Summer Sports - Cricket
the tracks more bowler friendly so that more results could be achieved in the four-day game.
“It’s always historically been a flat track
here,” said Simon. “I think it stems from the square being rolled to death in the seventies and eighties, and that compaction never really leaves the ground. Couple that with a make up of marl and Mendip loam, and it’s always going to struggle.” “It wasn’t until Phil came here and changed over to Ongar loam that improvements were seen. Even now the natural make up of the soil makes it difficult to achieve what the club want.” “But we are working with what we’ve got. I’ve cut the rolling by at least seventy-five percent. At this time of year [April], that will be three hours tops. Come July, when the pitches are hard, they will only be rolled for an hour max.” “We relaid two pitches - one in 2007 and one in 2010 - digging down to three inches and rebuilding with Ongar but, to be perfectly honest and because of the underlying soil, they are not much better.
Going forward, I’d rather work with what I’ve got than change any further pitches.”
“I now also leave the grass exposed to the elements, rather than put the covers on. This has, in my opinion, made it more ‘natural’ rather than being in a forced environment. Coupled with spraying Renova amino acid every two weeks to strengthen the plant and the soil, I can now retain grass cover right up to the end of the season.” “Another thing I’ve done,” continued Simon, “is to vertidrain the square every November. We first did this in 2010 and, just six days later, it snowed and didn’t thaw until early January. When I went to sort out the holes for the stump cameras, I was amazed to find two inches of root growth! By the time the season started, I had five inches and was, therefore, able to provide the pace and bounce the players had been yearning for.” Simon’s end of season renovations on the square are centred around a robust scarification, with several passes to clean out lateral growth and organic matter. It
is then cleaned up and topdressed with nine bags of Ongar loam per wicket before being oversown, using a Sisis Autoseeder, with Johnsons Premier wicket seed mix, along with an autumn fertiliser. Taunton’s square consists of thirty pitches; ten used for nets and twenty for matches, of which eleven are used for first class fixtures. “At the request of the Director of Cricket, we have been adding Mendip loam on a length to try and create a bit of turn for the spinners,” explained Simon. “It has always been a criticism by the players that the wickets do not deteriorate, so he wanted to try this method. To be fair, it has worked to some extent, probably because it doesn’t bind with the Ongar too well. We did it for two years at the end of each season, although we’ve cut back now as I think there’s enough already on there.” Simon’s soft west country brogue belies an inner determination, and this is borne out when he is systematically interrupted by a mower being driven out of the shed, a fire alarm test (plus apology for the
“I hear a lot about rest and recuperation for the players, but the same is true for the grass and I make this point often to the players and coaches”
New stands have increased the capacity to 9,000
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