Marshalling his troops - Pitchcare

equired an innovative programme of
end of season renovations, and Paul
chose to combine deep scarifying, deep
drilling and drill and fill, using
Ecosolve’s tried and tested methods.
The drills used have been designed
and developed by Ecosolve and the ECB
Pitches Consultant, Chris Wood, for
specific use on cricket wickets. A number
of different designs and dimensions were
tried before reaching these bespoke
items. There was, says Paul, no real
alternative, other than digging up
several tracks and starting again.
They have been drilling four wickets a
year since 2004, and identify which
pitches need to be done, either because
they are next in line for the ongoing
programme or perhaps have not
performed as well as they would have
liked that year.
The drilling programme usually
consists of drilling at 165mm (6.5”)
centres using a 25mm (1”) diameter drill
bit to a depth of 250mm (10”). This
equates to over 1700 holes per wicket.
The holes are then back filled with the
desired loam, either Boughton County or
Ongar depending on which wickets are
being worked on. It usually takes three to
four days to complete the whole process.
They have perfected a good method of
working. As soon has the holes have been
drilled, a metal rod is hammered into
each one to smooth the sides, ready to
ensure the new loam material can be
worked to the bottom of the holes. The
same rod is used to consolidate the back
filling material.
Once the drilling has been completed,
the whole square is then scarified in
several passes, using a Graden scarifier,
to remove thatch and debris, with all the
arisings cleaned up using brushes, rotary
mowers and blowers. The square is then
soaked, using a couple of oscillating
sprinklers, ready for sowing with R9, a
dwarf perennial rye grass mix, sowing in
several directions.
Paul may use germination sheets to
help force the seed to germinate but, in
most cases, the seed is up within seven
days. Grass is left to mature before
cutting with a pedestrian rotary mower.
An autumn granular feed is applied to
help promote growth, followed by
applications of liquid iron, amino and
bio stimulants once aeration takes place;
the aim is to promote microbial activity
in the soil profile, which helps improve
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