Cambridgeshire Cricket

Notes from Cambs Grounds Association Meeting - Sunday 19th November
at Linton Village Cricket Club.

24 people representing 17 clubs were in attendance. Apologies were received from 7 Clubs.

Please find below the notes from the meeting held last Sunday.

The meeting was opened by Cambridgeshire Pitch Advisor Wayne Hardy, who welcomed all to the event and introduced Phil Jago, ECB Pitch Advisor – South as guest.

1. To kick the meeting off each Club reported their experience from their end of season renovations. The general consensus was:

• Most ground renovations had taken place between the first weekend of September and mid-October (we were aware of one club who completed theirs in August and one had left their renovations until late October).
• Most clubs had carried out a full renovation including spiking, scarifying, seeding, loaming their squares, some had followed up with Vertidraining although not many.
• All generally happy due to the warm/damp weather
• Not much activity of outfields due to football on the outfield.

Wayne congratulated all of the Clubs for their work on their grounds and recorded the information for future reference.

2. Rob Benson (Sawston and Babraham CC) and John Wright (St Ives and Warboys CC) jointly gave a presentation on the old ECB trailers, one of which resided under the ownership of each club. Key messages from the discussion were:

• The trailers had been loaned out to 15 clubs.
• Sawston and St Ives charged slightly different rates of hire (£150 & £100 respectively), so clubs could benefit from the use of the equipment. Both clubs had entered the spirit of being able to help the clubs and not as a money-making venture.
• The trailers were loaned out on a gentleman’s agreement, that the equipment came back as it was and if items broke down the hiring club would make good.
• Equipment will be maintained as well as possible, but the understanding is it will be loaned out for its shelf life and once the items were broken beyond economical repair each trailer would be withdrawn from use.
• An action was taken for Rob and John to notify Neil what was on each trailer and a process for booking/cost popped on the Cambs website.
• Clubs are aware other Counties no longer have the trailers, they were "disposed of" long ago and thanks were given to both Sawston and Babraham and St Ives and Warboys for buying and loaning out the equipment in the style they have.

3. Wayne opened a discussion regarding a buying group for the GA and that there could be an opportunity to save money across clubs for the purchasing of fertiliser, loam, seed and other items needed to maintain squares.

• Initially interest seemed low, but after discussion it was agreed that interested Clubs should contact Neil Liversedge (neil.liversedge@cambscricket.org.uk ) with the number of pitches on each square and how much of each item their club had ordered for the last season. Neil would consolidate the list and from those figures Wayne would obtain costs and notify all for agreement to purchase or not.
• We also discussed if the clubs would benefit from soil tests. None of the clubs had carried out any soil testing recently. Wayne suggested it may be a useful exercise for us to look into further as it would lead to a more accurate fertiliser requirements which again may save money but more importantly improve the condition of their square. Wayne took an action to review this suggestion and come up with a proposal for review.

4. Wayne outlined some good practice for Clubs machinery over the winter months:

• Get your kit serviced and cleaned over the winter.
• Check the cylinder on your mower and if necessary, get it sharpened (do not get over-charged £100 to £150 (depending on size) is a good value for sharpening, don't be afraid to shop around, because some quotes are stupidly high)
• Do not leave fuel in your equipment - drain it or run it dry. Fuel over winter can cause your machinery damage when you come to use it in spring (note there are fuel supplements you can add to keep it in good condition, but cost could be prohibitive).
• Look to change the oils/drain/top up.

5. Recruitment of Ground Staff:

• The group heard a couple of positive and good examples from clubs where the total list of jobs that needed to be completed had been listed and divided up between several people.
• The importance of including young people and Women players was added.
• Neil Liversedge (from Cambridgeshire Cricket) highlighted the background behind the Young Leaders in Cricket programme and David May from Royston echoed at his club, not necessarily on the ground, Young Leaders had made a significant contribution to work around the club)
• It was echoed that any volunteer was a valuable resource, and they should not be dissuaded because of lack of experience, at the initial training it may be quicker to do the job yourself, but longer term it frees up time.

6. AOB

1. Was there a typical target/ratio for clubs looking after their ground (i.e., fertiliser, loam, etc)? Wayne answered no, each ground was different and would benefit from a soil test before deciding what nutrients to add or cut back on. Wayne said he would approach a couple of companies regarding making soil tests available and provide their cost.

2. Was there any merit in applying Liquid seaweed to squares? In Wayne and Phil Jago's personal experience not at this time of year. It would help green up the square aesthetically, but it does not provide much long-term benefit unless applications are repeated / ongoing. Golf Clubs tend to use it commercially, it was in their best interests for their greens to look good, but the preparation of greens and cricket wickets and their use was different.

3. Leaves on the Outfield - could they be left? No get them raked up or get them cut up as ultimately, they will leave the outfield covered and artificially wet, which would damage the grass.

4. Worms - do soil conditioners help? Wayne and Phil both went to lengths to say old products had been banned so please do not use them, even if you have some left in a shed somewhere!!!!! Soil conditioners can work but you have to make sure they are used in the right conditions, typically where you know it will rain in the 6-12 hours after it has been applied. If it does not rain after 24 hours the reaction does not have an effect and you will have wasted your money.

7. Next meeting - March was agreed as the correct month to hold and a volunteer to host was requested.