CRICKET Getting Personal
Brad Jefferies - ah, the smell of petrol - and Freddie Flintoff’s
aftershave no doubt!
Who are you? Brad Jefferies, Head
Groundsman at Astwood Bank CC.
Family status? Single (I guess).
Who’s your hero? Freddie Flintoff.
What would you change about yourself? Be better at cricket.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Coca Cola.
What’s been the highlight of your grounds career so far? Preparing for the Test match. I’ll never forget the day Gary Barwell told me, “You’re now a Test match groundsman”. Chills down my spine.
What are your pet peeves? 150 screaming kids here on a Friday night. Parents wandering across the square with pints of beer in their hands.
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? I like England.
What’s the best part of your job? After the team won the first game - and none of it happened without the groundsman.
… and the worst? I like everything about it.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? I’d love to be a county cricket head groundsman.
Favourite record, and why? I like Magic FM.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? I’d go to the Bullring and buy whatever I wanted all day.
54 PC August/September 2018
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? Margot Robbie. No question.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?
Freddie Flintoff. David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd. Micky Flanagan.
If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Freddie Flintoff. Are you sensing a theme to these answers? I quite like the guy.
Do you have any bad habits? Swearing.
... or any good ones? No.
Do you read (and what)? An occasional autobiography.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? “You can always improve” … or “if you treat everyone exactly the same, your reputation will remain intact.”
What's your favourite smell? Petrol.
What do you do in your spare time? I don’t have any.
What’s your favourite bit of kit? Dennis FT.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Joker. Outgoing. Sporty.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? I don’t understand politics.
renovations without the help of contractors.
With the money saved there, he would look to invest in a SISIS Drop Spreader: “That’s the only extra thing I’d need to do the renovations the way I want to.”
“One thing we’ve found this year is that the outfield didn’t have much done to it over the winter, and the drainage here is not the best, especially with that slope. The south drains well, but the north is more problematic.” “So, I definitely want to squeeze in as many verti-drains and spikes as I can on that side. On the square, though, it would just need grass removal, three-way scarification and Ongar Loam introduction.” He hasn’t had the chance to
take any samples so far, but is at the stage scientifically where he wouldn’t know where to go with that information.
“That highlights why it would be useful, at some point, to get that next step of education. I’ve only been doing this three or four years and, up until now, Gary’s always sorted out that side of things.” “And he’s willing to provide the sort of services you’d usually get from cricket advisors, such as Clegg readings and moisture metres, to help out with the scientific stuff. Because I know him, he can give me that proper advice without selling to me.” “I’m not sure how much
Worcestershire clay is in the surface, but I’d guess around 25-30%. When you get it dry, it flies. Equally, when it’s soft, it’s a real nuisance.”
“One thing I’m looking to
continue is introducing a bit of iron to this side of the field, just to toughen it up for when conditions are a bit rocky.” “It’s already started to
thicken up a little, although you naturally get your usual, annual leaves. The square was treated pre-season, organised by someone else.” The club doesn’t have any deep aeration equipment, so this is one use Brad would find for contractors if it was desperately needed. “We do, though, have a brushing cassette and a Dennis FT. That gets rids of all the nastiness in the sward, like rabbit droppings.” We’ve also got a ten-bladed cylinder, a scarifying cassette and a sarrel roller. It’s so easy to use. Dennis is fantastic, but the Allett Shavers at Edgbaston are great too.”
“If I went on to be a head groundsman somewhere with loads of money, I’d make that an essential purchase, because it’s been a godsend.”
The field is across about 1.2 hectares, at about 100 metres in width and 120 metres in length. This means the batsmen have any easier time clipping to leg or cutting square of the wicket. The club has a strong relationship with Phil Day Sports. They also work with Pitchcare, including for their purchase of push-brushes and MAX-LINE Platinum Pro line marking paint.
Its practice nets are artificial, although the club’s players help with the maintenance of this, minus some of Brad’s strimming and linemarking. Each day, he will usually box
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