Full Day at Ground

I made some good progress today cutting the outfield, square and some further prep on Saturdays pitch.

After cutting the outfield.

[I still have that black dot on the photos even though I had cleaned the lens, I have taken the lens off the camera tonight and given it a good clean inside and out I hope that solves the problem.]

I Cut and brushed about four times before splashing the pitch with water then rolled for about 3/4 of an hour. [The idea of splashing with water is just to give the surface that smooth almost shiny finish]

I also cut out rolled and marked the practise pitch for training.

When I had finished I got the sheet out and covered as the forecast is for showers.

Going home late as I stopped on at the club for an exec meeting which started at 6-00 pm and ended at about 9-30 as we started early I just managed to stay awake.

I hope to have another good day at ground tomorrow [Wednesday]- please don't rain.

Hodgy

Bits and Pieces

I took these photos last Tuesday I am not sure what this crow was doing but he was in the squat position for some time,so I took his photo Looks like I had some dirt on the lens -never make a photographer.

This was the ground last Friday the seconds were at home on the Saturday but no one is interested in helping me sheet so the whole square was just wet through. Friday night it rained some more so when I got down -without my camera- on Saturday morning there was still too much water for me to mop up so the game was cancelled.

The first team were at Thackley and played, it was remarkably dry, we got a loosing draw chasing 225 we got just over 200 for 9 at the close.

This morning Monday I was at Cleckheaton C C delivering a roll of germination sheet here is John one of the two groundsmen fixing the scarifier the pitch he has done will not be needed again this season so he had spiked and scarified he was going to seed and top dress when I had gone.



Looking across the square

John was changing the scarifier reel for the brush.

After Cleackheaton I went home had some lunch did some banking and went down to my ground at about 3-00pm.

The outfield had not been mown since last Tuesday due the wet weather I was loosing my stripes and a load of leaves had blown off the trees.

So I got out my power brush to collect some of the leaves and rubbish from the outfield.

Then in order to get my stripes back and distribute the worm casts I brushed the whole of it with the heavy duty brush.

 Tractor with the heavy duty brush from Brushes North West fitted.

By the time I had finished the juniors were arriving for training. Time to get off home for tea- which for the next two weeks I will have to make for myself due to Anne watching Wimbledon what a pain.

Tomorrow I want to get a little further with the prep of Saturdays pitch and cut the outfield, now I have dropped the casts and got the stripes back

Cricket meeting Tuesday night first full one since April, a lot to talk about could be a long session starting at 6-00 pm

Hodgy

Badly Let Down By Poor Umpiring Decisions

After not being able to get on the ground all day Friday. I got down there at 6-30am light rain was falling so I took a few photos straight away.

 I got some old foam out and started to mop up the ends.

Every where was under water even areas of the outfield.

I got the two "Magic Sponges" out and the blower, which I placed so the nozzle was blowing air under the sheets. I mopped the standing water off the square and got my groundsman spiking machine out and spiked over the top of all the drains in an effort to link the surface with the drains. It was still raining some times more heavily than others, then it stopped so I tried to get the sheets off. I had double sheeted and got the big green one pulled back over the single pitch size white one when it started to rain again, so back on they went. I repeated this on two occasion only for it to rain again. Without going into more boring detail I mopped the square with the Magic Sponge three times and had a coffee waiting for the players to arrive.

Players and umpires arrive and its still poring down. I continue to mop up and do what I can. We take the big green sheet off and wait for a break in the rain, when it came the white sheet was removed only to reveal that the water had run under at the bottom end leaving an area seven foot from the stumps wet through. Rain then started again so back on with the sheet. I had long discussions with the umpires telling them that it would take me an hour after it stopping raining to get a get prepared if I could at all. 

It just about stopped and the pitch was uncovered I scrapped off some mud from the surface and dug out and filled block holes and foot holes just to get some dry soil in there. The whole area was like a bar of soap that had been left in water for a day, just not fit.

Early tea was declared as 4-00 pm was the latest starting time to constitute a game of twenty overs a side.

I was told by the lead umpire at around 3-20 that they would start at 4-00 if I was in agreement.

I did my best cutting the pitch and trying to roll with the hand roller but it was full of water and it was running out of the split in the middle so I had to quickly take it off. I was getting no where a getting concerned so informed the umpire that it wasn't fit and I couldn't get it fit. They eventually came out had a walk around and said "They had seen worse" and asked me to mark the pitch when I said it wasn't fit I was instructed to mark it. So despite being told that play would start as long as I was happy it was fit, I was then told by the lead umpire that they were going back on their word and that play would start.

The whole thing was just a joke, our league is called the Airedale and Wharfedale Senior Cricket League.

I looked up the word "senior"

Senior- Relating to or denoting competitors of above a certain age or of the highest status in a particular sport

I would like to ask our umpires to uphold the standards of a Senior League.

I was so very wound up and upset by the situation that I clean forgot to take any further photos, the above were taken Monday tea time two days after the event.

I don't know what groundsman have to do to gain respect.

Rant over.

Hodgy

More Poor Weather

Not much to new to post, on Monday/Tuesday I cut and raked out a pitch I intended to use for the first team on Saturday and got some rolling into it. Tuesday was also a practise day for the Leeds Met boys

-who played in the BUCS semi final at Kirkstall against Leeds Uni on Wednesday and managed to win the last pair putting on over 50 runs to win in the last over-

Tuesday night was also practise for our seniors they used the pitch the Met boys had, it was wet but did a job. I sheeted up Tuesday night and a good job I did because we had a fair amount of rain over night but the pitch was dry Wednesday morning. 

I am short of photos as I am getting very forgetful and keep forgetting to pick up my camera when I leave home.

 Rain clouds gathering over Pool

 Thursday saw me at Pool Cricket Club again, cutting and raking out a pitch for the 1st team a week on Saturday.

  The rain blew over and the sun made a brief appearance before I left.

The weather forecast is poor for Friday and right through the weekend, so I have today sheeted up in the hope that if it does stop raining we can get a game on.

I have just seen the Met Office have issued a wet weather warning for our region on Friday and Saturday.

Lets hope the sheets do the job and keep the pitch dry.

Hodgy