The May Cricket Diary 2003
By Jon Buddington, ECB Pitch Advisor for East Yorkshire.
Fixtures will be coming along at regular intervals now, so remember to keep notes of your pitch performances, it will stand you in good stead for the future.
Your pitch allocation will be planned for the full season with provision for "premiere fixtures" given to the centre of the square. Pitch preparation will ideally take place 10 days before a fixture. Have 2 pitches under preparation together as you are responsible for its performance and you may favour one over the other.
Over rolling can be a problem, just as under rolling, so check consolidation with a thick wire or rod by its resistance to pressure when pushed into the pitch.
Water the square when necessary ( to a good depth). The height of cut on the square can be left at 15mm, with regular verticutting and grooming to provide as much grass to be standing straight when cut, this produces a healthier, thicker coverage.
Weeds can be removed by hand and small holes filled with loam, seed and watered. Liquid feeds give immediate results, so are the choice of stadium Groundsmen because of the short turn around between fixtures. A reason many still don't use liquid is the legislation attached to operation. Ever thought of using a spray contractor, no storage on site for chemicals, no expensive machinery and PPE.
Apply a controlled release fertiliser on the outfield after chemical soil analysis has been studied, also apply a mini-gran feed to the square again after soil analysis has taken place, something with higher nitrogen, low phosphate and low potassium, no iron. Water in well or let nature do it!
Repair of foot holes and batsmen's scars are a drain on time so plan ahead, have you got enough spare loam, don't get caught out with holes on the square, the ball may hit a foot hole and you're in trouble! To repair foot holes, sweep by hand, removing all loose debris, spike bottom of hole, water inside area, mix compatible loam to pastry consistency, apply to hole by hand, force sausage shape down spike hole to provide a strong key, leave proud of surface, mallet or tamp down, cover with clippings, treat as normal.
A brush attachment can be fitted to the scarifier machine to sweep full pitch for debris, including cricket studs which are a major damage to cutting cylinders. This will provide a clean surface in which to renovate and prepare again.
If you have an artificial strip, make sure there is a smooth transition to it from the square. Remove clumpy and tussocky growth, also edge as often as possible.
Keep crease marks straight and bright. Presentation of the surface is as important as any other practice on your ground, so show off and use your professional skill, it makes a hell of a difference if it looks well and plays well, too!