Summer Sports - Cricket
allowing the batsmen to play their shots”
ability of clay and silt to hold water, thereby being more difficult to dry out. If the profile gets too dry, then it becomes very difficult to get water into the soil structure because of the cracking at depth, allowing the water to run straight through the profile and not being absorbed into the soil structure. Pitch 2 on the square was very dry; pitches 4 and 6 had moisture in the profile because they had been watered two days previously.
It was decided to water pitch 2
thoroughly on Sunday evening and again on Monday to get the water to depth. The pitch was required for the first match on the 2nd August; Scotland v Jersey. Pitch 6 was not required until the 5th August as two games would be played on pitch 2, the second match on the 3rd August being Ireland v Denmark. The preparations for pitch 2 consisted
of rolling and watering over the next three days to get it hard and dry. Watering was carried out in the evening
“The pitch played the same as the previous day, maintaining pace and bounce,
Mel Pooley in front of the impressive Voorburg CC clubhouse
and rolling in the morning, whilst mowing lowered the sward to 6mm. Some watering was carried out on the evening of the 31st July to pitch 2, which was necessary because of the excessive hot weather being experienced at the time. The pitch was taken to its final sward height of 4mm by power brushing and mowing until a consistent sward height was achieved. Rolling was carried out in two blocks of approximately twenty minutes, allowing drying to take place between the rolling.
On the morning of the match, the covers were removed early and final preparations for play took place; brushing and mowing, a final roll for about twenty minutes and touching up the lines which had been painted the day before - we all know that players love to stand on freshly painted lines on the day of play, whilst practising some glorious make believe batting strokes, and getting in the groundsman’s way!
Pitch 2 ready for play 88 PC OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013
Blue paint was used for the wide ball lines at the request of the umpires; this was totally justified as the white lines are difficult to see from the opposite end. The fielding marker discs were put into place and the toss was made, the pitch was now in the hands of the umpires. I was asked by the ICC umpires’ assessor how I knew the 15 yard markers started at 45 degrees from the centre of the batting crease as required by the laws of the game. I explained that the box is 8 feet 8 inches from return crease to return crease and it is 4 feet from the back line to the front line. The centre stump is at 4 feet four inches so, to create a square set, I put a pin 4 inches in from the return crease on the back line and pull the tape measure from the front crease on the centre stump line and on the line of the pin on the back line; this is 45 degrees, as it is the hypotenuse of a right angle triangle. I wasn’t asked another question! The pitch proved to be a good one with some pace and bounce and a little movement for the bowler with the new ball, but also allowing the batsmen to play their shots.
Immediately after the match ended, the pitch was power brushed, watered lightly to freshen it up and the covers were put on. In the morning, the covers were removed and the pitch was power brushed and cut, rolled for about twenty minutes and rolled again, after a break of thirty minutes, for a further fifteen minutes. The lines were repainted and the fielding discs checked for position. The pitch played the same as the
previous day, maintaining pace and bounce and allowing the batsmen to play their shots; everyone agreed it was a good pitch.
Now it was time to get pitch 6 ready for play as there was a day off for the players on Sunday.
Again, the pitch had been watered
when required, with rolling taking place in twenty minute sessions. The weather was still hot and dry, so using water was an essential part of the preparations. This time it was the home side, Holland, against Jersey. The visitors were invited to bat and, for the first ten overs, could not lay a bat on the ball due to some good pace bowling from the Dutch on a good fast track. With three wickets down, the batsmen then got to work, stroking the ball around the field with confidence and a young Jersey batsman scored a chanceless 101 off 81 balls The Dutch team had no reply to the Jersey performance and lost the game. The next day, Holland were at home to Denmark, so the pitch had a light watering and was covered for the night The preparation was the same as pitch 2 previously and it proved to be a very good one, with the Dutch recording a resounding win.
Thursday 8th August
The last round of matches and pitch 4 has been prepared for, what is believed to be, the deciding match between Scotland and Ireland, with Ireland needing to win for the tournament to be decided on run rate.
It was raining most of the day on Wednesday, although watering had taken
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