Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

Running a modern
cricket clubs takes a lot
of time and commitment
from all concerned, and
comes at a high cost
loam (27%) which was upgraded to
Boughton County loam during
renovations.
The outfield has a primary
drainage system, installed at three
metre centres, to ensure the ground
can drain at a rate of 13 litres per
second, helping to reduce the
number of games lost to rain.
Existing soil was ameliorated with
50mm of sand to improve the surface
drainage capabilities of the outfield.
As with any new builds, there have
been a few teething problems, with a
majority of the cut and fill work
undertaken using existing soils which
produced some settlement problems
in parts of the outfield. Paul has
instigated some localised repairs and
seeding to re-establish levels and
sward composition.
Whilst it is still early days - the
square is barely 15 months old and
still growing in - more root growth is
needed to reduce a few plating
problems, but these are not causing
huge concern. Paul is monitoring the
situation, and is confident it will
improve in time as root growth
strengthens. The worse case scenario
would be to introduce more loam into
the cracks, and monitor moisture
levels to prevent the loam from
cracking.
Having come through a tough
winter, Paul decided he needed to
rectify some poor levels and improve
sward density, so he undertook a light
renovation programme in March,
carrying out some scarification,
adding 3-4 bags of loam per track
and overseeding with R9. This
appeared to do the trick.
Pre season rolling was curtailed a
bit this spring, due to the poor
weather. However, he must be doing
something right, as the County side
will be playing two, four day, first
team fixtures next year, whilst the
square at Old Trafford is turned
Stuart Canvas Roros
New equipment includes a Poweroll 15 ...
... and a John Deere X300 Gator
Thatch hit for six!
Graden’s range of machinery dramatically
speeds up essential de-thatching and
aereating jobs, to achieve the
perfect sports surface.
With five models to choose from -
GS04, GBS1200, Contour Sand Injection,
Swing Wing and Roller, Graden have all
the ground covered.
Sole importers:
Kensett Sports
The Officers’ Mess, Coldstream Road, Caterham Barracks,
Caterham, Surrey CR3 5QX
Tel: +44 (0) 1883 342632
Email: info@kensettsports.com
www.kensettsports.com
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