The Groundsman - No.5: Back to life...

Clubs may need to bring a pitch back to life after early use for match play in the second half of the season. total-play’s David Bates talks us through how to prepare a used pitch for round two...

If you are looking to get a pitch ready for use a second time in a single season, the best route is to carry out a less invasive version of the end-of-season renovation process.

Firstly you want to bring the existing grass plant back to life as soon as possible – so give it a good water and the pitch will start to 'green up' after just a few hours.  

The next stage will be to clean off  any dead grass and matted debris either by power brushing the surface or lightly scarifying (just a few mm as opposed to 5–8mm depth end of season) before starting repair works. Prior to reseeding it is a good idea to flood the pitch to get plenty of moisture back in the profile to encourage germination.

For re-seeding, either overseed into the light scarification grooves or dimple seed the with a saddle roller or mechanical dimple roller. It is also worth lightly top-dressing to relevel the bowling creases and marks and also any undulations or damage caused by play in the centre of the pitch – but take care not to smother existing grass plant and create layers.

A good top-dressing tip to put a bagful of loam in clean wheelbarrow and hand-mix seed in gradually before spreading on top of the bowling creases and levelling out. If the depressions are deep, heel the loam in to give it some compaction or use a hand roller prior to watering. 

Once these repair works are complete, the pitch can them be fertilised and covered with a good germination sheet that you can water through. After 7–10 days the grass will really start to grow – once it's approximately half an inch take the cover off to allow UV light to the pitch – then follow your usual prep works to ensure the pitch is ready for its next match.

During his residency at Northants CCC, David Bates gained a reputation for preparing some of the finest pitches in the country. Having worked as a pitch advisor and trainer for the Institute of Groundsmanship, David now heads up total-play Ltd – which designs and installs class-leading non-turf cricket pitches and pitch cover solutions, and sports pitch consultancy Total Turf Solutions.

For more information, visit www.total-play.co.uk or call 01604 864 575