Total-play’s ‘game-changing’ new Cricket Shield system offers year-round use of outdoor nets…
More cricket clubs and schools could reap the benefit of year-round, all-weather coaching thanks to an exciting new innovation from the cricket pitch experts at total-play Ltd.
One of the first non-turf cricket pitch suppliers to win England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) code of practice status, total-play has developed no less than six ECB approved non-turf pitch system designs over the years; installing artificial match pitches and state of the art training facilities at hundreds of sites nationwide.
The new 'Cricket Shield' system has again been developed in partnership with the ECB; effectively providing a 'cricket dome' that can be erected over new or existing cricket practice net facilities to effectively create an indoor practice facility at a fraction of the cost. The first installation of this exciting new system launched on Friday, 20th October at Bradford Park Avenue cricket ground as part of a pioneering £1.5m community inclusion project funded by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in partnership with City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.
The new, ten-lane facility features two 40mx20m covered domes with a state-of-the-art lighting system, elite cricket surface and a retractable netting system allowing for both training and matchplay. MD at total-play, David Bates says:
"I have been in discussion with the ECB for three years about ways to boost participation, particularly in urban centres. Indoor cricket facilities are prohibitively expensive - anything upwards of £5 million pounds - so the idea of converting outdoor nets to be suitable for all-weather use was an attractive one. Bradford Park Avenue was the perfect pilot site for the new system - the existing nets we installed 7 years ago were seeing huge use from across the community.
"The new facility will be a real game-changer and will increase capacity by offering a weather-proof centre for nets at all times of the year. It's been amazing to work on this project alongside the other stakeholders and see vision become reality. We hope all the teams and groups who use the Bradford Park Avenue nets thoroughly enjoy their new facility, and look forward to rolling out Cricket Shield to other sites and help other clubs and schools reap the benefits."
While the Bradford Park Avenue development is on a huge scale, Cricket Shield is scalable; with bespoke systems designed to meet individual clients' needs and can be installed alongside as part of the development of completely new facilities of retro-fitted to existing natural or artificial surfaces. David says:
"With the inaugural installation now under our belts we look forward to seeing the Bradford Park Avenue system start to be used by the community and to starting work on more Cricket Shield projects in 2024, alongside some great straight practice facility and match pitch installations that are already in the pipeline. It looks set to be another busy year!"
For more details, head to www.total-play.co.uk or email info@total-play.co.uk