Ground Tips - May

The rolling regime should continue from April. Use the heavy roller as much as possible, rolling in all directions when the surface is dry. If bad weather means that the first game is played before all the heavy rolling has been completed, then continue rolling during normal during pitch preparation, but now only in the line of play.

If the weed and feed programme suggested for April, could also not be carried out, then complete it in early May.

Once cricket has started, the pitches must be repaired as soon as possible after the game. Firstly brush the bowlers foot holes until the holes are clean, brush the remainder of the pitch and cut the entire pitch to remove all debris. Then moisten the foot holes, remove any surplus water with a brush or by hand. Place enough loam to fill the holes together with a handful of seed into a bucket and thoroughly mix the two together. Add a little water, just enough moisture to produce a ball when the mixture is grasped tightly in the hand. Fill the foot holes with the mixture and firm down really hard with a mallet or stomper until the surface is level. You could then sprinkle some grass clippings over the area, this not only helps the binding process but also gives a better finish to the repair. A useful tip to assist the germination of the seed when repairing a pitch, is to put the moist mixture of loam and seed in a black bag and tie the opening to make it air tight. This will start the germination process in the bag and when the mixture is used to repair the pitch ends, the new grass should start to appear in about seven days.

If the repaired pitch is firm and not badly damaged, roll several times with the heavy roller, then the pitch could be used again for the next game.