CRICKET
I’ve enjoyed doing this, and been told I’m half-decent at it. But, it started off as a summer job. After my
”
degree, I’ll have to decide what to do
completely random. Completely different to this, anyway.”
“I’ve enjoyed doing this, and been told I’m half-decent at it. But, it started off as a summer job. After my degree, I’ll have to decide what to do.”
He arrived at Astwood this spring, so is
experiencing a new level of responsibility: “I started in April… maybe March. Pre-season was tough this year.” “We barely did any pre-season rolling, and when we tried, the roller broke. The clutch went ‘bang’, and we got it stuck. It was inches from perfectly dry ground, but got stuck there for a week.” “We’ve had decent results so far clutch- wise; not so much cricket performance-wise. But, we pick ourselves up and go again.” “That said, I actually don’t play for Astwood. I play for another team down the road, and started here because I knew some of its players.”
The field is cupped and lies at the bottom of a hill, so it still holds some rain, but is much further from the region’s major rivers than many of the area’s clubs.
During the spring torrents, Brad said, he had to change the angle and extents of the boundaries to accommodate for this on the western edge (the same place the roller became stranded).
Being so young, he has been required to advance his knowledge quickly: “I’d been told by some colleagues that a Level 1 award was a bit of a waste of time for anyone who knows their stuff.”
“But, I would love to start on a Level 2 or 3, once I get to the point where knowing the science is the next logical step in my progression.”
“Tim and Gary have had a massive impact
on me. Tim wanted me to go and work with him this summer, but it didn’t quite work out.” “Gary has perhaps had the biggest influence on me. The things I’ve learnt from him are what have meant I could get this job. They are the reasons I can do well here.”
52 PC August/September 2018
“To put that into perspective, the first pitch of the season here had 750 runs on it. That was a pitch on 5th May, so that was decent. One lad in a university game scored 150-odd off 60 balls.” “That’s because we rent the pitch out for some uni games. I had a text from my friend, who’s the captain at Worcestershire, and we had the pitch rented out by the next week.” “Altogether, it had 2,000 runs in four games, during the first weeks of the season. The only reason that can be the case is because I had that exposure.”
“Gary was always giving me tips and, what was really nice, asking for my opinion. He wanted you to consider why you were doing things, rather than just forcing you to with little explanation.”
Brad also said that his committee has so far permitted all requests for grounds funding: “I’ve switched our seed over to Johnsons Premier Wicket.”
“I’ve just begun to seed up with that and
it’s coming through lovely. Less than a week. I’ve also applied an ICL pre-seed formula.” “I’ve also changed the loam. They were
using Kaloam here, which is very good for things like foot holes. But, we used Ongar at Edgbaston, so I’ve made that the standard here too. It’s finer, and it clumps immediately without added water, whereas the Kaloam is drier.” “We have a 12-wicket square but, due to boundary sizes, I can only have five in the middle for the First XI, the bottom two are for juniors, and one either side for Second XI, so the top area was redundant. I’ve turned those five into practice wickets.” “The one at the end has greened up really well. That’s done with now, so I’m working on the next, and it seems as though the process is working.”
I noted that he’d made a lot of changes in his first month or two: “Definitely. I’m a perfectionist, and you can always improve - so can the pitch.” “After we finished the first wicket, which
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