August Cricket Diary 2004
August Cricket Diary
By Laurence Gale
August usually brings warmer weather, increasing both soil and air temperatures, with surfaces prone to drying out more quickly. Irrigation will be a key issue in preparing and repairing wickets. Plenty of water will be required to soak the compacted old wickets. It is important to ensure that enough water is applied to soak the soil down to a depth of 150mm, encouraging deeper root growth. Clay loams will begin to shrink in the dry weather, resulting in some cracks being formed in the square. Correct applications of water or use of plastic sheeting can be utilised to reduce cracking wickets.
Most of the tasks detailed can be undertaken within a limited budget. Local conditions and circumstances will need to be taken into account.
If any members are undertaking any specific work not detailed, please let us know by adding a comment in the section below the diary.
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August Maintenance Tasks for Cricket |
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Natural Grass |
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Task |
Frequency |
Reason |
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Aeration |
When conditions allow |
Sarrel roll the square to keep the surface free draining. It will be essential to use the sarrel roller after any rolling works. |
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Brushing/ Sweeping (square) |
Daily/ Weekly |
Prior to mowing, the surface should be thoroughly brushed every time. Continue to brush square daily to remove moisture from the grass surface, stopping the spread of disease and facilitating an improved quality of cut on the dry grass. |
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Covers |
As required |
Portable covers are very useful in protecting surfaces during inclement weather.
Wicket covers are used to control the soil moisture content of cricket wickets especially when preparing wickets for play. |
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Diseases (square and outfield) |
Daily/ Weekly |
Turf disease can become quite prevalent when turf is under stress, especially during dry periods. Lack of moisture in the soil often affects the transmission of nutrients to the plant, thus reducing its capacity to take in enough nutrients, stressing out the plant and making it prone to disease attack. Keep an eye on fungal disease attack, and use approved fungicides to treat infected areas. |
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Drainage |
Weekly |
Inspect drainage outfalls, channels and ditches. Ensure that they are working. |
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Fertiliser programme |
If grass shows signs of stress (weak growth, discoloured) |
Fertiliser treatment and turf tonic can be continued in accordance with your annual programme. If you haven't got a fertiliser programme, have your soil tested; try an independent soil analysis company for an impartial set of results. Most facility managers will have already applied their summer fertilisers, with the intention that the programme will see them through to the autumn when ground conditions will be more favourable for applying fertilisers. Applying fertilisers when ground conditions are dry and arid is not viable, as the plant cannot make use of the nutrients. Dry soils do not allow effective transport of nutrients into the grass plant. Soils have to be in a wetted stated to enable efficient transfer of nutrients to the plant. However, having an appropriate irrigation system will allow you the opportunity to fertilise as and when required. Many groundsman are now moving towards the little and often approach, applying smaller doses of fertiliser to cater for the plants requirements at that particular time. Turf managers are now looking at other products to reduce turf grass stress. Rigby Taylor's Amino-sorb is one such product. Care should be taken when fertilising the square, initiating green lush growth on a wicket you are about to prepare is the last thing you want to achieve, as it will have an affect on the performance of the wicket. |
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Harrowing / raking (outfield) |
When conditions allow |
Harrowing/raking helps restore levels and keep surfaces open. |
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Inspect Cricket structures |
As required |
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Irrigation |
As required |
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Litter/debris |
Daily/ Weekly |
Inspect and remove debris from playing surface - litter, twigs and leaves. |
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Machinery (Repairs & Maintenance) |
Daily/ Weekly |
Ongoing inspection and cleaning of machinery after use. |
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Marking out |
As required. |
Marking out the crease should be done with care, using frames or string lines to help achieve clear, straight lines. |
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Materials |
As required. |
Keep a good supply of materials at hand for repairs and maintenance. Do not forget to organise and order well in advance your autumn renovation materials from your suppliers. You may want to investigate new products or services. Allow time to do this. |
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Mowing, square & outfield |
As required |
Continue to verticut, training the grass to grow vertically. If you don't have a verticut option then use a drag brush to help stand the grass up prior to mowing. If using verticutting units be careful not to mark/scar the soil surface, as these scars will be hard to remove as the square dries out. |
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Outfield |
Remember not to neglect the outfield; it too has a major effect on a game if unattended. The outfield should be treated the same as any other natural grass pitch, carrying out regular mowing, aeration and feeding programmes to maintain a healthy sward. After matches repair any divots and scars that have resulted from play. Ensure you have enough supplies of soil material and seed for repairs. |
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Pest control |
As required |
Worm treatments can be carried out if needed, but please remember to ask yourself why worms are present. Ph level, organic matter and your cultural practices on the square need to be assessed. |
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Rolling |
Daily/ Weekly |
The use of heavy ballast rollers should be implemented to help prepare the wickets for matches, making sure rolling is done under the correct surface conditions, when the soil is moist but not too wet. Carrying out a proctor soil test will help determine the correct timing of rolling. A simpler method is to stick a knife or slit tine into the soil profile and see if it comes out clean. If it does, it's the right time to roll. Rolling should start and finish in line with the direction of play. Ideal rolling conditions would suggest the soil be in a state of plasticity-or "plasticine". Consolidation will still be your aim throughout the season. The pitch is required to be consolidated throughout to a depth of no less than 100mm. Proctor testing is used to evaluate the compaction characteristics of the soil. This test determines the maximum density the soil can be compacted to, and at what moisture content the soil is most prone to compaction. Proctor testing is useful in determining how compacted a soil is in the field. proctor test (click on link to see details of carrying out a proctor test). |
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Seed bare & worn areas on Cricket square |
When conditions allow |
Seeding of the ends where the grass is weak, sparse or bare can be continued and the rise in temperature will help germination. Use germination sheets to aid this process but remove the sheets regularly to check for diseases. Remember that without good seed to soil contact the operation is useless. Ensure you use new seed as old material may not give you the required germination rates. |
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Soil tests |
Ideally once or twice a year, or as required. |
Soil sampling is an important part of groundmanship. The results will enable the manager to have a better understanding of the current status of his soil and turf. There are many tests that can be undertaken, but usually the main tests to consider are:
Once you have this information you will be in a better position to plan your season's feeding and maintenance programmes. |
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Wicket Preparation |
As required |
Preparation of the pitch should start ten days prior to a game. Mark out your cutting area with string, nails, paint or markers to obtain a straight cutting line. Your first cut should be as accurate as possible because it becomes very difficult to correct inconsistencies when the pitch is cut more prominently. Start by hand scarifying to stand the grass up, this tool will not mark the soil surface. Cut the pitch once and repeat the process again. Dependant on weather, you may need to water. Ensure you irrigate to get a good depth of watering, you may need to cover to prevent evaporation. Once surface water has gone you can then begin to roll. Roll pitch until the surface is visibly dry. Continue to roll each day in the run up to the match, checking the consolidation by bouncing a cricket ball on the soil surface or testing the resistance by inserting a metal rod into the surface. The wicket can be left uncovered unless you have weather that is too wet, windy or sunny. During these conditions the wicket should be covered.
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Wicket repairs |
After matches |
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Artificial wicket and net Facilities |
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Artificial Grass Systems |
Surface treatments |
Sand filled systems require regular brushing to maintain manufacturer's recommendations for sand levels and pile heights. |
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Net facilities |
Pre -season |
Repair damaged structures and netting, order new if required. Strim and mow around structures. |
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