Summer Sports - Cricket
Mackay, as he used us as a case study for his pitch inspector exam”
fortunate to gain excellent detailed analysis from Andy
“We were also Germination sheets are being used to aid grass cover
generate income to survive, and Henfield is no different. Even at the village level of the game, members often assume that the cricketing prowess they enjoy watching on television can and should be replicated by their own club. While Lord’s is always the dream, Nick and the team have to do their best on what limited resources they have available to them. By day, the pavilion is hired by Dove Nursery and the revenue it generates serves as vital income for Nick to make the changes and improvements the square needs. “The club put on a fair amount of their own events, from quiz nights to coffee mornings and, with a performing rights licence and big screen TV, the club will be able to host live sports fixtures to keep the kitty topped-up,” Nick tells me. Henfield has also benefitted from money kindly bequeathed by former member, Wally Weatherley, enabling the club to purchase some much-needed kit, including a two tonne Poweroll roller and new covers, which are proving a sound investment given the state of our weather.
The bequest may not have matched the millions left to nearby Preston Nomads by the late benefactor Spen Cama, but it was certainly sufficient to progress important remedial works on the square - it’s donations like this that can keep smaller clubs afloat. “The next major project on the list is
What’s in the shed?
the purchase of new double nets," explains Nick. “It’ll be a £28,000 purchase, but we’re hoping to win ECB funding if we can tie it in as part of a bigger undertaking,” he continues. “We’d like to level the square but, at an estimated £6,000, this might be one for the future.”
In 2010, the club contracted Grasstex
to koro the square in a bid to rid it of the proliferation of annual meadowgrass. The £4,000 planing job has done what it promised, improving the bounce and carry of the ball and freeing the surface of the shallow rooted weed grass that can blight many a village square. In fact, such was the success of the operation that, last year, the square was ranked three in its league, Nick says proudly. “The top layer was replaced with Essex loam then dimple seeded with a dwarf ryegrass. We used Johnson’s Premier Wicket on the advice of Andy Mackay, head groundsman at Sussex, who regularly offers us tips and many part- time ground staff at other Sussex clubs.” “We were also fortunate to gain
excellent detailed analysis from Andy (who lives in the village), as he used us as a case study for his pitch inspector exam,” adds Nick. It was this analysis that led to the koroing and subsequent recommendation that a programme of fraize mowing should be set up five years later to keep the resurgent meadowgrass at bay.
The Hove-based groundsman clearly ranks highly in Nick’s approach at Henfield. “It was also Andy who suggested that we leave the wicket a little longer, to allow for greater carry, so I now cut to 5mm. This is better for the longevity of the twelve wickets too, as each has to play at least five matches in a season, and we simply don’t have the time or manpower to repair any during the season.”
Nick is also able to seek advice from a local supplier of seed and fertiliser as well as on-hand technical know-how from them. “They are a great source of knowledge and have offered some particularly good tips to help eradicate meadowgrass,” Nick says. “We’ve trialed a very weak solution of Round-up weedkiller, which promises to work wonders. Results remain to be seen as I only tried this technique for the first time last autumn.” Nick carries out all spraying and chemical applications himself as he’s armed with a PA6 certificate. He’s the only trained member of the part-time staff, with Martin Payne helping with everything from rolling, mowing and marking; Paul Pheasant, a self-employed carpenter, the retired Mike Simmonds and Richard Dale also help out. Pre- season rolling begins in March, starting with a low-pressure roll, building up the weight slowly to reduce risk of compaction.
Sisis hand scarifier Poweroll 12 Ransomes Mastiff
Ransomes Jacobsen Triple Parkway
Auto Certes pitch mower x 2 Sisis drum spiker
92 PC APRIL/MAY 2013
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