North West Grounds Keeping Workshops
This page is a method of sharing content from North West Grounds Workshops. It can act as a guide for ideas that grounds keepers can adopt to assist make their club grounds the best standard it can be.
Pitch Plan
A pitch plan is a ‘Map’ of a cricket grounds square, with the details of each pitch on it, including matches in the past and future, cutting lengths, and general works that is being carried out at a specific time. The below Pitch Plan is an example from Bready Cricket Club and the various pitches they maintain.
Corresponding Pitches
Simplified Week Plan
Downloadable Resources
Pitch Preparation
Preparing a pitch is often something we take for granted, and there are methods, tools and techniques recommended to get the best performance out of your pitch for match day. The below video highlights some of these.
Foot Holes
Wear and tear on pitches is very common and doesn’t necessarily result in resting a pitch for a lengthy time. Repairing foot holes in a pitch will keep the pitch playable for an extended period of time and allow pitches to host back to back matches while still remaining relatively fresh. The below video will assist in how this can be done.
Pitch & Square Renovations
Arguably the most important part of pitch and square maintenance. Below is a short video highlighting the tasks that all come together to renovate a square and have it ready for the following season. Please note these renovations were recorded and carried out in Late September into October 2022.
Downloadable Resources
Pitch Renovations PDF Viewable Here.
Creating New Loam Pitches
Loam is a the soil on a square used to create cricket pitches. Below is a short video highlighting the tasks that are involved to create a new loam square or pitch. There are no measurements or calculations in this video as it is simply a resource to highlight the various steps that are taken in the process. Please note this ground work was carried out in Late September into October 2022.
Preparing Pitches in Drought Conditions
This is a link to a Cricket Ireland prepared document for preparing pitches in drought conditions. View PDF Here