i would like to start a thread on footwear.
In particular cricket foot wear.
It is my view that spikes are detremental to a good cricket pitch.
My reasons are that in other sports where the surface is critical ,players are encouraged to wear the correct foot wear.
Bowls, Tennis and Golf, i will not include footie or rugger because it's a no brainer, the ball is massive.
In bowls and Tennis the foot wear is sympathetic to the surface.
In Golf any damage caused to the surface is repaired, as a rule.
In frickin cricket it seems to be an offensive weapon an implement to cause damage and havoc.
Yes i know it's near the end of the season and i've had enougth, but it's getting out of control.
Make a big scrape on the outfield, thanks.
Make big holes on my cricket pitch, thanks.
Scratch little crosses to remind me where to stand.thanks
Make like lines behind the stumps, thanks.
The most unimportant part of a track are the ends, but what gives us more aggro, as in time and work......the ends.
Then what will the brainless cricketer moan about......the ends.
I don't believe it !!!!!
My poll starts here, ban them spikes.
Roll on winter.
Victor M
Ban spikes and I'll cancel 75% of matches during July and August.
As a player I'd say ban rubbers not spikes. Batsmen in rubbers just wind me up when I'm batting - they turn slower for singles cos they've got less grip and they trash whatever mark I've made as a guard simply by standing all over it. Having to remark my guard is just a waste of time and means I've a deeper hold to fix.
I can see that there can be good reason to wear rubbers when batting on a rock hard surface, but hey if every opposition started turning up in rubbers I'll be suggesting to the skipper that we leave a 'lot' of grass on the tracks so the batsmen start slipping everywhere.
Ok, rubbers might cause less damage to a pitch in theory but who really cares.
I've yet to see a player cause any damage to a pitch which I can't fix.
We create surfaces for players to play on - period.
If it happens to get damaged in the process then so be it - I'd rather the game go ahead and I have an extra couple of hours of repairs to do than the game get cancelled because people don't have the right footware for slightly damp surfaces.
I do cancel junior games sometimes when it's dubious conditions because they seem never to turn up in spikes - rain + rubbers don't mix.
On a similar topic, why players think they can play in worse conditions on artificials is completely beyond me - you still have to run around in on the outfield.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
Good point JL the best one you make is playing in all weathers on artificial tracks, whoever termed the phrase 'All weather cricket wicket' was an obvious baffoon, unless of course you have an all weather square and outfield. Try telling that to the U15's coach/manager when it's peeing down and he wants to play his cup semi-final.!!!!!
Years ago I read a good article by a rugby groundsman who was convinced juniors did far more damage to his surface than seniors. He had studied junior and senior games and counted various statistics, U18's and below showed far less ability to pass and catch the ball resulting in knock on after knock on and the subsequent surface damaging scrums. He had a physicist colleague who worked out that the PSI on a small rugby boot worn by an average sized junior was greater than that of senior player in his size 11+s and that in wet conditions holes made by junior feet, although smaller in surface area were almost three times deeper and because the little darlings lacked positional expertise all fifteen chased the ball continually throughout the game resulting in a pitch full of deep small indentations. He also studied the damage caused by coaches, parents, managers etc wearing flat soled shoes but continually running on the playing surface. In some county trials and the like it appeared that each player had an adult mentor/coach running on the field, resulting in 50+ bodies on the pitch at times. He put these and other findings to the club and it was agreed that only 1st. and 2nd. team games would be played on his main pitch, with only important junior games (finals etc). The pitch is immaculate, his work has been drastically reduced and the club now benefit from being able to hire the pitch out, to a 13 man rugby league side in the summer, and to other clubs, leagues, county etc for prestigious and financially beneficial matches.
But there again JL ' they're only kids they don't do any damage' as I'm sure you've been told a million times.
A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother
I think rugby is a little different to cricket in that respect.
Without doubt the little darlings do a lot less damage to a track than seniors do. Even in wet weather they can barely take a divot out with the ball :).
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
THEM LITTLE X'S ON YOUR SQUARE ARE OFTEN JUNIOR FIELDERS WATCH THEM
A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother
11 Aug 2009 by MAVO
I agree with you on a lot of points Chris.
As a player i much prefer to wear rubbers when playing on a dry pitch,so much more comfortable and importantly lighter.
I find when i bat in spikes you can get stuck in the crease and everywhere you run marks up,it being side of pitch or wickets next door!
Spikes in my opinion are a must in the wet or if you are a bowler who need more grip.
I don't have a problem repairing bowlers footholes,its the bloody batsmen who dig trenches who get up my nose!
I hardly ever take a guard in respect of the guys who do the work on the pitch!whether it be my pitch or away
I understand what stupid damage batsmen can do "taking guard".
11 Aug 2009 by roon
The only real issue is DELIBERATE damage.
I should think that batsmen will soon be needing a periscope in their kit bag to see out of the hole they have just dug. Bowlers seem to be aspiring mathematicians with their weird angular markings that have no relation to anything whatsoever. Unfortunately, Pythagoras is dead, so I cannot e-mail him for an explanation.
And that wicketkeeper who visited us two weeks ago must have been on drugs.
I've wondered about providing an 18 inch strip of something white, or whatever, to replace the little disc we put out for bowlers, but batsmen?
We've had this subject crop up recently on other threads, but I just cannot get my head around the batters' thinking. The bowlers I can sort of understand, sort of, up to a point, almost.
I'm sorry folks, but I think that batsmen should not be allowed to deface the surface. Stand in front of the stumps and take your chances.
I was never at the crease long enough to worry about what footwear i wore, let alone marking a Guard, my biggest total was 8 Not out 
( though i did once take 3 wickets in 1 over)
12 Aug 2009 by pacman75cricket
Agree with mavo nice light rubbers to bat in(unless wet) & spikes a must for bowlers but some don't cant understand & then wander why they slip in slightest moisture.
Cant understand batsmen that dig a great hole when wet as you can see your mark easier when no dust about, think they must have got it mixed up when skipper says they need to dig in.
I have different length studs for different weather. My batting studs are so short they're practically no existent, but regardless of surface dryness I find they give me more grip when running / turning than rubbers do.
I've never dug a great big hole but I do always mark my guard - with the sutd under the ball of my right foot.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
Used a new wicket on saturday had one deep batting scrape 2 feet long with 18" of it in front of the crease thankfully only at one end, the muppet must have worn himself out scraping and couldnt pick the bat up.
Come on Neil, everyone gets lucky and has his day. You must have edged a few through the vacant slip region surely?
Vic, i will never be a Batsman as long as i have a hole in my A**e, so i have upmost admiration for people who can even look like they are playing a shot, rather than like me fly swatting with a bat.
I havent played for a few years and even when i did it was only for fun ( at my last place of work)
12 Aug 2009 by Aintgottaclue!!
Neil, staff matches.............fun, when I've played for two different schools its been the cricket with the most aggro and I've played some high level cricket in my time.
And surely instead of moaning about repairing hole and banning cricket boots..............ARE WE ALL NOT HAPPILY EMPLOYED AND NOT ON THE DOLE QUEUE.
I may cut grass, but i'm not green !!
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