Total-play projects in and around London

Editorin Cricket

Teddington CCSports surface specialist total-play Ltd is celebrating the completion of a number of high profile projects in and around the capital. The team has been busy installing new cricket facilities at no less than three clubs in the London area, including OD Cuaco Cricket Club in Beckenham, Purley Cricket Club in Surrey and at Bushy Park-based Teddington CC, in addition to refurbishing a series of match pitches in Regent's Park and at Thornton Heath Recreation Ground in Croydon.

While total-play's ECB approved non-turf match and practice system, tp365, was central to all of these projects, the facilities were specifically designed in each case to meet the club's individual objectives.

At OD Cuaco's Old Dunstonians ground a new three lane, 27 metre non-turf practice facility was constructed using a bespoke netting system based on total-play's new Protection Tunnel netting innovation. Constructed using specially powder coated steelwork to blend seamlessly with existing facilities on the site, specialist features include lane gates to prevent unauthorised use, and batting curtains designed to fully enclose the batsman; thus avoiding distractions from activity in other lanes and from passers-by.

The Purley CC project comprises a four lane facility, with two lanes open and two enclosed, enabling it to fit within the site boundary. Bespoke features here include white lines stitched into the playing carpet to aid practice, a sight screen built into the back netting, and the surface being carefully graded into the existing natural turf to avoid any trip hazards.

The new facility at Teddington, meanwhile, was designed to fit within its historic surroundings; Bushy Park being one of Henry VIII's favourite hunting grounds and still home to a resident deer herd. To help the four lane non-turf pitch facility, with large adjoining Mixed Use Games Area, blend with its surroundings green netting and steelwork have been used to reduce visual impact and the entire facility is fully enclosed to protect other park users from flying balls.

In Regent's Park the total-play team is nearing completion of refurbishment works on three old match pitches on behalf of the Royal Parks Authority. The new pitches will benefit from the ECB approved tp365 non-turf system, designed to offer cricket players a balanced game between bat and ball, encourage turn and improve the playing experience more than any other artificial surface.

Also on the match pitch front, a new facility has been installed for the London Borough of Croydon at Thornton Heath Recreation Ground, which has become an epicentre of recreation cricket for the local community. The Council is working closely with Surrey CCC to help retain these high levels of participation and use the new pitch as the catalyst for developing formalised teams and fixtures.

Total-play's Project Development Manager, James Coney says: "We've really enjoyed working on these projects and helping to provide the clients with a solution that's designed to meet their specific needs. While our tp365 non-turf system's pedigree is often what attracts clubs to use total-play in the first place, we certainly don't believe in taking a 'one size fits all' approach. Each and every project is approached on an individual basis and everything from the geography of the site through to aesthetics, safety and budget are taken into account in the solutions we propose."

Image: Teddington Cricket Club

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