#Groundsweek – lots going on in Shropshire!
It’s the Grounds Management Association’s #Groundsweek – and it’s that time of year when cricket grounds around Shropshire are being woken up in preparation for the new season.
There’s a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes at every cricket ground in the county to get everything ready for the season thanks to the huge commitment of loyal bands of volunteers.
The same happens throughout the Summer to keep grounds in good condition, and the hard work always starts again at the end of the season, putting grounds to bed.
Cricket Shropshire now has a team of pitch advisors to help clubs across the county – for more information CLICK HERE.
We are also staging a Grounds Workshop at Allscott Heath CC ahead of the new season including an exciting demonstration of a low-cost battery mower and its attachments.
To book the workshop CLICK HERE.
Lots more information can be found from the GMA – see their website HERE.
To highlight the sort of work that goes on, we’ve got a case study from Cae Glas CC on their end of season renovations last Autumn – which included the discovery of an Atlas stone!
The club’s Ian Moult said: “Pitch scarifying, reseeding and application of fertiliser and loam was completed by a small team of four on the Sunday after the end of season.
“It’s the first time we have done it ourselves since I have been in charge and it went very well, I was pleased with what we achieved.
“The only problem was we had heavy rain soon after and this washed some of the grass seed about. It only seriously impacted the pitch we had prepared for the last game and I was able to reseed this a few days later.
“It could have been worse but I decided to repair and re-seed pitches during the season. As a result, we have maintained a good covering of grass on all the wicket ends.
“The other major end of season job was to improve the drainage at both ends of the square.
“With 40+ years of adding loam, the square is slightly proud and there is a hollow along both ends of the square where water collects after heavy rain and especially during the winter where it sits for weeks.
“We installed a 4ins perforated drainage pipe along the end of the square and tapped it via a T-junction into the existing gravel land drains.
“I made a mistake as I did not realise how hard the ground was that close to the square.
“Even with 10 volunteers it took most of the day to install the pipe and replace the turf. We needed a second day to dispose of all the excess soil and stones.
“Lesson learned and we were loaned a mini digger to dig the drainage trenches at the other end of the square. Luckily one of our players is a qualified operator and digs trenches at work.
“The Mini digger made a bit more of a mess but it was so much easier – especially as we encountered an Atlas stone in the middle of the trench.
“It took a while to get it out, only for it to then fall off the bucket and break the wheel barrow tray!”
“All in all, the square looks very good, with an excellent cover of grass. There are a lot of worm casts but there will be two applications before our first game next year.”
