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Cricket April 2016 Previous Entries:

Other Diaries:

April Cricket Diary 2016 Key Tasks: Expected weather for this month:

Cool and below average temperatures at start, warming up towards the end

Check Weather “Patience is a virtue” as the saying goes, but my word this year has tried the patience of a saint when it comes to Mother Nature. Just when you think it’s all over, another storm rolls in and we are back to square one again. But for those who manage to dodge the weather and got some PSR in, well done.

Squares that are lying wet though are best left alone until they dry out enough to get on without smearing the soil. You will do more damage trying to work on the square in these conditions. Rolling whilst the soil is saturated will not achieve any consolidation. It is best to be patient and wait for more favorable ground conditions.

With spring on its way and summer just around the corner, soil temperatures will soon begin to rise, thus stimulating some much needed growth. This is the busiest period for groundsmen. With pitch preparation and outfields to maintain, time management is vitally important.

Many of you will be under pressure to get your facilities up to speed now, with probably less than a fortnight before your first game; you will soon catch up as the weather improves.

Planning your workload to meet your objectives will help in this task.

Diary compiled by Robert Stretton
Massey Ferguson Sports Club

Key Tasks for April

1 General Maintenance Planning your workload to meet your objectives will help in this task. Squares require a lot of time management, scarifying, mowing, rolling and marking out; not to mention your outfield; which will require aeration, raking or harrowing to raise the sward after a winter of heavy rain and of course mowing.

Ensure you machinery & equipment is serviced, good condition and ready for use.

Wicket Preparations

Pitch preparation should start 10-12 days prior to the match. Following the guild lines below will help you achieve a good standard of pitch. Most groundsmen will have there own interpretation of these activities. Marking out the crease should be done with care, using frames or string to help achieve clear, straight lines.

2 Agronomy Soil tests should be taken, ideally once or a year, or as required. April is an ideal time to obtain a soil analysis of the green, measuring for soil pH, nutrient levels and organic matter content, which are seen as good indicators of the condition of the soil. Once you have this information, you will be in a better position to plan your season's feeding and maintenance programmes.

Most groundstaff will be applying a spring/summer NPK fertiliser, perhaps something like a 9:7:7 which will effectively get the grass moving during April. Then, towards the end of the month, or early May, apply a slow release fertiliser to see you through to June/July. However, the choice of feed and how well it works can be dependant on many factors - soil type, weather, with moisture and air temperature being the catalysts for growth.

3 Weeds, Pests & Disease Always keep an eye open for turf disease. Prevention is always better than a cure. The combination of moist soils and surface moisture on the leaf blade can make the plant susceptible to disease attack. Many turf grass diseases, such as Fusarium and Red Thread can be active at this time of the year.

Symptoms of Fusarium (Microdochium nival), the most common and damaging disease, are orange/brown patches 2.5-5cm across increasing in size under suitable conditions as the disease progresses. Active patches have a distinctive 'ginger' appearance when viewed early in the morning.

Red Thread is ill-defined bleached grass with Pink mycelium visible in early morning dew. Close inspection will reveal red needle like structures which are attached to the leaf blades. The needles become brittle upon death and are easily detached allowing fragments to spread the disease.

Systemic curatives and protective fungicides such as Chlorothalonil and Iprodione, applied in liquid form with water as a carrier, can be used to control any outbreaks. Fungicides are selected with different modes of action so that resulting mixture will attack the target disease on two or more fronts. This makes it more difficult for the pathogens to develop resistance to treatments.

Worms can be very active at this time of the year so treatments can be carried out, if needed; the use of Carbendazim is the only active ingredient for controlling worms. All personnel should be suitably qualified in the application of chemicals.

Moles can be attracted to areas where worms are prevalent; these need to be treated as they can cause a lot of damage to outfields and other surrounds.

Towards the end of April you may want to consider applying a selective weed killer to your outfield to control any broad leaf weeds.

4 Machinery and Materials

Maintaining a cricket square requires regular mowing, so it is important to keep your blades sharp at all times. Back lapping them will help prolong their lives, but they should be sent for re-grinding with your bottom blade replaced at the same time, especially a shaver blade.

Check your ground for foreign objects, such as studs or stones which can cause considerable damage to machinery and have a cosmetic effect on the presentation.

5 Training Pitchcare is the only provider of LANTRA accredited training courses in the maintenance of Cricket Pitches. It is a one day course designed to provide a basic knowledge of Cricket Pitch (square and ourfield) maintenance. The course enables the Groundsman to grasp the basic needs of a cricket square and outfield.

Our spring courses are now available. Up to date information can be found on our Groundsman Training website.

Our next planned course is:

Monday 11 April 2016, Thames Ditton CC, Surrey - 1 day course


The Course Manual is available for purchase separately.

In addition, we are able to arrange courses to be delivered on site to groups of 6 – 10 people. Email Chris Johnson for information.

6 Other Key Tasks

Other work to consider:-

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