Message Board - Cricket: when to start pre season rolling
19 Feb 2010 by BAS
Guys based on past history l ve usually start my pre season rolling around mid the late feb ,if condition underfoot are moist,but not moist enough to bring up water.
My question is do l wait a bit longer for the sward to start growing to help prevent stressing the plant . l m waiting for some growth from the plant and the roots to aid drying out the ground evenly as l roll,rather than just over rolling with no growth.what do you guys do around the country......
19 Feb 2010 by barry glynn
It has been much colder than last winter and Feb was bad enough then.
Reckon we ve had abbout 3 dry days in the last 6 weeks.Or if it wasnt wet it was frozen.
Personally, even though Ive got 2 lots of winter fert plus an early dose of growmore after renovations, the growth is not as good as last year. Also the ground is still so cold. I cant see me cross rolling till mid March when hopefully it will be warmer so therefore a bit more growth and drier.
I suppose to some degree it depends when your first game is, mine is 17th April so still got time yet.
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
19 Feb 2010 by Minormorris64
If I was deluded 
enough to get our roller on the square at the moment it would probably sink !!.
The last 4 years I have started psr on April 1st/ 4th/ 3rd/ 1st.
This year we have home friendlies on April 10th/ 17th/ 24th, with the League starting on May 1st (1 week later than usual) then 22 weeks of League cricket.
So it would be nice to think I could start psr sometime in March but with the clocks not going back until March 27th the hours available for rolling will be restricted, with family responsibilities ruling out the next 4 sundays then nets on March 21st/28th.
But you never know after having had a 'proper' winter perhaps things will start to dry up a bit sooner 
What goes around, comes around
19 Feb 2010 by barry glynn
Yeah, proper winter and a proper summer eh? Wouldnt be so bad if that was the case.
Probably Middle March is just wishfull thinking on my part.
Another Spring like last year would be nice, finger crossed eh?
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
19 Feb 2010 by mario
A similar question has been asked in the 'Ground Temperature' thread and my answer is - when moisture levels are conducive. Judge this by taking a soil profile sample.
I wouldn't get any pre-season rolling done up here if I were to wait for growth!!
I know no boundaries.
19 Feb 2010 by BAS
thanks for your replies but the question kind of un answered exect from mario.just wandering do you you guys/girls down in the southern half of britain wait will some growth or just get on when conducive(mario)..the soil is dried out by the roots as much as the sun,so thats my reason for asking.
19 Feb 2010 by jlawrence
I will start preseason rolling when conditions are right. I'll not be waiting until the growth starts, but equally I'm not starting when it's this cold.
I was once told that if it was warm enough not to need hat, scarf and gloves then it was warm enough to start rolling.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
19 Feb 2010 by BAS
l ve always been the same and gone with conditions being conducive,but remember seeing guys saying that they where waiting on growth first as that dries the ground as you go,by the roots..l start next week,if conditions allow and hopefully the grass will move a little and then l ll get the bets of both.
19 Feb 2010 by jontaylor
The ground only dries when water removal (percolation, evaporation, plant activity) is greater than water input.
Those conditions may already exist in some parts, but certainly not here in Lincs. It's cold, there's little wind and the grass ain't growin' much (but the sun is out right now).
I might cut my square this w/e - if the sun stays out - and some may count that as the start of rolling but the Poweroll won't come out of the shed for several weeks.
There's no point in rolling when the ground is soaking wet - whatever else you take from the Cranfield work, please take that message.
The ciderman rolls
19 Feb 2010 by mario
You guys don't know when you're well off!! I'm under 4" of snow again!! LOL.
Just about every year I don't get rolling the square until the clocks change. Don't ask me why, it just seems to be after that when the ground is firm enough.
So, I'm forever rushing things for the start of the season.
I know no boundaries.
19 Feb 2010 by paul kelsey
Mario
Your experienced whats the worst senario if it cant be done pre season, didnt give mine a lot of PSR last year due to work but it played as well as other years.
19 Feb 2010 by wicketdevil
Basically i beleive there is no black and white answer to this . You need to know your ground and also look at the current ground conditions obviously no frost on the ground and the roller must not sink or bring up large amounts of moisture.
Can you just is the longest sentence in the world !!!!!!!
19 Feb 2010 by mario
...........you forgot about....."it not interfering with the drinking of beer etc.".
I know no boundaries.
19 Feb 2010 by Grassman2011
Moisture content and drying are the key. You cannot compress water. Your roller will only do any good once the soil is drying. The roller can then compress the space left by the deserting water.
If that means you cannot roll untill the week before your first match, so be it.
There are one or two posts that suggest they have not done much psr in some springs yet there wickets played ok.
Dont panic, sit back and relax, have another beer or two. Think of Mario !!
19 Feb 2010 by mario
Yes............have a - "Mario moment"!!
I know no boundaries.
20 Feb 2010 by panch
Rolling and cutting both stimulate growth so when conditions are favourable (a fair bit warmer than this morning) you will find that your rolling will help get the grass get going again.
20 Feb 2010 by Loammeister
bath's word was the most important- drying. Not wet or dry, but drying- then your personal skill and knowledge comes into play from then onwards.
The light at the end of the tunnel is not a train
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