SUMMER SPORTS
lucky that we don’t tend to suffer too much from disease.”
“The quieter months obviously give us time to carry out maintenance on all of our machinery. We tend not to buy new machines; last winter I purchased a second- hand Toro Sidewinder, spent some money refurbishing the business parts and it’s run really well for us this season. I exclusively use Dennis FT510 and FT610 mowers and I have two SISIS Rotorakes with different attachments to allow us to brush, verti- cut and sarel roll. Apart from the heavy renovations, we can pretty much do all the work with our own kit.”
“I really like the versatility of the Dennis and SISIS equipment and they do as much or as little as you want them to do. The interchangeable cassettes are great, and I have a spare cutting cassette for each machine. This means that if I pick up a stud on the square and it knocks the bottom blade out, I don’t have to worry about losing the machine whilst it goes away for a week to be repaired.”
“Aeration is mainly done using sarrel rollers for both the FT610 and Rotorake machines, but I really like the Greencare
Coremaster spiking machine that we have. It’s a pretty old machine and is twelve tines wide which enables me to use alternate chisel, hollow and solid tines as required down to a depth of approximately 5-6 inches. As the name suggests, the machine wasn’t meant for use on cricket fields and is far more at home on a golf course or bowling green, but I picked it up three or four years ago for very little cost and it’s added great quality. It’s an Australian brand and the company is no longer trading, so sourcing parts is somewhat of an issue and something that we might need to address in the not too distant future, but for now it’s still working ok.”
Over the past couple of years, the focus of the club’s investment has been around the ground. Just over a year ago, they installed a new net facility in one of the corners which cost the best part of £70,000 and was provided by grant funding.
Future ambitions at the Club are for promotion into the Premier League, but Gary recognises that won’t come down to the quality of the square, that will be down the quality of the cricketers. “I’ll do my best to improve the quality of the playing surface
moving forward. I’d like to think though that it compares favourably with the rest of our division and even some of the clubs in the league above us. Darren Mitchell came here on August bank holiday to play for Brockhampton, in a league game against our first team and was very complimentary of the wicket. I’ve got a very good relationship with Alexei Kervezee, our Club Captain and with the guys who play here, and I’m sure they would be the first to comment if they weren’t happy. Most are curious to find out what’s going on in my world and, equally, I like to have a pint with them after the match as I think this helps have an understanding from both sides. After all, it’s a team effort and we’ve all got a part to play in the club’s success.”
“Similarly, I think most people in this this industry are always willing to offer advice whenever you may need a second opinion. James Grundy at Pitchcare is a valuable source of information or advice and I bump into Tim Packwood at New Road ground on occasion. In the past, I’ve sought his opinion at times on whether something is wrong, right or otherwise and he’s always been very helpful and willing to offer his thoughts.”
You’ve got to be a particular type of person to want to do this job and not
overthink things when
you have so much time to deliberate everything
104 PC October/November 2018
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