Message Board: Cricket: [CLOSED] 'Polishing' a track

7th Jul 2009 by Mike A

Hi guys,

I am half way throught preparing my first ever wicket from start to finish... yes, over 6 years as a groundsman and I have finally been given the opportunity on centre stage so to speak.

Anyway, the track is looking good so far, and it is to be used on saturday. I'm confident that it will play well, but I also want the pitch to be well presented. I have read about people giving the track a light water before the final roll to enhance the visual aspect of the pitch.

Being eager to impress, i'd like to have a go at giving the track a final 'polish', but i'm unsure of how much water to apply. I don't want to overdo it to the extent that it has a negative effect on the performance, but I would like to see a result if possible.

Could anyone give me some guidance on how much water to apply, how long to leave before rolling etc?

Thanks

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

7th Jul 2009 by Vic Demain

Hi Mike,

In 14 seasons of looking after cricket pitches this is something I have never attempted, so all power to you. All I can say is that we have a game on Thursday, by 9am today the pitch was looking as good as any I've produced only for a thunderstorm at midday to roll under the covers and muck everything up. So I may also have to learn quick but I wouldn't suggest putting that much water down!!!

"I don't believe it".

7th Jul 2009 by Anthony Asquith

Putting on any water so close to a match Is a judgement call that only the ground authority (You) can make - ofcourse It depends on what you want to acheive. I have done some things using water and other stuff which can polish or shine the wicket up but It would be unwise of me to talk about such stuff on here as It Is such a general question.

cheers

AA

7th Jul 2009 by Andy Matthews

mike given the present weather don't do it, if you have prepped the track properly it will be ok, you're talking asthetics only here, I put a small ammount of water by hand on a track that was used last Saturday on Thursday morning last week, mainly because it was drying so fast in the heat and starting to crack a little too much, this was done bearing in mind that I had ro ro's and sheets available and the forcast was for hot sunny weather, with the odd shower, as it happens it pissed it down Friday but because of the ro ro's and sheets the wicket dried perfectly and no one even knew it had had a bit of water, this is only about the second time in 20 years I have done this, so without good weather I wouldn't bother.

7th Jul 2009 by Mike A Last edited 7th Jul 2009

Ok chaps, thanks for the pointers.

As it is the first wicket that I have produced, the first time we have ever watered during prep, and only the second time that we have used covers, I am kinda feeling my way through from day to day. So far, the track looks very good, and as it's my 'first' so to speak, I really want it be be as good as it possibly can be in every way possible. By nature, I like to experiment, and in a way, the prep so far has been experimental from our point of view, albeit backed up with many years of reading posts and garnering knowledge from this message board.

Given the above advice, I think i'll hold off on watering for aesthetic purposes until I am confident that I can produce good tracks on a consistent basis, then I might try to experiment in this area.

Thanks guys.

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

8th Jul 2009 by jontaylor

Mike,
Have you, or do you plan to, shave this track down to bare soil? If not, I'm not sure that polishing after wetting would do much good anyway.
I tend to cut tracks to about 3mm. I will roll a track on the morning of the match (after any final cut) in order to "polish" up and further bleach the grass. This can have a tremendous cosmetic effect, turning a light tan looking track to almost white in a couple of passes. The weight of roller will depend on conditions - last Sunday I just used the back roller of the wicket mower (manually pushed) because the track was very dry and the heavy roller would have reduced bounce. A very light roll will have less cosmetic effect than a heavier roller.

The ciderman rolls

8th Jul 2009 by Mike A

Hi Jon,

I'm at 8mm at the moment, and my plan was to drop the hoc down to 5mm tomorrow. Match is on Sat am, so I was planning to cut and roll early on Sat am, perhaps reducing the hoc to 4mm.

Our tracks have always been cut at 5mm, and the hoc is taken from the square height (14mm) down to 5mm on the first day of prep. I have never been too impressed with the presentation of our tracks, and they are known locally as a 'batsman's palace', so i'm trying to make the track not only more bowler friendly, but also more aesthetically pleasing. Looking at it today, i'm actually very happy with the way it is, so i'm going to stick with my original plan and see how it turns out.

Cheers

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

8th Jul 2009 by Philmort

Interesting that you pushed your mower Jon, when I'm sure it has a perfectly good engine! Using it as a light roller is fine, just tilting it to put weight on back roller but I assume you wish to reduce your Carbon Footprint?

Mike, what level of League are you in?
Most prefer 'Batsman's Paradise' tracks and reducing hoc to 4mm is unlikely to make it more bowler friendly unless it's really dry and dusty and you have a legger! Aesthetics depend on the beholder. Most batsmen like a white track, needing reduced hoc earlier in the week. Non-batsmen would probably love a light emerald hue.

Proud to serve grassroots cricket

8th Jul 2009 by Mike A

Hi Phil - about as low a level as there is!!

In all seriousness, i'm going on feedback from our cricket coach who is a batsman by trade (he loves our square's), and from a few of our teachers who are fairly knowledgeable. They all tell me the our wickets are very favourable to the batsmen, and that bowlers really struggle.

I haven't yet figured out why it is that bowlers 'struggle' so i'm keen to get as much feedback as possible, and try a few different methods of wicket prep to see what differences are made, if any.

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

8th Jul 2009 by Vic Demain

Mike,

I would go with Philmort and leave some grass on. My second square isn't cut below 6mm, looks green - as commented on by the originalaintgotaclue - but still bats very well. Grass is the tool you can use to help bowlers and which is more important, how it looks or how it plays?
I have not had 1 white pitch this season on either square.

"I don't believe it".

8th Jul 2009 by paul kelsey

Hi Mike
I feel I cant win for me its white but 1st team capt always wants me to leave some on he says it adds pace and also suits our seam bowlers him being one of them, he also says he will back our batting to outscore oppo on a greenish one, who am i to argue till it backfires.
Paul

8th Jul 2009 by Mike A

6mm it is then - thanks guys

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

9th Jul 2009 by jontaylor

Phil,
I pushed the mower because I can't disengage blades when driving and people tell us on this site that running the cylinder with no grass causes damage. I've never believed it myself, but chose not to take the risk.
By pushing I also got slightly more weight onto the roller.

The ciderman rolls

9th Jul 2009 by Philmort

Fair enough!

Proud to serve grassroots cricket

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