Message Board: Cricket: [CLOSED] Less is more ?

5th Jul 2009 by Charles Johnson

Unbelievable week, left me wondering about the need for all this hard work !

Spent the majority of the week out of action:

- despite assurance of "no tents", enormous marquee pitched directly in front of the sheds Weds-Fri. (Yes, I let rip.) Picked up three spikes left poking out of the ground already.

- all 3 scheduled colts matches were cancelled late, but an unscheduled one turned up and played happily on an unprepared track

- a repeating mystery HAI bug kept me in bed except to water the ends and an hour on Saturday morning to clean and shave an old track, couldn't bend to mark it so I left the paint pot out for the guys

Would you believe it, just read the buggers chased 200 and got them for one !!! Proves you don't need to roll loads of hours if the pre-season and basic prep is right, but no water or rolling after a week of 32C !!!

No doubt the in-tray will be full of complaints about the state of the square and outfield, but it does make me wonder.

5th Jul 2009 by bath

Minimum rolling, maximum drying. The cranfield report says it all.

6th Jul 2009 by Anthony Asquith

Ah so you have found this out just by chance eh?

I have always had the philosiphy that you can also over prepare wickets - give nature a chance!!

....Don't over roll, hit the soil In the right conditions, dry the soil slowly and controlled, leave some 'live' green grass In during preperation etc etc.

Sometimes Instead of rolling give the wicket a brush and a cut to aid drying...I see more of over rolled surfaces then under rolled! A lot of research etc Is subjective...The job Is all about touch, Feel, sight, sound, Instinct and experience but we are always learning no matter how old or how much experience we have got.

Cheers

Ant

6th Jul 2009 by EDS

I've too have found that less is more - yes we've had the weather so far... but I've found that with the use of covers, carrying out watering and rolling at the right time - much less time has been spent on the roller [thankfully] with even better results than before...

Still Learning

6th Jul 2009 by widdywoo

I've come to the same conclusion this season - agree with all the above. Been rolling half as much and the pitches have played way better than in previous years.

"I'm cheap, and nought but fashion; fling me away."

6th Jul 2009 by wicketdevil

I agree only problem is controlling the moisture content dries very quickly here and only one set of covers even if we have four pitches in prep. Reduce rolling time and the wickets are better for it.wd

Can you just is the longest sentence in the world !!!!!!!

6th Jul 2009 by Chris Thornton

Hi,
I prepared a pitch in the usual way for the 1 St's for Saturday week and they scored 212 for 5 in their 50 overs. Rain stopped the game when the visitors had replied with 85 for 4 off 21 overs. So, not bad from my point of view.
The pitch could not have been drier so it got not a lot of attention in that hot week prior to this Sat.
1 St's at home again and I asked the skipper at 1100 Sat morning what he wanted as I thought a quick polish with the roller would suffice.
"I think it should be cut and rolled" was the reply so we did that. We were rolled over for 102 including a couple of dodgy LBWs as ever and a daft run out with one batsman getting half the total.
I am not saying that we would have scored more had the pitch been just quickly polished with not further cut but it does prove the unpredictability of both, natural surfaces and human beings.
I have definitely cut down on the rolling though!
Chris

"He not busy being born is busy dying"

6th Jul 2009 by barry glynn

I am lucky I think in that, although intially when I took our square on, I was "offered" advice by a few, now after the wickets have, so far, been good with more bounce than most have seen, I am left alone. I suppose the weather has been helpfull but I am beginning to get a handle on how to get a wicket ok on my square anyway. I suppose looking after one square is easyish but every square is different to a degree isnt it?

On my square, rightly or wrongly, if I get the ends just cracking a bit in front of the popping crease, the wicket is just about as hard as I can get it. Might be a bit simplistic but it seems to work thus far.
Mind you, if it slashes down all week, that theory will go out of the window.
After all, we need some sun or we are all boogered arent we?

6th Jul 2009 by Chris Thornton

Got Lancs Vs Scotland Ladies U 17s on it tomorrow , Tues, so will report back how it played on Wed. Might be interesting providing the expected showers don't ruin everything!
Chris.

"He not busy being born is busy dying"

6th Jul 2009 by Mal

I was given some friendly advice this weekend by a cricketer who has been playing cricket apparantly as long as I have been preparing wickets.
"After each game you should be watering the pitch and resting it for later in the season and prepare a new pitch for the next game"
"So" says I "are you suggesting that they should have a new wicket for each days play for a three day international"
"Three day internationals are completely different"
My reply was polite but I just had to walk away. I have talked to some of the cricket team and on each occasion seperately they each ask for a different characteristic to be brought to the fore in preperation of the wicket, be it should be fast and consistant for batting or i should leave something in it for the bowlers, It needs to turn etc. I just tell them the wicket they get is the one presented to them and it is up to them to explore the characteristics of the wicket and to use their cricketing skills to exploit what they find. Like every one it seems, hard and fast wickets do not seem to be a problem this year.

Geography is everywhere

6th Jul 2009 by Chris Thornton Last edited 6th Jul 2009

I could add to that but I'll wait to see what 'appens on Tues. I cannot see the sense it starting a new track (PITCH) ready for next week when the one just used only needs the foot holes repairing to make it more than fit for next week.
Chris

"He not busy being born is busy dying"

7th Jul 2009 by Vic Demain

Didn't realise our lot were at your place last weekend Mal. We won the toss on Sat, put the oppo in and they proceeded to score 302-1. Players know lots about pitches!

"I don't believe it".

7th Jul 2009 by Mal

Hi Vic

sure your not getting us mixed up with Harrow? we tend to play teams down the valley.

Geography is everywhere

7th Jul 2009 by Vic Demain

Sorry Mal, just thought it sounded like the sort of comment one of ours might make.
My limited sense of humour!!

"I don't believe it".

7th Jul 2009 by Mal

No probs. Just shows you how universal the comments tend to be................

Geography is everywhere

9th Jul 2009 by Vic Demain

AND SOMETIMES MORE IS NEEDED.

We had a fairly prestigious game today (Thursday). Not first-class but still important. At 9am Tuesday the pitch looked a belter - we had worked on it for 12 days - by midday it was flooded following a thunderstorm and the inevitable water under the covers. There was no way this pitch could be used. Wednesday first thing we identified the driest pitch on the square - the one used last weekend - and between showers we rolled the hell out of it. This morning saw an early start, brush up and cut the pitch, roll for 30 minutes, mark out, set the two fielding circles and then roll again. At the start it was damp. First team were all out in the last over for 254. On sweeping up it was evident that nothing went through the top. The track was now hard, obviously crusted. Second team chased them down for 2 in 41 overs.
Yes it was slow and lacking bounce but 510-12 in 90 overs makes the effort worthwhile.
Guess it's all a matter of weather and circumstances. Think we went completely against the rolling report but sometimes you must follow your gut feeling. More or less?

"I don't believe it".

9th Jul 2009 by Mal

I guess what you sugesting Vic is that you should sometimes roll with the times?