CRICKET
It’s now my responsibility to try and maintain the standards that they have
”
worked so long and hard to get it to. I do feel that if it doesn’t look good or a wicket doesn't play well that I’m letting them down
to maintain that at the highest level we can. But it’s true, without the volunteers, the ground wouldn’t look half as good because it’s only through their assistance that I’m able to keep it at a certain level. I don’t feel responsible for the way they look at the ground, yet I do in a way. I feel as though I’ve been handed the baton, and it’s now my responsibility to try and maintain the standards that they have worked so long and hard to get it to. I do feel that if it doesn’t look good or a wicket doesn't play well that I’m letting them down.” Meeting the standards of the three interested parties is something Mark has to contend with constantly. The needs in terms of quality are much higher for Minor Counties cricket than they are a school sports day, but there isn’t an option to flit from one standard to another; the default setting is always as high as possible. Ultimately, the aim is to give everyone a bit of what they want while working within the collective financial means of the CIC because everyone contributes to the running costs of the site. Usually, this is achieved with a tried and
That is the time that you’re putting the squares to bed, footballers are screaming for their pitches and a lot of people at that time are talking about reseeding pitches
” 86 PC August/September 2020
tested formula, but a visit to Edgbaston last year gave Mark inspiration to experiment, with time being the only restricting factor. The punishing schedule that swings from cricket to football within days doesn’t give time for experimentation, but a complete cancellation of sport has allowed for some tinkering and pitch improvements without the worry of ruining a pitch for a matchday. “The pinch point for us is the changeover between cricket and football,” Mark explains. “That is the time that you’re putting the squares to bed, footballers are screaming for their pitches and a lot of people at that time are talking about reseeding pitches. So we never close. I appreciate that everybody wants to get on and people want to play longer and sooner so we tend to get squeezed in the middle there, which can be a bit of an issue for us. So we try and work around people as much as we can, and we try and get people to come and help us during that time so we can get the goals up and the work done. The guys from the football club give us a hand during that time, and they’ll happily help us put the squares to bed, even though they don’t play on them
and that’s something I really appreciate.” “But it is difficult to find a good time to do major pitch renovations. This year, we would have been quite fortunate, and I’ve done some on the football pitches myself. Initially, I thought great, there will be no one on it so I can do some reseeding, but it’s been too dry. We’re quite lucky with irrigation, we can irrigate practically anywhere but it is one source of water, and the pressure is about two bar, so it's not great. We are able to get some water out, but it is cost as well.” “There are lots of things I’d like to do, but we have to be realistic about the resources that we have. We are always open to new ideas like the little training wicket that we’ve cut out in the last few weeks, just to give the guys a chance to get out on the grass and it’s been great. I think the ground staff have been just as excited about it as some of the lads that have come up and used it.” “But it’s difficult because you want to give things like that a go, but you don’t want them to go wrong and impact the Saturday. This year, in particular, it’s been great to have a little tinker out there. With our little practice strip, we’ve started trialling some
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