All Change!!!

Belated Happy New Year to all!! I hope everyone is wintering well!!

Its all change for me now! Just as I was settling in to my job in Worcester I’m leaving!!! I was offered and have accepted the position of Deputy Grounds Manager at the Rose Bowl, home of Hampshire County Cricket Club.

After a very enjoyable short spell at New Road I’m off to a new challenge to assist in the growth and development of the Rose Bowl in preparation for their first Test match in 2011, England vs Sri Lanka. Of course before all that there is an ODIs against Australia and 2 more ODIs in 2010. Its an exciting prospect for me personally as it was always an ambition for me to be involved in the preparation for a Test match.

I start on the 2nd of March so there’ll be new photos up of the Rose Bowl and the continuing development of the stadium.

Before then its the stress of fimding somewhere to live and having to pack up and move again!!!

http://www.rosebowlplc.com/home/hampshire-cricket

http://www.rosebowlplc.com/pages/venue/

And this is what it will look like when completed in 2010

 http://www.rosebowlplc.com/pages/new-developments/

http://www.rosebowlplc.com/pages/fly-through-video/

Reflection…..

Its time for reflection now that we are in the winter. The last signs of flood damage are gone and the place is nearly back to normal. It’s a quiet time now. This is when the majority of staff takes their holidays and the summer staff have finished so there are not as many people around. Now I can sit back and take stock of the season gone. So what’s different? Everything is different but very similar, if that makes sense!!! My first big change was not working alone. Going from being on your own and doing everything yourself to working in a groundstaff of 5 was a big change. I always liked working alone; I loved the responsibility of not relying on someone else to do something. I was always proud of looking out and knowing that what was in front of me was as a result of my work. Obviously when I first arrived it was an immediate change. It took me a while to find my feet and adapt to the way things are done over here. Everything has a place in our shed. It’s quite clean, neat and tidy. The machinery is cleaned after every use, which is easier to do when you have the staff numbers available. There’s no shoving the mower in the shed and then worry about it tomorrow! Everything goes back where it belongs, which is a great help when you are looking for them the next time! And they love their tea breaks! Once 10am comes around it’s off to the mess-room for tea. I was never one for tea breaks! Most jobs are shared evenly.  Nobody is asked to do something that they wouldn’t do themselves. Jobs tend to be rotated, which is a good idea as you don’t get bored doing the same thing week in week out. I found that especially useful as it gave me a taste of the way things are done. Obviously there are high standards in the finish we leave on the ground. Every effort is made to make sure not a blade of grass is out of place and that there is a good, clean look to the ground. Everybody talks about the beauty of the ground with the trees lining the perimeter and the great view of the cathedral but if the ground looked tatty it would take away from it all. After all first impressions last!! Pitch preparation is slightly different. Because of the number of fixtures we had this season there was a huge demand and strain on the square. Whereas most of the other counties take some fixtures away to ‘outgrounds’, we had all our games fixed to play at New Road. Put in a 3 day game of South Africa playing Bangladesh, a one day game against New Zealand, a 4 day under 19 Test match and  a Deaf ‘Ashes’ match against Australia, it meant there were too many matches for the number of pitches!! It’s a lot of cricket!! We count cricket by days over here, not matches. During the season there were 63 of day’s cricket fixed on the ground. That meant the covers being on the whole square nearly every night. We have 15 First Class pitches. Every 4 day game is played on a new pitch. Also 4 of our pitches are wired for TV games so you have to save them for your TV games. You know most of them before the season starts but there are times when you may or may not be on TV, depending on the importance of the match. It could be a quarter/semi final, or a play-off game. That creates problems when it comes to pitch preparation. Because we have no permanent TV gantrys they are built in the stands before the game. Once they go up, they stay up! Generally the gantry is built wide enough to cover two pitches. The Club don’t want a massive gantry up as it takes up valuable seat space. Bums on seats mean revenue so we don’t want every seat covered.  One problem you have then is you are restricted to what pitches you can use, which results in ‘used’ pitches being played on. This is why you generally see ‘used’ pitches that are dusty and spin towards the end on the Twenty20 competition. There are 5 home games normally played on 2 pitches, then you may get through to the knockout stage and you have to use the same pitch. Counties can’t move pitches as they are committed to TV. This is when we get the glue out! With there being so many days cricket the covers are always on. As I mentioned before the covers had been on for the majority of the summer. There was only a one week long break when there was no cricket on and we could get to work on the square and leave it open to the elements. We reseeded old wickets during that time but the next week the covers were back on. An impossible situation to grow grass on. Towards the end of the season the square looked quite tired. It was badly in need of some water and light. Obviously not the flood that we got! All in all I must say that I loved it!! The buzz around County Cricket is one of the reasons I came hear. Couple that with the intensity of so many days cricket meant that I was always active and working towards the next game. It’s a great relief to me that I have no regrets about my move!

Its All Over In The Bat Of An Eyelid!!!

My first season of County Cricket is at an end now, and what an eventful finish to the season it was! The time went by so quickly, in fact I think every season goes quicker and quicker…….maybe its my ageing mind and body!!! It started off as wet, and constant cover-pulling, then it got hot, and then we finished with a flood - talk about getting it all!

We concluded the season in Kidderminster Cricket Club as New Road flooded just before our last round of 4 and 1 day fixtures. Kidderminster is a 25 minute drive up the road. It is a club that plays in the Birmingham League. Size wise the main field is very similar to Clontarf, wider than it is longer. The square plays very well there and it is generally a run-fest! I did pop up a couple of times before the games there, but we had no hand in the preparation of the wicket. One of our ground staff was there for the week before helping out but I had spent most of my time in New Road. Kidderminster had 3 of their own ground staff there anyway so there was no point in all of us being there. We all went up on the match days just in case in rained.

Meanwhile back at New Road we were dealing with the aftermath of the flood. It was an interesting experience but not one I’d like to repeat in a hurry. The mess after the water dropped was terrible. Mud, silt and sludge everywhere!! There were numerous pressure washers hired to start washing everything down. As I write they are just finishing off the clean-up. There was quite a bit of damage to the grass. It wasn’t the end of the world that it happened at the end of the season. The square was about to get renovated anyway. As soon as it was dry enough to get machinery on the field the contractors came in and did that work. Quite a bit of the outfield ‘died’ off. We walked it first picking up any big sticks etc of it, then it was spiked and raked and brushed to clear any debris and dead grass. We are still waiting for it to be re-seeded, it rained and with the silt on top it makes it slow drying. It was due to be done last Monday but it was wet so hopefully it will happen this week. Like everything in this job its down to the weather!!!

On the playing front we got promoted to division 1 of the County Championship and maintained our place in division 1 of the Pro40. As I mentioned before Graeme Hick retired. It was an anti-climatic end to the season all round really. Hick was to play until the end of the season but he didn’t play the last game as he was injured so he drifted off quietly, as he would have wished. He did come to Kidderminster every day of the last game and walked around signing all autographs and posing for photos. But I got the most prized treasure!! We got the stumps from his last game and he signed them, a great memento!!

Once the floods died down the diggers moved in to knock down the main pavilion to start to construction of our brand new ‘Graeme Hick’ Pavilion that should be completed for next season. It’s a shame to see the old pav get demolished but we did have to save the roof tiles and frontage as its being rebuilt in the future on the site of where the Ladies Pavilion is. That’s the first phase of redevelopment. The New Road Stand, corporate boxes, offices and old shop will all be replaced in the next year or so. A hotel is also being built in our public car park, which will overlook the ground. This is funding all the redevelopment. All the buildings are being lifted above the flood line so we will be operating 12 months of the year with functions etc and should lose no revenue because of flooding. Its just a pity we can’t put the ground on stilts!!!!

So the quiet time begins. I’m the only one in at the moment as the rest of the ground staff have taken their holidays. I have no idea what I’m going to do holiday-wise, I never really bothered before!

See the new pavilion - http://www.wccc.co.uk/mailshot/Sep08/mailshot.htm

My First Flood

Well we didn’t think it would happen this summer but just when we have 2 weeks left of the season the ground has flooded! I don’t think my words and pictures can do what happened justice. If you can imagine what I write sounds bad, and the pictures look bad its 10 times worse than that!

Its funny because I never thought that this would happen. We have had some wet spells, especially earlier in the season, and then its only rained heavily here over the last couple of days. Looking at the ground it has been wetter at other times of the season. Because of that I never thought we would get flooding. The problem is its not the rain we get, its the rain that falls in Wales that raises the River Severn. Its been very wet in Wales lately and on Thursday and Friday there were flood warnings issued. At that time there was no flood warning for Worcester but on Friday evening we got a text saying there was flood warning for the River Severn in our area but there was no major rise yet.  We had the weekend off until we got the call to come in on Saturday morning to shift our machinery out and other equipment above flood level.

So I jumped on my bike and took the route to work down by the river to see how high it was. I was stopped in my tracks suddenly as I flew around the corner only to be greeted by the burst banks of the River Severn!! So it was the long way round for me! I got to work and there was no water apart from the overnight rainfall on the pitch. Everyone was working to clear everything movable above flood level. All the kitchens and bars were being cleared out of anything that wasn’t bolted down. Obviously in our sheds we have a lot of machinery. Up until now there was a garage we used to put all the machinery in but over the summer it has been converted into the new Club shop and reception. So panic on! A lot of phone calls were made to try and get containers/trucks/trailers or anything or anywhere that we could put the machinery. Luckily our sports field contractor came to the rescue and he turned up with trucks and trailers to take our kit away to his yard.

At this stage everyone was wondering was the ground going to flood? There were a few showers but sun was out and we didn’t really know what was going to happen. Being a flood novice I couldn’t believe what was about to happen. The Flood Watch phone line said the waters would peak on the Sunday to a local level of 4 to 4.5, which meant it would cover at least 75% of the pitch. Then it lashed rain…..hard! With massive thunder and lightning! We had all our kit out but the covers were still on. There were 2 sheets 100m by 80m, 2 smaller double wicket sheets and 1 five wicket sheet as well as the mobile covers. They were covered in rainwater so they were heavy to move!! The big sheets were immovable! No number of people would have gotten them off the ground. We started to shift the other covers. Whilst this was happening the flood water had started to come on the field and was rising by the minute. It really had to be seen to be believed. We were racing against time to clear the covers before the water had gotten up to them. 

 I had always been interested to see a flood but to look at the way it came on so quickly was not enjoyable. I always thought it would happen in the winter and that the floods that happened last summer were a rarity. When we left it had gotten halfway across the pitch in a couple of hours. I went down today and the ground and smaller stands were covered. I couldn’t believe how high it has risen.

We were meant to be hosting Middlesex next Sunday in the Pro40 and then in the Championship the following week. I can’t say what will happen now, the Club do have an agreement with Kidderminster CC that we can go there in case of floods. The real question is will it be big enough as Graeme Hick retires next week and we were anticipating full houses! I’ve never been to Kidderminster CC but from what I am told its a club ground similar to Clontarf CC which could hold 2000 people. Is that big enough for Hickys last games??

So its into work tomorrow to see what the plan of attack is. I don’t know how long it will take to subside but the clean-up will be hard work. The silt and dirt brought in with the flood water with all stay behind as the levels drop. The Club have come back from this before and the weeks ahead will be hard work but I am sure the Club will come back from this again!

Check out the photos in the gallery!

More Visitors, Loads of Runs and The End of an Era.

Its been yet another busy month, but whats new in this job!! Its getting to the business end of the season and promotion back to Division 1  is within our grasp. But it hasn’t only been busy on the pitch, off the pitch has been busy too with visitors galore!!

The wickets have been playing well and the drop in the water table from earlier in the season is really making a difference. They are definitely harder with little or no marks on the pitch on the first day of a Championship match, unlike earlier in the season when the wicket would be ’scarred’ with indentations from the ball on the wicket. We’ve changed preparation slightly, the coach has wanted loads of grass on the wicket for our home 4 day games. When I say loads, I mean loads!! We are only cutting the wicket if asked to, and when thats done its to a length of 6mm. The last couple of Championship games have been played on wickets that had a very heavy cover of grass but were hard. They did a bit but there was high runs scored and more importantly home wins!!!!

 Speaking of loads of runs the team broke all the ground records in our recent Pro40 match against league leaders Gloucestershire. We needed a win to take us out of trouble in the Pro40 league and we did it in style! In front of the Sky Sports cameras we posted a mammoth 315 for 5 in our 40 overs! It was total carnage on a ’sticky’ wicket, and by that I mean a glued one!!!! In reply Gloucestershire got up to 295 in a game the crowd never thought we’d lose but were kept on the edge of their seats all the way to the end. It was a stark contrast to the beating we got the week before at home to Durham, sometimes I wonder if it is the same team that plays week in week out!!

The last few weeks also brought me some visitors. First the ‘older’ crew came over for the Durham game. It was a second trip of the summer for Smithy, but Lenny, Paddy, Surf and Stevie were all Worcester ‘virgins’!!!! Some missed the train from Birmingham down to Worcester because of the local ale (including myself!!!), but at least I made it to dinner, unlike one of my guests!!!!!!!! The following weekend brought Butzy and his better half Michelle over to see me. Its always great to see your friends…..even though it takes me a week to get over the visit!!!! Thanks for coming!

Well a big announcent was made this week that I never thought would make such a huge impact around the ground. Graeme Hick announced his retirement after 24 years of service to the Club. I always knew he was a legend of the game but to see the reaction of the fans and staff was amazing. He has been injured lately and didn’t play the last Championship game at home to Warwickshire. It was during that game he announced his retirement and there were people in tears on the day. He had an emotional press conference after which the reporters gave him a standing ovation. He is an amazingly nice man. He would never pass you without saying hello. I will never forget when I first met him, he cam over to me and introduced himself, “Hi Karl, I’m Grame Hick, Welcome to the Club”. I responded by saying that he didn’t need to introduce himself to me, I knew who he was, you’re a legend! He has become synonymous with Worcestershire County Cricket Club and will be missed greatly by all.

The Second Half!

Firstly deepest apologies for the lack of action on the blog, I’ve been so busy. Its been all work and no play unfortunately but I got enough grief from people that now I’m back online!! So here it is, the latest installment - The Second Half of the Season!

Summer had begun with the arrival of the Twenty20 league. And it was welcomed with open arms!! Not that I am complaining but it got very warm!!!! It was pushing up to 30 degrees and very humid, totally different to home. But it was such a relief to not be running on and off with covers constantly!  Twenty20 finished in disappointment for our team; too many inconsistent performances meant no progress past the group stages. It was fantastic to see the ground full and buzzing to the shortest version of the game, music pumping out from the speakers every time a wicket fell or a 4 or 6 was hit. I can see the appeal it has for the spectators - in and out in 3 and a half hours, a few beers and plenty of entertainment. With the rewards for Twenty20 being heightened since the introduction of the Champions League, IPL, ICL and Stanford Twenty20, this version of the game is here to stay. The ECB have already announced an extra Twenty20 competition for next season.  A couple of days after Twenty20 finished I went over to Malvern College for a second team game. The second team only play 1 game at New Road throughout the whole season; they play all their home games around the local clubs. Malvern College will be known to some people back in Dublin as it hosted Leinster under 19s for festival cricket in the recent past. It is a beautiful school with very well kept grounds. It was Malvern Colleges’ first time to host such a game so myself and Tim, our Head Groundsman went over on the morning to make sure everything was going ok. We had no hand in the preparation at all, there was no need as New Roads ex-Head Groundsman was now a consultant to Malvern College. We only went over to give a dig-out if needed and to be seen at the ground as it was their first such fixture. All went very well and it was good to spend a day at another ground, a welcome change of scenery! So with the end of the Twenty20 the 4 day Championship returned.

We also had a couple of ‘Tour’ games coming up with South Africa playing Bangladesh ‘A’ in a 3 day game and England Under 19s playing their New Zealand counterparts in a 4 day ‘Test’ match and England vs. Australia in a Deaf ‘Ashes’ 1 day game. The end of Twenty20 also signalled the beginning of the Pro40 league of which we are defending champions. It also meant that I would get an opportunity to see New Road under floodlights. The Club host one floodlit game a year. As New Road have no permanent floodlights, temporary floodlights have to be brought in.  As you can imagine putting lights in is an expensive business. 4 temporary lights are brought in on huge trailers and placed outside the stands in the car parks on the 4 corners of the ground. The night before the game the lights are elevated and set up so as they shine correctly onto the pitch. As defending champions we had the honour of being the first game in the league so it was televised live on Sky Sports. Unfortunately we were well beaten by a very good Notts side, who finished 2^nd in this league last season. The ECB would like every club to erect permanent floodlights, and will help them financially, but it’s very unlikely this will happen at New Road. The local council are very reluctant to grant planning permission for this as the lights would block the view of Worcester Cathedral for local residents and visitors to New Road. In fact when the new stand was being built the plans had to be adjusted so as it would not block the Cathedral. 

Northampton also came to play us, which meant the arrival of Niall O’Brien. It was good to see him, and it took away a bit of slagging away from this Irishman, especially when he came out to warm up in his ‘pink’ gloves!!!!! They suited him! Rain ruined the game which ended in a draw, but the rain enabled us to go out for a few drinks and catch up, it was a quiet night!!!

Here We Go!!!!

Its arrived!! Twenty20 season is here!! Its a game most love and gives every County club a financial lifeline. At Worcestershire we are hoping for full houses for our 5 home games. I’m looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere and to seeing what kind of impact the Twenty20 has on the club. There is a lot of talk over here about Twenty20 and how to get the most benefit out of it especially with the IPL being so successful. There is a place for it but it can’t take over from the Championship or One day leagues as they are a direct feeder to the national team. Interesting times are ahead.

All we need is a bit of decent weather, which is forecast for the next week at least, and hopefully the crowds will come through the gates.

Its a busy couple of weeks ahead. We host New Zealand this Wednesday in their first one-day warm up game then the Twenty20 starts on Thursday against Gloucestershire. With two Twenty20 games being on tv the Sky Sports crowd have moved in and are building the gantry’s for the commentary boxes and and laying the cables for the cameras. So its all action!!

As I’ve mentioned we play Gloucestershire, and we also play Northants so there’s a chance to catch up with some of the Irish players over here, William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien. It’ll be good to hear an Irish accent again!!!

Our last 4 Day Championship match was an interesting affair. It was another first for me over here. We had a visit from the pitch liaison officer (P.L.O.). Every ground gets a visit now and again. Generally they are ex-players who go around making sure all is good on the pitch front. They normally watch the first days play, have a look at the pitch and have a chat with the groundsman. Then if they have no problems they head off and report to the ECB that all is good. We played Essex and the coach wanted quite a bit of grass left on the pitch as he was backing our strong pace attack to come out on top. So it was to my surprise that when we won the toss we batted!! To me an unbelievable decision.

 As the pitch hadn’t been cut for the couple of days before there was plenty of live, green grass on the wicket. Obviously the ball seamed around considerably and we were soon in trouble and bowled out cheaply for 176 in 70 overs. We then had Essex 80 for 7 at the close of play. As a result of this the pitch gets ‘reported’ to the ECB because more than 15 wickets fell in the days play. As we had a P.L.O. here there was no need for the ECB to send someone.

What happens next is the P.L.O. assesses the pitch, has a chat with the Head Groundsman and stays for the second days play to see how the pitch plays. At the beginning of the game we took a core from the pitch to see the level of moisture was in the wicket. There was a bit of moisture on the top of the core but the rest was dry to the recommended level of 2 inches. The reason we are leaving a bit of moisture near the top is because so far this season we are suffering from the wickets cracking quite quickly. Its not anything we worry about but we certainly don’t want any major cracks in the pitch on the first day of the 4 day match. When the suns out the cracks appear reasonably quickly. One explanation for this is that the root of the grass isn’t as strong because of the top of the square being taken off after the floods last summer. With time and the correct treatment the root will work to a good depth and hopefully the cracking will get better.

 End result of the ‘reported pitch’ was there was nothing to report! The P.L.O. was very happy with the was the pitch played, especially on the second day. Once that first day ‘moisture’ had gone and the grass was cut on the second morning it settled down. The umpires didn’t have any issues at the end of the game either. But there is a lesson to be learnt. Worse case scenario for us would have been docked points for an unsuitable wicket. This is certainly not what we want. Eventhough we were under instructions from the coach it reflects badly on the groundstaff. And that is not a position we want to be in!!

A Quiet Week

Its the calm before the storm!!! Not much has been happening lately but the silly season is closing in quickly - 20/20 starts in 2 weeks!!! 

Not having cricket on the ground for 9 days is one of the good things about working a County ground. Not that it meant there was no work to be done. It gave an opportunity for some remedial work to get done. During the quiet time the ground was feed and watered. The outfield and square was fertilised and we got the chance to water the square heavily and re-seed the worn wickets.  There are very few windows of opportunity to do this so we have to take advantage when we can. The whole square is covered most of the time so artificial watering is just about the only water it gets. Of course the weather was fine when there was no cricket on the ground!!!

We had cricket back yesterday, a Friends Provident match against Gloucester, and you guessed it………it rained! Heavy rain overnight so there was no chance of a prompt start. There were puddles over a lot of the outfield and it was still raining at 11.00am then it eased. We had heard that the Glamorgan/Somerset game had been cancelled so we needed to play and win to get through to the quarter finals. That meant a lot of mopping up! And that’s what we did for hours until the game was abandoned at 3.45pm. Just after that it started to rain again so we would never have gotten a 10 over game in which was what we were aiming for.

One blessing was that the wicket wasn’t used. We play Essex in the Championship tomorrow so we can play them on this wicket, which looks good. The other wicket we were preparing had been under the sheets for 4 out of the previous 5 days so it was very damp and would have been difficult to play on.

As mentioned above 20/20 is coming up. I can’t wait to see the whole impact of 20/20 in person. Full grounds, music and entertainment is all part of the 20/20 phenomenon that has hit English cricket over the last few years. It has been so successful that most clubs rely on the income to keep the Clubs books in good order. I’m really looking to see the ground full and to taste the atmosphere of evening cricket. The Sky Sports cameras will also be in town so keep an eye out for me!! We have 2 matches on tv, on June 12th and 19th.

 The day before 20/20 starts we play New Zealand in a 50 over match so it will certainly be a busy time.

I must also congratulate the Irish cricket team on their recent good performances in the FPT. Being in Worcester the locals got great satisfaction out of Ireland beating Warwickshire. There is a big local rivalry over the neighbouring counties. So I was proud to be Irish on that day!!! I had the day off for their return fixture with Warwickshire and had planned to go up to Birmingham see them play but yet again the rain came. It was called off at 12pm and I didn’t even travel up.

So here’s hoping for 4 good days weather, and a win!! We’ve played 4 and drawn 4 in the Championship with the weather playing a major role in all the games. Plus I’m sick of mopping up water and pulling covers on and off!!!!!!

To Glue or Not To Glue…….

Good weather at last!!! Its an unbelievable turnaround here. From having rain every day to having unseasonally high temperatures! Its been in the mid 20s for the last week, thats about 6 or 7 degrees higher than the average for this time of year. How long will it last?? There have been some complaints that it been too hot but not from me! Its just great getting up in the morning and not having to worry about pulling covers on and off or clearing water off the pitch.

So I had another new experience since I have arrived here, we glued a wicket! Yes you heard me correctly, we glued a pitch!! We were playing Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy last sunday. The wicket we were preparing had a high percentage of silt on it. This silt was a result of the floods that occured before the season began. The majority of silt had been removed but for some reason this wicket had more remaining on it.

As I have said before the silt doesn’t majorily affect the way the wicket plays so we weren’t too worried initially. As the dry weather came in the wicket started drying out quite quickly so we kept moisture in it by lightly watering and using the sheets.  But as it got closer to the game the wicket started to crack a little bit more than we would like and the some of the silt started to curl up from the soil. So glueing was mentioned.

I’ve obviously heard about glueing, and did a bit of research into it whilst I was at Clontarf but never tried it as all the stories differed. At Worcester they have done it quite a bit and got good results from it. Basically by glueing the wicket it helps with the wear and tear on it and holds the cracks together. But it will not make a bad wicket good!!! The glue is not a quick-fix to getting a good wicket without putting the work in!!

After a discussion with the coach, Stephen Rhodes, on the day before the game it was agreed that the wicket would be glued. Out came the glue and it was mixed up, approx 60-40. It was put on the wicket 24 hours before the game. The glue was applied by a knapsack sprayer and 16 litres was put out on the wicket and let dry. It is regular PVA glue that was bought in a hardware store. When applied it came out white then dried to make the ground look very dark and gave the impression that the ground was damp. The raised covers were then put on until the next morning. 

I was very keen to see the results the next day. Off came the covers and I got my first look at a glued wicket!! It looked ugly!!! If you didn’t know it was glued you would think it looked like a terrible wicket to play on! The grass hard gone hard. When the sun shone there was a shine and glean from the ground. To touch it the pitch felt very hard, thats a result of the skin of glue on the top. The cracks that were there did now not move and were very firm. I was keen to see how it played. All we did that morning was roll the wicket for half an hour and put the stumps up!! There are pictures in the Photo Gallery before and after of the glued wicket.

We played a weak Hampshire team, they were missing 7 1st team players as a result of injuries, IPL commitments and England selections. They couldn’t compete with us, they batted first and scored 209 and we got it with only 1 wicket down with 22 overs to spare. The wicket played well with what looked like a little bit more extra pace in it than we have had in previous games. A great days cricket was had with over 2000 people in the ground enjoying the good weather.

We host Gloucestershire CCC tomorrow in the 4 Day Championship, the wicket looks like the best one we’ve had so far this season so fingers crossed for some more good weather and another home win!!!

Another Rain-Interrupted Game But Some Good Weather At Last!!

So we’ve yet to have a game so far this season that hasn’t been interrupted by rain!! Our Friends Provident game against Glamorgan was the latest game to be affected. The original forecast was for showers before 12am the night before the game but what we got was a thunderstorm at 4am that woke the whole town! I turned up at the ground on a dark, gloomy morning to be greeted by large puddles all over the outfield. There was no way there would be any cricket today I thought to myself!

Out we went with waterhogs, blotters and brushes to try and clear the water. It was the most water I had seen on the ground since I have arrived here. Every step had a big splash of water coming up over your feet. But being the professionals we are we battled on!!! The umpires turned up at 10am and were obviously less than optimistic. A pitch inspection at 1230 was set and we just cracked on with trying our best. There was so much water that the Blotter was full every 5 minutes so we spent more time emptying it than picking up water. We reckon it was emptied over 60 times that morning!! Thats a lot of water!!

The covers never came off as it was still drizzling and dark and didn’t look like improving at all. It was decided at the pitch inspection to have another look at 230. It was improving but slowly. Then like the parting of the Red Sea the clouds split and out came the sun!! So now we were in a situation of an original 5% chance of playing to a serious possibility of playing some type of game. There was pressure on as there were 1300 people in the ground wanting to see cricket, and they weren’t going home! Eventually the umpires decided on a reduced game of 28 overs a-side. To make this happen the rope was brought in hugely, it was a tiny boundary but no complaints as everyone wanted to see a game. Conditions underfoot were not ideal but the sun was warm and the ground was improving every minute.

End result was we won in a good game of cricket with us chasing 185 to win in 26 overs. It was a pat on the back for the groundstaff and all the hard work during the day was worth it!

All this work was on the back of me entertaining 8 of the lads from home who came over the see me that weekend. So I had to couple some late nights socialising with some early morning starts for work. Needless to say I slept well on monday night! But it was great to see the lads and we had some great craic. Thanks to Butzy, Nolely, Cairnsy, Smithy, Billy, Byrner, Lenno and R-Abbott for making my weekend!!

Now that we have no cricket until sunday the sun has finally shown its face on a regular basis! Ironic! Its been 22 degrees for the last couple of days with NO rain and not a cloud in the sky! Finally we can get down to some decent work without having to worry about when the next shower is coming. Fingers crossed the good weather keeps up!