Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

“We manage to provide a
county standard ground
on a club budget”
side, we have chalk six to eight
inches down,” he explains, “then
that gives way to sandy soil - it’s a
bit of all sorts here.”
”We suffer from thatch build-up
and moss,” Roger adds. “They
cause us problems. I’d like to hire
a Graden at some stage to help
clear the organic material.”
By the end of March, Roger’s
rolling out the wickets and
reducing cut height from 6mm to
3mm, using his trusty Dennis
mower; “but I do like to leave a bit
of grass on there. After all, every
groundsman is fighting to achieve
bounce and pace.”
“The speed of growth sometimes
takes me by surprise,” he
confesses. “We can get three boxes
off it and I think ‘where did all
that come from’?”
The six grass nets at Horsham,
now in their third year, have
recently come in for a thorough
makeover, Roger applying five
inches of Surrey Loams Ltd’s
Gostd, then overseeding with
triple ryegrass mix.
Having a second, ten wicket
ground next to the main one has
allowed Horsham to develop its
cricket across a spread of age
groups. “We have a large junior
section, plus third and fourth
teams, all of whom play on the
nursery ground.”
Horsham has a good record of
developing talent through its
cricket academy, one of the
innovations brought in by former
club chairman, Dr John Dew,
whose vision it was to foster junior
talent.
Although he died last year, the
fruits of his labours are clear for
all to see in such bright hopes as
21-year old Sussex leg spinner,
Will Beer, who impressed in the
England U19s test series against
New Zealand in 2008.
“John was a great man. He’d
always ask how everything was
going and appreciated the
difficulties of the groundsman’s
task,” Roger recalls fondly.
Since he arrived, Roger has
been busy repairing wickets but
knows that it can take at least two
or three years before a
engineered for perfection
Horsham Cricket Club during Festival week
A first class finish
…. everytime
For more information on our full
range of cricket ground maintenance
equipment call 01332 824777
PROUDLY BRITISH
www.dennisuk.com
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