I have never thrown the ball onto the pitch before a game, as I witness many do. Wondered if anyone uses this method and what exactly it tell you about the playing characteristics of the pitch?
Vic.
27 Jul 2010 by Mal
Hi Vic, I can't say that I have ever done so either and just assumed for a long time that it was some mad scientist/boffin in the team searching for any localised anomally in the gravitational pull of the earth that they may be able to exploit later on in the game? At least I expect that it confirms that gravity does indeed exist and that Newton wasn't talking all rubbish. I have in the past asked some of our better bowlers to bowl a normal ball on a wicket which I believe gave me a much better idea of what a wicket may or may not be doing. Like you I'd be interested.
Geography is everywhere
27 Jul 2010 by RAM 1
Vic, it tells you absolutely nothing. The proper test involves 'dropping' a ball from a specific height and measuring the bounce. All the other proves is that those doing it know nothing. How many balls, in a match get pummelled into the ground from three feet vertically.
Far be it form me to disagree with my more learned colleagues but I find bouncing a ball a help. It helps me get an idea of the state of the pitch I am preparing as a rule of thumb.
As for dropping the ball, that requires more stuff to take out into the middle and do people always use the same ball? Cos if you dont, its meaningless anyway.
I do when bouncing it. Keep it in the roller.Replace it halfway through the season and compare the bounce of my replacement with the outgoing one.
It may not be scientific but it seems to work as a guideline ok.
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
Guy,
Try the "stump ring" test.
Hold a (uncracked) stump by the pointy end and tap it on the track under preparation at an angle of about 45 degrees. The firmer and truer the track, the clearer the ring (if you don't believe me, try it on your outfield and then your road). You can work up and down the track doing one test every two or three seconds. Never fails for me.
And you'll have a stump on the roller for preparing the holes, won't you?
The ciderman rolls
As a First Class groundsman and an ECB pitch adviser, I often bounce a ball as an indicator of a wicket at my own ground. No, it's not scientific, and no, you can't throw it the same each time but bloody hell guys - if from a gentle lob downwards the ball comes up shoulder height on one pitch and comes up knee height on another it doesn't take a genius to work out how each respective pitch will perform in terms of pace and bounce does it?
It is an excellent test of a pitches resilience and evenness of bounce. Furthermore, if you can't manage to bounce a ball roughly the same each time then you probably shouldn't be opperating dangerous machinery like mowers etc.
27 Jul 2010 by RAM 1
Mackay, I stand corrected, never too old to learn.
All very interesting. We had a game last week where the coaches were hammering a ball into the pitch and it bounced back about 2 inches. Being naive, I thought this was an indication of low bounce, yet when the game started the keeper was taking the ball with fingers pointing up often and the umpires marked the pitch as medium bounce throughout. This all suggested to me that throwing the ball into the pitch gave little indication of bounce.
Andy, thanks for the explanation, you may well know the coaches concerned 
Anyone heard of a clegg hammer, it measures ground hardness.
worth about 6000 aussie dollars. Very good indicator.
28 Jul 2010 by Mal Last edited 28 Jul 2010
Enlightenment in the form now of explanation and not just demonstration. Like old bloke I also stand corrected but even so I would guess that it will only give you a rough idea and you will never really know until into a game and a couple of overs. You hear it so often and I have experianced it to, how a good looking wicket can unexpectadly play badly and a poor looking wicket can play well?
Added: Mitch I think most clubs wouldn't be able to stretch to that expense.
Geography is everywhere
The coaches are very naughty if they have been bouncing a ball on the pitch - it's not allowed prior to a game in First Class cricket (so of course I would never do it) and you'd be quite within your rights to tell them to sod off.
Vic - If it's the coach I think it is then no, he can't bounce a ball the same each time and it always bothers me when he does this!
Yes, quite agree - it's just a rough indicator and not neccesarily a great indicator of how a pitch will play as there are so many other factors involved when someone is actually bowling, however, if you know your ground it is very valid.
Clegg hammers do get used, but they are an expensive bit of kit and the weight of hammer used is supposedly critical. A chap from the STRI tried a Clegg hammer in our net area and couldn't take a reading as they were 'too hard' so clearly he didn't have the correct weight with him (and you'd think they would know) - couple of grand down the pan there I feel.
Not only bouncing the ball Andy but bowling as well, not impressed and it set up a tense week. The players were brilliant though especially Ollie and the other spinner bowled beautifully.
Bouncing a ball CAN give an indication of what a specific pitch is like, but only if you know what sort of response you're expecting from the ball. I can get a 'rough' indication of how one of my tracks will perform by throwing a ball down on it - but it's only from 2 1/2 years of working on it that I now know roughly what to expect.
A low bounce from throwing the ball into the pitch can 'just' mean that it's still a tad soft under the surface. That doesn't, as we're all aware, mean that it won't bounce during a game.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
Vic
I'll tell them off when they get back to HQ! Ollie is a lovely lad.
29 Jul 2010 by Aintgottaclue!!
Ollie is a nice lad apart from when he got cleaned up by an 8 year old in 2004 in Grubby's benefit 6 a side, claimed he just 'missed a straight on' bless him............lol
I may cut grass, but i'm not green !!
Funny he said that when out first ball in the first innings.
No problem Andy, they saw some grass and panicked because Finn was playing.
I use a 3m metre vertical drop test as an indicator. However, all it does is test vertical bounce, not pace or spin.
31 Jul 2010 by IGS
the recent publication:-
'Studies on the Oblique Impact of a Cricket Ball on a Cricket Pitch'
The Engineering of Sport 6
ISBN 978-0-387-31773-1 (Print) 978-0-387-46050-5
Part 6
Provides very good data and information - this was sponsored by the ECB undertaken at Hallam university, Sheffield
bed time reading!!!!
But does this data and info tell you diddly squat about how a pitch will play?
In my opinion no one on Earth can say hand on heart how a pitch will play, with certainty, until the play starts.
Vic
Totally agree,from the "experts" doing pitch reports on Sky, to anyone else, including groundsman.
How many pitches/grounds did they do their study on anyway.? I know i can go 2 miles down the road to another ground and the soil etc is totally different.
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
28 Aug 2010 by Anthony Asquith Last edited 28 Aug 2010
Bouncing a ball on a pitch, measuring hardness or vertical ball bounce is subjective as it is difficult to totally gauge how the pitch will play untill the commencement of play although it may give you a rough idea.
The idea of measuring vertical ball bounce is, in theory acceptable (I look for targets of 360 gravities as measured with a clegg hammer 2.25kg from 450mm or 55cm ball rebound from a 3M drop height. However, This is only true for a pitch with the right clay soil and binding strength but all these are vertical tests only, they only relate to a compressive force, not a force with both compressive and tension elements such as angled ball impact hence a sandy soil could meet this requirement but fail miserably in a game. So, like anything in our industry, do not use in ISOLATION but as a guide.
A few years ago, I did some work on turn or spin and tried to measure this and I found some interesting results however quite often, the pitches we measured at the time played quite a bit different to what the results said although some acceptable parametres and corrulations where found. One area where I did have good results (and now do with my clients) is with the pitch measuring system I devised. A build up of on site data from readings and recordings and used in corrulation with several measuring techniques enable specific data on your site and pitches and to give 'guidelines' regarding several facets.
AA
Anthony
Speak English mate. "360 gravities" etc.How old was the ball you used and what make?
Turn and spin? Who is bowling and what revolutions do they get on the ball?
How do you measure the ball reactions from the pitch urring a game?
Have you ever played the game?
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
Lol.
Barry, Anthony takes a very scientific approach which I believe is the way forwards. Although i also often find him difficult to understand, think we can all learn fron him. However, i also do not understand "360 gravities". Is it the weight used in the clegg hammer to simulate the balls impact?
I wish i was getting 55cm. I am lucky to get 45 but it's only season two and hopefully i can get some decent root depth after this winter!
Still better than the 30cm i was getting in my inaugural year though!
Got minor county finals up here Sunday (Dorset/Lincs). Top 75mm is dry and flat sheets on trying to get that last inch of water out. We have 5" of kaloam and it seems to lke the top 4" drying out and using the bottom inch as a reservoir to get it through the 3 days.
If only i can get some root depth going this winter then i suspect the square will perform in the way it was designed to.
What is going to be your strategy to get that extra root growth Andy? Sounds like you're preparing a pretty decent track for the Minor Counties Final, hope the game goes well and reflects the same on all your efforts this season.
The light at the end of the tunnel is not a train
3 Sep 2010 by paul.
Chaps
All very interesting ,
Does anyone,have any views on the best balls to use at the moment!
All ways amuses me we spend thousands on soil and equipment, all that time and stress,and then someone turns up with stone that wont bounce!
I think for me it would be kookabura ,but they do go soft very early!
Andy good article in the mag. Its good to hear that things are settling down for you after the trauma's of last year. I was woried that you were going to end up in an institution.
Very well done.
Surely the only thing that matters is that the ball bounces constantly when the bowlers let go of it? I have seen this season players bounce the ball on an old track and it goes back past their nose, they they go to the newly prepared track and it hardly bounces at all. Yet when play starts the ball carries through on the new pitch to the keeper with gloves pointing skywards, better evidence than any bloody scientific invention.
Good luck Andy, September games can be difficult as the drying times change due to less sunshine hours and heavy dews normally combined with early starts.
Your evidence of bounce or lack of Vic is exactly the same as mine.
One other factor in all this, is consistency, probably the most important criteria of them all. No god past your nose one minute and hitting your bootlaces the next. Not unless the opening bowler is your best friend.
My point exactly Bath, the drop test tells you little about the playing characteristics of the pitch to be used. Follow your gut rather than some bloke in a white coat and bottle top glasses ( not referring to umpires either ).
4 Sep 2010 by vid
Vic - I'm with Andy post 6 - keep it simple. My gut instinct is pretty good but is often misplaced. You, me or Andy etc will be able to throw a ball down with pretty much the same force time and time again and this repetition on one pitch will give one a pretty good idea of hardness and pace without bowling on it. Drop testing however takes much longer and therefore less likely to be repeated so there is a higher likelihood of the ball finding the seam and that reading being taken. The good thing about a drop test is that the results are comparible no matter who takes it. My self I do a 2m test as my arms cope with that - 3m is too high. Its just for myself. Clegg hammers etc - I struggle to get a budget to have the mower serviced let alone buying expensive pieces of kit like that!! Cricket is such a low budget sport at wicket preparation level - keep it simple guys and everyone can then use the system - complicate it and virtually noone will
Paul - balls, no not an insult. You mentioned quite rightly that the quality of the ball can have an effect on bounce.
Whatever you buy, I think you have to spend a reasonable amount. In the Surrey championship, we use Dukes in premier and div 1 first team games. In the seconds we use Readers Sovereign and the thirds use Readers County. The County is cheap but absolute rubbish. The Sovereign is ok but the Dukes is much better.
Kookaburra , I agree with you.
We also use aa few SG Indian balls on Sundaays but they tend to go softish
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
Just to reiterate the point made earlier - the vertical ball bounce test is a good indicator of variability and, potentially, carry if the pitches you have are dry and strong (i.e have the right soil construction - suitable motty strength etc). A vertical test with either ball or clegg is less reliable where the soil strength is questionable (damp tracks, too sandy / silty soils, thatchy surfaces etc). This is because most soils (even very sandy ones) are strong when compressed by a vertical force but weaker soils show their weakness when stretched laterally (placed under tension). To test this you need to do an angled ball test - essentially you need to bowl on it. You can get great vertical test results on weak sandy soils that produce really variable bounce from angled ball impacts as the soil fails laterally (in tension) and not through compression. So, if you know you have a good motty strength for your pitches, the vertical test is a good indicator once you get your pitch dry but if you are uncertain of the general soil strength (the soil is too silty or too sandy like many lower level clubs) or too thatchy at the surface, some angled ball impacts could be much more useful. To be honest you would probably spot a dodgy soil or thatchy pitch without recourse to chucking a ball at it but hey, it is something to do when you are bored of rolling... Cheers, Alex.
10 Sep 2010 by Mal
Alex, A very good and precise answer bringing into sharp relief for us the relationship between ball, pitch, bounce, soil texture and soil organic matter. puting the whole question into context
" if you are uncertain of the general soil strength the soil is too silty or too sandy like many lower level clubs) or too thatchy at the surface, some angled ball impacts could be much more useful"
So really unless your square has been constructed then it is unlikely that the ball bounce test will tell you any thing.
• First Class and county standard: minimum of
28-35% of clay
• Club standard: minimum of 25-30% of clay
• School: minimum of 25-28% of clay
• Should be compatible with the local
indigenous soil
• Initial planning will indicate depth and therefore
quantities
• The use of marl is not recommended
Taken from the ecb recommended guidlines on the construction preperation & maintenance of cricket pitches.
http://static.ecb.co.uk/files/ts4-recommended-guidelines-for-the-construction-preparation-and-maintenance-of-cricket-pitches-and-outfields-at-all-levels-of-the-game-1337.pdf
Geography is everywhere
Bob on Mal, you put it much better than me and in far fewer words! Good stuff.
Cheers, Alex
Is it not true that some high level ground managers are introducing more levels of sand into their construction of new pitches? Would this not affect the consistancy of bounce which is refered to above?
11 Sep 2010 by Anthony Asquith
It depends Vic.
AA
AA,
Think both you and I know where I am going with this.
Vic.
11 Sep 2010 by Anthony Asquith Last edited 11 Sep 2010
I have done some trial work with this over the years.
Certainly sand can be added to increase frictional strength via that mechanism which can confer internal strength. It has been observed that increased amounts of sand can have an acceptable binding strength as long as the clay content falls within the acceptable range. If soils match and exceed this binding strength for the requirements of the game then the soil will be strong enough regardless of the soil texture. The cohesive effect of the clay and the internal friction and packing/locking of sand particles will equate to shear strength. An increase in turn or spin was observed with increased course sand but this was mostly down to increased surface friction by damage and wear rather than abraisive course sand particles.
I have looked at sand carpets under pitches, reinforcement etc all with variable results.
AA
11 Sep 2010 by vid
Vic, some dressings are deliberately blended to include fine sand rather than silt to reduce shrinkage. This is normally associated with a higher clay content because of the extra binding required. These tend to be the very strongest of cricket soils available - cant see any problem other than a non shrinking layer added to a shrinking layer will cause the soil to break up at the interface - the weaker soil generally coming off worse.
11 Sep 2010 by Cranfield Last edited 11 Sep 2010
Many clubs now have bowling machines, that can deliver a cricket ball down a pitch automatically, you can adjust the speed and angle of the delivery to suit.
Why not make good use of this machine during pitch preparations to gauge the condition of your pitch?
The ball will be delivered at an angle and at a predetermined speed , recording the height of bounce and carry will help you monitor the performance of your pitch.
Send 3-4 balls down and monitor the consistency in respect of bounce and carry.
It could become a good aid for testing your pitches.
Also nice to Alex Vickers posting on our web site, hope all is well in your new occupation Alex regards Laurence
leave orf Cranfield, cart out the bowling machine on your own, set it all up just to do what you can do by bouncing a ball?
And when do you do it?
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
The last thing I need during pitch prep is someone on it with either a bowling machine, one of those ball throwing things for dogs or players bouncing 5.5 oz cricket balls on it. Was bad enough having keys pushed in.
Next thing they'll start saying it's too green and should be white.
Loz, have you ever put a 'proper' cricket ball through one of those bowling machines - they ain't designed to have proper leather balls through them.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
I've never tried a ball bounce test on my tracks, just wait and watch the first few overs, if it's good it's good if it's not so good more work on the next one. It might sound daft but I find walking on the prepared wicket in soft soled shoes ( never tried bare feet ) gives me a good indication as to how the prepared surface will play, or if further work is required. I think you can also see, if the track is clean and free from thatch etc, how it will play. Another factor is how much grass you leave on, or take off, not to mention moisture content and rolling. How can a lone groundsman emulate the actions of a fast bowler, spinner, seamer etc and evaluate the bounce of the ball from the bowlers end, bouncing the thing up and down, in my humble opinion, proves very little as to how the wicket will perform during a game with a variety of bowlers and actions. There really is no such thing as a ball bounce test, but how your tracks are playing in a match situation is a total reality, and I learn from that and the expertise of the bowlers and batsmen whom I solicit for constructive criticism or credit. I also remember how much a prepared wicket, for whatever reason, weather, interval rolling, damage etc, can change during the course of a game. A ball bounce test on Saturday morning, does little to a track played on by the ravages of the East Pennine weather in the second innings of a rain reduced game on Sunday afternoon.
A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother
I totaly agree with you Tony, I have never tried the ball bounce test in 42 years of preparing my wickets. I use a
predestrian twin drum Bomag roller a brute of a machine
but walking on the track whilst rolling tells me when the track is "made". Then wait and see, usually right!
The same language as me guts, forget the gimmicks, it's down to feel and gut instinct. Sometimes we get it right others we get wrong but it is our own eyes that will tell us how a pitch plays and no one on earth can say hand on heart how a pitch will play before the game starts.
14 Sep 2010 by eddyinfreehold Last edited 14 Sep 2010
It's been sheeting down for days now with the exception of the weekend. We've finished our season and I've a machine shed full of material ready for the renovation. You can't scarify water though so I've decided to join in this debate. Bit long, but I hope it's of interest.
We don't have roll on covers, only 2 sheets which are not as effective in heavy prolonged rain. They are 90 feet long and 15 feet wide and with care can be lapped over each other with scaff poles to keep a dry track dry through 48 hours of rain. We have two sorts of pitch as a consequence. Dry ones when it works and wet ones when it doesn't. If the leaks under the covers are patchy we have to move to an all wet deck prepared in readiness just in case. This always drains well and produces a tight low scoring game, say 200 to 250 for 20 wickets.
Yes, I do try a ball bounce every now and then, but usually only on solid dry tracks. I can throw down a ball with regular force and would do so perhaps 20 times within the danger area. I don't learn very much but it is a useful rule of thumb guide. This much I have learned over the years:
1. There are three possible bounce results, thud (little rebound), normal (some rebound), and woo-oah (ball climbs over your shoulder).
2. All tracks should have the same amount of prep put into them, though cutting height is always marginally lower on dry tracks and rolling more judicious on damp ones.
3. Damp tracks always go thud. Dry tracks go normal (knee high) and woo-oah tracks can only be produced between late May and early August when the daylength is enough to give extra drying. We had a few weeks of woo-oah tracks this year before the rain started in July and didn't stop.
4. A good cricket pitch is one that provides even, predictable, decent bounce and as much pace as can be squeezed out of the surface. Erratic bounce is the worst thing. Stodgy wet lack of pace the next worst. If you have a lot of spinners you have to get as much pace AND bounce as possible.
5. I would contend ironically that the bounce test tells you NOTHING about how much bounce you will get in match conditions. The bounce is sort of predetermined by your square, its soil and condition naturally. Very wet decks (skidding on) bounce lower than damp ones (denting) , and as a damp one dries out the bounce first decreases then increases as you head towards woo-oah dryness.
6. I would contend however that the ball bounce test tells you quite a lot about the PACE OF THE DECK you have prepared. Thud is always a slow sticky where a short ball always disappears square for 6. Normal knee high produces games of say 300-15 and the batsmen have to get in before being confident of the pace. Moving on to woo-oah, the pace is remakably increased, full balls go through the V, square cuts go behind the wicket and the short ball from a quicker bowler not only bounces but comes through at undiminished pace head high.
That's my experience anyway. I can usually predict the pace of the track by walking on it, tapping it etc.
Bouncing a ball then produces some but not a lot of information about the PACE of a track but NOTHING ABOUT THE BOUNCE.
*******
As an aside, if you want to get all scientific about quantifying height of bounce and don't have access to a lot of expensive kit you could always borrow a Schmidt Hammer from a mate who works in the cast concrete trade. I used to work in the paper industry and we used one to accurately quantify the relative hardness of finished reels of paper. By taking a Schmidt reading every 100mm across the width of a reel 2000mm wide we would see any variation in hardness. This could be proved to directly correlate with the moisture profile across the reel, and each customer had a specification and tolerance of this value as much as the tensile strength, burst, tear or porosity of the paper. A good example of the importance of even moisture profiles was shown to me at the Mr Kipling fondant fancy factory in Portsmouth (honestly). The sponge cake mixture was poured onto a continuously moving roll of our paper and then through an open conveyor oven. Unless the moisture profile of the paper was very even, the cake mix would slowly slide off the conveyor onto the floor as the paper dried and shrank to different degrees on each side. Messy and expensive I can assure you. It was interesting to note that the papermakers (a shift of 4 men on each machine with a foreman) were very good at predicting my Schmidt results simply by slapping the reels or bouncing a rounders bat on them. The sound and hardness would tell them where the damp or dry areas were just as well.
Have any of you ball bouncers tried the stump test I use (post 5)? The absence of any support suggests not.
Eddy's comment about skilled workers with rounders bats and rolls of paper might tell you something......(am I begining to sound frustrated?)
The ring of a stump on a track is very very informative. Try it - perhaps next year now.
It's simple, costs nothing and leaves no mark other than on a very wet track.
The sound differs with different issues. Dampness gives a different ring to a root break. And it doesn't matter too much how hard you whack the track.
And the science is sound - in more ways than one.
The ciderman rolls
Not tried it yet but I'm going to. I'm not sure if the track is dry or hard enough but I'll try it on concrete and tarmac as well.
Windy night. The square may be dry enough to scarify today and there's a small window before sunday. Go for it?
jon, pretty sure we all whack the surface with something. During prep I use my fist or thumb nail depending on moisture, when putting stumps out I also tap along pitch.
Stumps test works a treat, tried it on various surfaces. Will try it next year and compare with visual behaviour. I suspect it will take two or three years of interpretation before quantifying anything by stump-thunk :-).
Two shaves and two and a half passes with the scarifier today before a biblical shower. Only 15 minutes, but enough to flood the square completely. Try again tomorrow? Noah joined me for a late lunch.
15 Sep 2010 by mario
Completed scarifying yesterday. Took five days because of the weather!
Couldn't do a thing today though........pain!
I know no boundaries.
15 Sep 2010 by eddyinfreehold Last edited 15 Sep 2010
 |
15 Sep 2010 by mario
Nasty bit of rain, Eddy.
Managed to get the square cleaned as well but too late to think about seeding etc.
And yes....with the square being on the soft side, the tractor has been closing up the slits thereby requiring the use of a Variseeder.
But it looks as if my tractor has a damaged injector. Mechanic calling in the morning to confirm.
I know no boundaries.
Well you've got a tractor and a variseeder. I've got a hired pedestrian scarifier (very good 1" cut) with the pressure on to use it over my meagre 14 decks with no overun into a second weeks hire. I have a nearly knackered rotary to pick up the debris and stuff it into a builders 1 ton bag. After that I've got my car and my Ifor Williams to get 120 bags of loam onto the square and spread over the hand brushed seed which may well have blown as far as Carnforth. And the biblical showers keep coming down.
I'm not jealous or bitter, really, I'm not :-).
15 Sep 2010 by mario
Been there and still have the t-shirt, Eddy in the days when I was managing a square as a volunteer.
I feel your pain!
I know no boundaries.
Managed three passes with tractor mounted graden, three passes with sisis litamina. All done in approx two and a half hours. Sixteen wickets.
Did another fourteen wickets in same manner at my recreational club this afternoon.
Welcome back Alex. Call in when passing and let me know what you are now doing.
I think it is difficult to beat the knowledge you build up of your own square over time, certainly with my slowly improving square I knew just how it would play from doing all those things mentioned above and because i got bored easily I have tried them all for fun. The stump test was good as it always meant i had something handy to throw at the rabbits whenever I saw one.
The ball bounce, clegg hammer type quantifiable tests come into their own when testing for variability on tracks, checking on new constructions or where you are working on squares that you do not know very well and have not got all those years of experience to inform you. For weirdos like me who like to get lots of numbers to support my theories they are invaluable but I fully understand that few people are as sad as me.
Would love to pop into Bath sometime but it will be at least 2 years as I am now living in Kampala and will be here for 4 years but with a break in the middle. Already played cricket here though on a classic rolled clay surface that was so shiny you could see your face in it. Lashed down during the game and though they covered up, a few wet bits were mopped up by rolling a hessian sheet into the wet area with the roller, lifting it off and then re-rolling the pitch. I did think about discussing the Cranfield rolling work with them but didn't have the heart. Was a right sticky dog thereafter though....
Happy end of season work to you all, I really hope it dries out soon and you get a good job done and a nice strong take ahead of winter. We play all year round here - absolutely no rest for the wicked.
Cheers,
Alex
16 Sep 2010 by eddyinfreehold Last edited 16 Sep 2010
Kampala eh! I can feel the strength of the sun.
Mario. Half decent morning we had a flooded portion of the square where the last 4 compacted decks were. The rest was scarifiable. Decided to concentrate on the driest. Got two decks covered 7 times, picked up, seeded and loamed. Just finished the fifth pass on the 5 next driest when the heavens opened again. Aggh. On the bright side, my two recently bedded tracks have been watered.
Still progress is being made. Biked home, collected the kids and made my wife a Lasagne for her birthday tea. Leave it at that. See what tomorrow brings.
Doing my renovations Friday/saturday week hopefully with a hired Sisis 602 and loam spreader both off the SGA trailer.Fingers crossed on weather. I would just love to have the gear to do a bit each day.
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
Fingers crossed stays fine in north Lancs today. Should be able to to the last twelve decks. Equipment is a hired pedestrian scarifier, pedestrian rotary for pickup, pedestrian fert spreader, brush, dragmat, lutes and a homemade trulute 6 feet wide (very heavy!). We should be done by 7 if the showers stay away.
Fingers crossed I pick up our trailer next Thursday - assuming the weather doesn't put everyone else behind.
If I get decent weather I'll be finished by Friday teatime :) and ready for a beer.
Only got 2 days to get the square's down to renovation height (Monday & Wednesday) since someone kindly suggested our ground for an Over 60's game - didn't have the heart to say no.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
Jon
They now have a Surrey over 70's side!! Can you believe it? The fielding in the over 50's was dreadful when I played for them, over 70's, give me a break!Not cricket for bowlers I tell you 
What do I do? I just cut the grass.
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