Summer Sports - Cricket
Founded in 1973, Menia Bridge Cricket Club is the only cricket ground in North Wales with a view towards the summit of Snowden
The ground is one of the smaller cricket fields in North Wales and can get a bit flooded, but this is mostly in the winter, and we do get quite a few gale force winds, given our location
”
we have a good depth of knowledge when it comes to ground maintenance.” “For any additional help we use the North
Wales Cricket Groundsman Association, of which I am an active member. They have two trailers of equipment which clubs in North Wales have access too. We also have Gareth Phillips as the ECB Pitch Advisor for our region.” “I have also attended courses run by Len Smith, the former head groundsman at Sophia Gardens, who comes up to North Wales on a regular basis.” “Our square is on a slight slope, so water
tends to drain reasonably well. The square, when constructed, was laid on a stone and gravel base then built up with soil and loam. We have, in the past, had a problem with low clay content in our profile which we
have been rectifying over the years by using Boughton County loam.” “The ground is one of the smaller cricket fields in North Wales and can get a bit flooded, but this is mostly in the winter, and we do get quite a few gale force winds, given our location.” Keith goes on to explain the work
undertaken through the season. “I will usually start by selecting a couple of pitches at the top of the square for early season matches as these tends to be drier due to the slope. I don’t have a master plan of where I am going to play matches, which I know sounds a bit odd, but I tend to follow what I have done over the years and it seems to work for me.” “The 1st XI matches are played across the four or five central strips as they require
longer boundaries. I try and prepare two pitches at the same time so, if anything untoward happens to one, then I have a back-up.” “I tend to keep the grass on the square
quite long, maintaining it at about 12-15mm in length. I use the Webb ride-on mower for cutting the square and also for the first cut of a new pitch.” “Pitch preparation begins about two
weeks before that strip is required though, sometimes, the weather will have a say in how my preparations goes. I may also give each strip a small feed of fertiliser just to give them a little boost prior to cutting/rolling etc. I use the Hayter Ambassador to lower the height of cut as work progresses on each strip.” “Much of our work is done in the evenings
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