CRICKET
Not being at school, and as soon as the government relaxed some of the rules, he volunteered to help me out five days a week. He has been here for the last nine weeks and has really stepped up
” Left to right, Ruben, Mark and Phil
“It was 2017, and I was playing cricket for Driffield when I heard that Chris Skelton, who had spent twelve years working alongside his dad Phil as a groundsman, was looking at leaving, which opened up an opportunity.”
With his son leaving, Phil was ready to consider retirement. “I was turning sixty-five years old and thought this was a good opportunity to retire as I didn’t want to have to go through the whole process of training anyone up,” Phil explains.
Fortunately for Mark, this meant the club were now looking for a Head Groundsman, which became a much more attractive proposition for him.
“I applied for the job and started in
August; Phil wasn’t due to leave until October, so I had two months with him showing me the ropes. Once we had finished the autumn renovations that year, the club asked Phil if he would stay on two days a week to help me out, which I am pleased he agreed to do.” Since lockdown, Mark has been without the help of Phil for over three months as he
was furloughed, but a special mention has to go to Ruben Syrett. “Ruben was meant to be our Saturday lad, and we had agreed to employ someone to do two days a week over the summer months, but we were not able to take him on with the Covid-19 situation. Not being at school, and as soon as the government relaxed some of the rules, he volunteered to help me out five days a week. He has been here for the last nine weeks and has really stepped up. Without him, I would have been struggling to maintain the site.” I asked Ruben if he would like to take an apprenticeship in groundsmanship at the club if that was an option? “I have enrolled on an engineering course, but I’m undecided on what career path I want to take. If the opportunity arose to join Mark here, I would seriously consider it as I have enjoyed my time here so far.”
Mark tells me he would love the club to provide the opportunity for Ruben to join him as an apprentice and he has already approached the club. “Four weeks ago, I put the idea to the committee. We have looked
at the figures, and it is much more beneficial for us to take on an apprentice five days a week full-time than a bloke on the minimum wage for two days a week over the summer. They agree it is a brilliant idea, but we have no income at the minute with the bar only just being able to open. The government have just announced a scheme pushing for apprenticeships. So, fingers crossed, we may be able to give Ruben the option of joining us very soon.”
The grass surfaces are constructed out of old farmland and Phil explains that the old furrows still present problems where they run right through what is now the bowling greens and cricket squares. “No matter how much we have topdressed over the years, they just settle again,” bemoans Mark. “It is starting to get a lot more obvious on the outfield as well.”
The club has two full sets of roll-on covers, lay flat sheets and an irrigation system which they extended out to the square last winter. “We have four old Toro pop-ups around the bowling greens. We have extended this system, adding four new
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PC August/September 2020
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