, always finishing in the line of play. We use the Allett first, then roll without much weight, building up to the full 2.5 tonnes load.”
As for the new pitches, all that could be done, has been done, he insists. “Cross-rolling and levelling have been our focus, as has reducing the effect of water on the square. We spiked as much as we could, but the square has spent so much time under covers, and has suffered a little as a result,” he adds. “We’ve witnessed a yellowing-off and grass has died in some areas. Once the weather improves [hmmm], we hope the grass condition will; we’ll need to overseed several times, too. What we don’t want is another summer like last year, which would spell disaster for the square.”
One-day events and Twenty20 fixtures
are all the new constructions will likely be used for over the next five years, Matt says, until they’re established enough to host a league fixture or test match. Lancashire’s first home fixture is fast
approaching - a four day match against Worcester - and Emirates Old Trafford’s
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