CRICKET


If we don’t get more


young people involved, soon people like myself will be working until we


”


are eighty years old, and I do not want to do that!


renovation at all three sites will now go ahead. “I will work with Richard Roberts, Head Greenkeeper at Hart Common Golf Club, to carry out renovations at all three sites. At Westhoughton, I plan to fraise mow the square to take all the vegetation out and start afresh as there is a lot of Poa in it. I will decide at the time to either put the ProCore or Verti-Drain over it, as this will help when keying in the loam. You need something to key into with loam; you cannot just drop it on without keying it in, as you will just start to make pans. We will put down 300-400 bags of loam, which is around seven tonnes, using a drop spreader. I would like to get a laser grading machine in just to move the loam about and fill everything in. After eleven years, there is a bit of settlement on the square. Don’t get me wrong, it’s flat, but not as flat as I would like it. We will disc seed it three ways with the Vredo using eight bags of Barenbrug Bar Extreme 100% perennial ryegrass. This will come through thick, but I feel it is better having more than not enough, I can just verti-cut out if required.” Rob has some of his own machines that he uses at each club, but he does have machinery available to him which the clubs own themselves. When purchasing machinery, the budget at each venue


determines how they can buy new equipment. “Farnworth and Littleborough would tend to buy second-hand equipment. Here at Westhoughton, if they are going for the smaller machines like a new wicket or square mower, they would go brand new. The bigger purchases they will buy second- hand, like the Toro outfield mower we recently bought from Cheshire Turf Machinery.” Rob suffers from worms on the square and outfields. “I use Purity which is a soil conditioner on the squares. It is not designed to control worms but, if you put it on in the right weather, the surface is heaving with the critters shortly after. Other than that, I will brush the squares every day during the winter months to knock the worm casts off. On the outfields, I will use a brush to knock off the casts; it is the best practice we have available to us.” Rob hinted to me during our catch up that he would like to take on an apprentice, so he can pass on what he has learned over the years. This would also give someone a good base to start a career in the industry. “I think we need more kids involved and more money from the government to help with apprentices. I have looked at getting an apprentice, and I have asked my friend who owns a company what the annual costs are


to take someone on, and it is around £11,000. For me, I just cannot afford to pay someone that kind of money, especially for a young person who cannot touch a machine in the first year hardly. I would love to bring someone into the industry and give them the chance I should have had when I was leaving school but, unfortunately, it is just too much money.” “I don’t know what we are going to do as an industry to attract more people, it is a difficult one and cleverer people than me have tried to sort it out in the past. I believe getting involved in the industry most of the time comes from being interested in cricket, golf, football etc. If we don’t get more young people involved, soon people like myself will be working until we are eighty years old, and I do not want to do that!”


Westhoughton’s pristine outfield 100 PC August/September 2020


Rob outside the pavilion


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