Summer Sports - Cricket
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I tend to roll for about twenty minutes each time. But I suppose everybody has their own opinions and approaches to what suits their square. It seems to work for us here
Cefyn Owen, Steve Jones and Robbie Jones
because the lads are working full-time during the day. I can usually get to the ground after school finishes, so that gives me a couple of extra hours a week.” “I will cut out two pitches and lower the
height of cut gradually over the days leading up to the match. During this period, I give the pitch a very light scarify/verticut just to get the grass to stand up. If the pitches need watering, I will apply it with a strip waterer.” “I roll as and when conditions allow.
Latterly, I have found the ECB document on rolling of cricket pitches very useful as I feel we sometimes do ‘over roll’.” “I tend to roll for about twenty minutes
each time. But I suppose everybody has their own opinions and approaches to what suits their square. It seems to work for us here.” “We seem to be getting a lot more
prolonged spells of rain. This can affect pitch preparation, as well as end of season work. Quite a few times we plan to do something and the weather intervenes, and we end up taking any old opportunity to do some work when there is a break in the weather.” “Our pitches are assessed for PQS by our
pitch advisor on a rolling programme of visits year on year. Each ground in North Wales will be assessed and a full report produced for the club, with advice on any actions needed. Soil samples will be taken and sent for analysis and a report sent back regarding its chemical make-up and advising on what fertilising and feeding regime needs to be followed to improve its condition.” “With our double bay artificial net area,
we roll with a light roller throughout the season to compact the surface. At the end of season, we lift the nets and weed kill the surrounds. We have called in the installers, ClubTurf, to lift the matting and re-level the base. During the winter we brush and vacuum-blow the net area to keep it clear of debris.”
Keith has observed that the winters
appear to be getting milder in recent years, which means they don’t get the frosts they used to.
“During the winter, I try and aerate a couple of times up until Christmas time, if
48 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014 The 1st XI strips are the central five to allow for longer boundaries
the ground conditions allow. I try and brush the square as often as I can during this period as well and remove any debris from the square and outfield. I cut the square at a height of about 20mm and in various directions, not necessarily in the direction of play. I use a rotary mower which has had its blade sharpened prior to me using it. I have even cut the square on Christmas Eve morning due to us having a dry spell at that time!”
“We endeavour to keep cutting the outfield during the winter at a height of about 25mm and sometimes cut it with a ride-on -mower collecting the grass as we go along. We spend a lot of time in the autumn collecting fallen leaves as we have a large number of hardwood trees surrounding the boundary edge. These have, though, been thinned out to allow more light to get to the outfield.” “We have had more of a problem with moss this past winter, especially on the outfield. We used a local contractor to spray
the outfield. We did this in conjunction with the local football club and rugby club who had their fields sprayed at the same time. This allowed us to keep the cost down.” “We allow the community to use our
cricket field for a variety of events beside cricket. For example, we have hosted a rounders tournament and various charity fundraising days. We have also hosted a wedding, which was something a bit different in that they spent three days erecting marquees, and then only had one day in which to take it down because we had to get it ready for our fixture on the Saturday!” “I appreciate the problems that
groundsmen have when they have major events at their grounds and the potential damage it can do to the playing surface. But, we were lucky that the wedding quests were very respectful of our facilities.” “As I am a member of the club’s management committee, I report on most ground issues. I twist the treasurer’s arm to
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