Summer Sports - Cricket T
he one day pitches accolade hasn’t been achieved in the twenty-nine seasons Andy Ward has worked at Grace Road and he sees this as an
indication that they’re moving in the right direction and something he has strived for during his time at the club.
Forty-six year old Andy first came to Grace Road when he was seventeen on a youth training scheme in 1985 and he has held the position of Head Groundsman since 2010. Everything he has learnt is through experience of working at the club and, since the purchase of Grace Road in 1965, the ground has been steadily developed as a first class venue.
This is not an easy task as, like any groundsman, presentation ranks highly with Andy, but it’s not straightforward in cricket as the square and pitches get battered by rolling and covering to keep everywhere dry. So, when it looks nice in April, its downhill all the way from there, but Andy has a solid team to do all they can and he is appreciative for the hard work of his dedicated groundstaff; Simon Brown, forty-seven, Deputy Head Groundsman (fourteen years service), Callumn Lewin, twenty-three, Assistant Groundsman (five years service), Chris Skinner, fifty-two, Assistant Groundsman (five years service), and two apprentices - Sean Graham, eighteen and Shane Sketchley, aged twenty.
Andy and his team look after twenty- one pitches on the square, fourteen net pitches and the biggest outfield on the county circuit. Andy told me: “I will do the majority of work on the square, my deputy Simon looks after the outdoor net facility and the two assistants look after the outfield and any extra work on the square or nets. Rolling the pitches can be very time consuming and a bit of a bind, so I tend to share that job out, unless I need a rest and fancy a sit down on the roller! The two apprentices generally help out wherever needed.”
The soil profile on the square is an ageing one of a poor nature, which has had many different topdressings applied over the years, resulting in layering. Andy commented: “There was never the research into different dressings back when I started - the general thought was we can try one dressing this year and another the next. Being an assistant at the time, I never once thought anything of it, then you realise, years later, the damage changing dressings has caused to the profile.”
“Back in 2010, I prepared a one day pitch, and over a few days the pitch dried out. I noticed cracks appearing which, at first, was not a massive concern, but then the cracks turned into a moving plate. By the day of the game, the plates on the pitch were rocking. Luckily the pitch played okay and, afterwards, I pulled the plate straight out of the surface which
PC JUNE/JULY 2014 I 81
came out like a tile. That’s when I realised we had a major problem with the Grace Road square. Since then, I always try and keep as much moisture in the profile as possible and stop it drying out at depth. The pitches play far better with a level of moisture retained below in the soil profile.”
“Our net area is a fine example of a correctly maintained playing area. These pitches were laid in 1989 by Hewitts Sportsturf (who we still use today to verti-drain our outfield), and they were constructed using Boughton loam, which we have used ever since. Creating a block of the same soil, with no layering, has resulted in quick bouncy net pitches. I spent a number of years looking after the nets prior to being Head Groundsman and it was a real eye opener moving from quick bouncy net pitches to the square which was lacking in pace and bounce.”
Andy is keen to adopt improvement of the square by using the correct maintenance techniques which include plenty of spiking to get the roots going through the problem layer approximately 3cm down. “So far, we have drilled nine pitches using the Ecosolve drill and fill regime and will aim to do two more this year and every year after. They use 1” (25mm) diameter, drilling depth: 6-7”, centre spacings: 6” drills and the holes are then backfilled by hand with Ongar loam. This is a painstaking task but well worthwhile as it helps tie the surface of the wickets together by providing “nails” of loam down which the turf can root easily and strongly, thus providing more uniform and improved bounce and ball speed. Ongar loam has been used for the past thirteen seasons and Andy will not be changing topdressings again. Andy continued: “I try to water
I tend not to have weekly/monthly regimes as whatever work is undertaken is dictated by what cricket is being played. My pitch prep can vary, from taking five weeks in February to March to produce a decent playing surface, to twelve or thirteen days in the height of summer
”
whenever possible to maintain a level of moisture within the profile and not allow it to dry out at depth. This is not an easy task, for example our first four day Championship game this season was postponed due to a tragedy at Derbyshire, and this resulted in the game being rearranged leaving me with fifteen days first team cricket out of nineteen at the start of June, with the Indian Test team arriving the week after. Getting enough water on the square during June has been impossible, so I am very concerned about the state of my square for the second half of the season.”
“We have experienced all Mother Nature throws at us in the weather department, such as flooding, high winds,
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