The ultimate home comfort for keen cricketers...

Swimming pools, home gyms, tennis courts and stables are all sought-after extras for house hunters with a passion for their sport. With the advancements in artificial turf and ever increasing popularity of the game of cricket, are 'back garden' cricket practice nets the next in a long list of home sporting facilities.

Cricket playing surface specialist total-play Ltd has been finding out that there is something of a market for domestic practice facility installations - and more and more householders are making enquiries. total-play's Business Development Manager, James Coney, explains:

"It all started back in 2007, when ex-England cricketer Darren Gough asked us to install a non-turf cricket practice facility in his back garden. He'd been impressed by the standard of workmanship he'd seen in our other installations and was keen that his sons have a chance to practice at home on a quality surface. Over the past few years, we've won a number of contracts like this - most typically from parents who have children at one of the schools where we have recently installed a facility and liked what they saw - and 'back garden' practice nets now seem to be quite a growing trend, with our most recent jobs being at two houses in Surrey.

"When you think about it, they actually take up less space than a tennis court and with the added bonus of preventing errant balls from flying into neighbour's gardens and breaking windows, can be a very practical addition for keen cricketers who want to be able to practice at home year-round."

The fact that total-play is used to building bespoke nets facilities on behalf of its clients, with specially-shaped and powder-coated frames of a specific colour a rather regular request, the company has found it is easily able to adapt the look of its system to meet client's needs without compromising on quality. Add to this the fact that total-play is an ECB code of practice non-turf pitch installer and that, among its 'stable' of non-turf surfaces is the ECB approved tp365 match and practice system; designed to offer a balanced game between bat and ball, encourage turn and generally improve the playing experience, and it's easy to see why so many discerning cricket fans select total-play to install their home cricket facilities.

To discuss how total-play could help you create the perfect cricket practice facility for your home, call 01604 864575 or visit www.total-play.co.uk.