Summer Sports - Cricket
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For them to go on and win the County Championship for the first time in so long ... that’s why I ended up taking the nomination for Head Outgroundsman of the Year
playing surface. And in recognition of this, he received a very special individual accolade that year, which he was too modest to point out of his own accord. I stumbled across the certificate hanging in
a plastic pouch from the wall of his shed and prompted him to elaborate on it. It read: ‘Nomination. Head Groundsman of the Year. 2011. Outgrounds category.’ He recalls: “That year was manic, because
it was basically one game a month April ’til September. And then, of course, for them to go on and win the County Championship for the first time in so long ... that’s why I ended up taking the nomination for Head Outgroundsman of the Year.” This is surely all a testament to the
performance and dedication of Terry and Keith. Their off-season, unlike those of single-sport clubs, occurs twice a year rather than just the once. This may sound like a luxury to those readers who fit their holidays in during this time. However, each off-season at Liverpool requires the staff to adhere to a turnaround of just a couple of weeks, transitioning the turf from rugby-fit, to tennis and finally cricket. They have worked together at the club for
I’d really like to see it enforced to take some people on through
apprenticeships and that sort of thing. I’d like to see the kids coming through and being taught that it’s good to love what you do
48 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017
around nineteen years, though what is now a lone partnership was once just Terry within a team of five. Terry told me: “When I first started here
years ago, we had three groundsmen plus two YTS members. Obviously, you don’t have the YTS scheme anymore. But still, whenever there’s a game on or anything like that, it seems like all the sections pull together to come and help us out.” “Actually, I think I’d really like to see it
enforced to take some people on through apprenticeships and that sort of thing. I’d like to see the kids coming through and being taught that it’s good to love what you do.” “They’re all on computers all day and that
sort of thing, so it’d just be good to see them getting outdoors and into a healthy lifestyle.” And, indeed, for a few months of each year, a large portion of the outfield is home
to the rugby turf, housing local union side Liverpool Collegiate. Preparing for this is more than a matter of taking the 15-22mm blades down to an 8mm outfield. In around March/April, a thorough
scarifying also helps the transition to a neater look, which is then maintained lightly on the wickets every one or two weeks as the grass comes through, to avoid it becoming too long or providing too much opportunity for seam. The ground, Terry points out, has
traditionally been known as a batsman’s haven, so they enjoy the balding wickets and quick outfields. It’s said that a top-quality batsman would be genuinely disappointed to come to Aigburth in friendly conditions and fail to reach a ton of runs. Having landscape naturally amenable to quick drainage, even with clay beneath the surface, they only undertake scheduled aeration on the wickets in the winter with manual slitters. For weed control, the team contract Total
Weed Kill to deal with spraying once a year, and cope with any issues in the intervening months in-house. Again, the only contracting for overseeding
takes place during the switching period around March. The contractor covers the outfield with around 60 tonnes of topdressing, spikes the ground and seeds when finished. They tend to do most of their own during the summer months, making sure they frequently give attention to the wickets which are naturally vulnerable to degradation due to weather exposure. The wickets are Surrey GOSTD loam, and the outfield is topped with a layer of sand, which also doesn’t gather in rain due to the comfortable drainage. Liverpool don’t take soil samples, because
that is taken care of at least once a year by the visiting Lancashire staff anyway. They check for dryness, thatch content and at what depth water becomes an issue. Their equipment includes: heavy duty
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