Summer Sports - Cricket
GETTING Personal...
Simon Tremlin - bring back the ducking stool!
Who are you? Simon Tremlin, Grounds Manager at Wormsley Estate Cricket Ground.
Family status? Living with my partner, Charlotte, who is head gardener at Wormsley, and stepdad to Will and Imogen. Two children, Tom (25) and Kate (21), and one gorgeous granddaughter Ayla who is 1.
Who’s your hero and why? Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards. I was involved with the Somerset youth set up while Viv was there during our glory years. He was just so destructive and I had hours of fun watching him destroy bowlers.
What would you change about yourself? I’d make my legs six inches longer.
What's your guilty pleasure? Too long spent on golf trips and tours with the Barmy Army.
What's been the highlight of your career so far? Joint one I’m afraid. Having the Australians play at Wormsley in 1997. Then, two years ago, seeing my hero swaggering out at Wormsley during a charity match and having to retire because he was still so good.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Nelson Mandela, to chat about his amazing life. Michael Palin, for the comedy and his knowledge of the world through his travels. Keith Miller, (who I did have lunch with at Wormsley once) for his love of life and story telling of his time playing cricket with the Aussie invincibles and as a bomber navigator during the war.
If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Rory McIlroy. Get paid to play golf and whack it 350 yards and straight as opposed to paying £40 a round and hooking it 250 yards into the trees as usual.
Do you have any bad habits? Can be a tad aggressive whilst driving - only with useless and incompetent drivers who shouldn't be allowed on the roads anyway!
... or any good ones? Inviting friends to join me for curries as often as possible.
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day's workload? Nope, much too old for that.
What are you reading at the moment? “Anger is an energy” by John Lydon ex Sex Pistols. Very clever man, although you wouldn’t always guess so!
What are your pet peeves? Bad driving, selfishness and litter louts.
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Barbados.
What’s the best part of your job? Working in warm weather and getting paid for my hobby at one of the most beautiful cricket grounds imaginable.
… and the worst? Bad weather.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? More travel to sunnier climates in our winters. I’ve been lucky enough to watch cricket with my mates in
72 I PC JUNE/JULY 2015
the Addis Army (check the website) all around the world. Oz, NZ, SA, Sri Lanka, India, West Indies. Lots more non cricket related countries to visit asap.
Favourite record, and why? Mr Blue Sky by ELO. Huge fan of ELO since I was a kid. Great tune and appropriate lyrics for my job.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? My partner Charlotte, and ideally at the restaurant below.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Whisk all my family off to Barbados for a holiday and treat them to a meal at TIDES restaurant on the west coast. The most magical of places.
If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be and why? Tuba, short and dumpy with lots of curves.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Don’t run the London Marathon. Unfortunately, like most good advice, I didn’t heed it. Couldn’t walk for two days after but raised nearly 5K for A Chance To Shine cricket charity.
What’s your favourite smell? Lamb Patia from my local curry house The Mowchak in Stokenchurch.
What do you do in your spare time? Golf, when I can, and as many warm winter holidays as I can sneak away for without work noticing I’m gone.
What's the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? Can we use this big bucket of sawdust to stub out cigarettes? Of course, I said yes and waited to see how long it was until it started smoking.
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Tractor mounted Graden. Has changed end of season renovations totally.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Loyal, stubborn (asked for advice on that one), relaxed.
What talent would you like to have? To be able to play a musical instrument well must be fabulous. Probably the guitar or piano.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Bring back the ducking stool for people that hog middle lanes of motorways.
The opera stage - performances regularly attract 600 people
soil type, topography, construction, resources and budget. In Simon’s case, his biggest problem is the ability of the soil to drain. The square and outfield were constructed over a 150mm layer of heavy, flint type clay soil over a very slow draining rock/chalk subsoil, coupled with a very high soil pH varying between 8.1 -8.4 and a large two metre fall from the boundary to the square. The square was laid to a very low
specification, with between 75mm and 125mm of loam on top of a shingle base with a 40mm cross fall per pitch, with a soil pH at around pH of 7.7.
To improve the porosity of the outfield, Simon
installed a primary drainage twenty years ago, centred on a herringbone system. Every five years, he applies 100 tonnes of sand and carries out a lot of surface aeration throughout the winter months and during any wet spells during the playing season. The gradient of the outfield, and the fact that
water is slow to drain through the soil profile, results in a lot of surface water running over the top of the ground and quickly flooding the lowest part of the outfield. This also means they often have to cover higher up the slope with flat sheets and use their two Super Sopper machines to mop up the water. The first Super Sopper was acquired from the
Oval in 1992, which was the first to be imported into the UK back in 1976 by Harry Brind when he was Head Groundsman at the Oval. It still works well and Simon uses it to mop up excess water from the outfield, whereas the newer model, purchased in 1999, is used to remove water from the flat sheets. With such a high soil pH, Simon has to combat
the problem of nutrients being locked up in the soil by a regime of regular feeding, using liquid feeds for a quick response. He feeds the outfield every month with a 28:0:0 NPK, along with the square which is fed with a 12:4:6 NPK formulation.
The outfield is cut in two directions using an
Allett 36” cylinder mower for match preparations, usually two or three times a week during the growing season, but up to five times a week when he has bigger matches, He also has use of a Roberine triple ride on mower to speed up cutting times when weather doesn’t allow him to use the Alletts. As for aeration work, Simon will use a variety
of aerators that include a Verti-Drain, Toro Pedestrian ProCore and a Sisis outfield spiker.
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