Suffolk County Cricket Board

With the weather relenting towards the end of February and beginning of March those of you with time only at evenings and weekends to start the pitch preparation work, have had a great chance to do some of the key intital jobs.

At Woolpit CC I have taken down the rabbit proof fencing and cut the square with a rotary mower and collection box to get the autumn growth down and to collect up all the leaves and debris.  Worm and disease control was applied immediately along with a 12-0-9 fertiliser to kick off some new growth and colour.  Last weekend I power brushed the square to lift any last bits of leaf and worm casts and started the rolling programme as moss is not a problem thanks to the fertilisers used in the autumn.

MARCH JOBS

1. Cut square down to 10-12mm.

2. Treat any moss and wormcasts if visible on square.  Do not use lawn sand as this will damage soil structure.

3. Apply a good quality fertiliser after seeking advice from a BASIS or FACTS qualified company representative.  Do not use products which you can purchase from garden centres.  Please contact me if you need advice about this or Company contacts.

4. Lightly vertigroom or brush the square to remove any surface debris.

5. Commence rolling if conditions are drying and the soil is not waterlogged.  Roll in as many different directions as possible, but always finish in the direction of play. Start with a light roller or ride on mower building up ballast as soon as soil conditions allow.  Finish with a roller around 2 ton. Always drive at no more than 0.5mph. Cranfield University in conjunction with the ECB has just completed a 4 year study into cricket pitch rolling. The findings have now been published.  It is fascinating and essential reading and comes with a free anorak.
  
To download a copy go to http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/sas/naturalresources/research/projects/rolling.jsp?id=redirect

Links are also available from the ECB, IOG or Pitchcare websites.
  
6. As some league cricket now starts mid April you will need to mark out your wicket centres and 10 ft pitch widths before the end of the month.

7. Clubs with big squares will need to have a pitch plan for the season in place soon to maximise 1st team pitches in rotation across the square with any County or Representative games.

8. Order sprays, fertiliser and any extra loam and grass seed needed to repair the wicket ends if you do not have sufficient stocks in store.

9. Start and check mowers, especially if they have been back from being sharpened and serviced for sometime.

Tim Parker
ECB County Pitch Advisor