Part 1:
Introduction
Whilst the majority of the maintenance effort goes into looking after the cricket pitch, the outfield should not be neglected.
The surface of a cricket outfield should ideally be:
- even,
- firm, and
- dry.
These criteria will help to produce a surface that is relatively fast, provides good foot grip for a fielder and more importantly is also safe.
Occasionally a cricket outfield will double up as a hockey pitch or even a football or rugby pitch. This is especially so in school and Local Authority situations where playing field space is often limited.
Outfield Area
The size of the cricket outfield can vary considerably.
For adult games the minimum size of an outfield should be 45.72m (50 yards) from the centre of the wicket being used, whilst the maximum size is 82.26m (90 yards).
As an example, an outfield that is 60m from the edge of the pitch (with the following stated dimensions) will have an area of 16, 400m².
(The pitch in this example is of 6 wickets (3.05m x 6 = 18.3m) and having a total length of 24m.
The area of the outfield is fairly easy to calculate using the following steps:
- Find the area of rectangles L1 and L2 (= 60m x 24m each) = 2,880m²
- Find the area of rectangles W1 and W2 (= 60m x 18.3m each) = 2,196m²
- Find the area of each quarter that joins the rectangles. This is treated as a full circle whose area is pi r² , or 3.14159 x 60² = 11,310m². (It may not be a precise circle, but for practical purposes it is a reasonable assumption to make)
- The total area is therefore 16,386m², or 16,400m².
This figure can then be used to accurately estimate how long certain maintenance operations will take, or the quantity of material needed for an application.
This simple procedure can be followed to calculate the area of any outfield.
Mowing
The height of cut will depend upon not only the standard of play, but also whether the facility is used throughout the winter as hockey or football/rugby.
It is essential to ensure that when cutting at low heights, i.e. less than 10mm, scalping of the sward does not occur. A typical cutting height for a cricket outfield will be between 12mm and 19mm.
High class facilities will typically use a mower of 0.9m (36") cutting width, such as a large pedestrian cylinder mower that will usually have a seat attachment, or a ride on triple mower with a cutting width of 1.8m or so. The clippings would be boxed off for these high class outfields.
Other types of facilities will typically be mown with tractor drawn or mounted cylinder mowers, with 5 or 7 mowing units attached; The clippings will be let fly, allowing the nutrients from the clippings to be returned to the soil.
Mowing frequency will typically be once or twice a week.
Surface Evenness
Ideally a cricket outfield should be even throughout the whole of the area. If the outfield is being used for other sports during the autumn, winter and early spring period then particular attention will have to be given to ensuring that not only is there an appropriate amount of renovation work carried out, but it is also undertaken at the earliest opportunity as cricket play will typically commence in late April to early May.
Occasional top-dressing with a sand or sandy material is all that should be required for most of the outfield once a good level of evenness has been achieved in the first place. One area that may need particular attention is that of the bowlers run-up to the pitch.
Overseeding
This should only be needed on worn and thin areas that have developed. An overseeding of the whole outfield would not normally be required.
If some of the outfield is also used for winter sports then additional overseeding, some four weeks after the renovation of the winter pitch/es has taken place, can prove beneficial in speeding up the rate of colonisation on areas that haven't produced a thick enough sward following the renovation work.
Part 2:
Aeration
To assist root penetration and surface drainage, aeration will need to take place during the period of September to March/April.
Aeration is not normally undertaken during the playing season due to
- potential surface disturbance,
- the dry soil being harder to penetrate to depth,
- compaction during play is not as severe as that experienced from football, golf etc. as play is spread over a much larger area and also takes place mostly under much drier soil conditions during May to September only.
The majority of aeration will be undertaken using slit or chisel tines penetrating to 100mm - 225mm.
Solid or hollow-tines may also be considered where excessive compaction has been identified, for example
- around the perimeter of the cricket pitch,
- the bowlers run-ups, or
- the route a roller uses to reach the cricket pitch from the machinery building.
The use of a vertidrain or other deep spiker can also prove very beneficial in not only opening up a surface to improve soil air exchange with the surface air, but it can also be used to produce fissures (assuming appropriate soil and moisture conditions) within the soil providing pores into which roots can be encouraged to grow.
Deep spiking could be undertaken during the end of season to early autumn period, whilst slit or chisel tine spiking could be undertaken on a monthly basis thereafter if soil conditions were suitable.
Excessive thatch can also be reduced by hollow-tining at 50mm centres and followed with a sand top-dressing at 3 kg/m². A further lighter top-dressing may be required following any settling of the sand in the tine holes.
Scarification
The amount of scarification required will depend upon the quantity of thatch that is present.
A thatch layer should not be allowed to build up as this will lead to a deterioration in the quality of the sward and will also lead to a slower surface for a ball to roll on.
Perennial ryegrass dominated outfields, in particular those that are also used for winter sports, will produce minimal levels of thatch. Fescue/bent swards can produce relatively high levels of thatch and fibre and will need to be scarified on a regular basis to not only reduce any existing thatch layer but also to prevent and reduce build-up of thatch.
April and September will be the main months for heavier scarification to occur.
One or more light to medium scarifications would take place during the playing season if this was required to continue to reduce thatch levels.
Fertiliser Application
To determine the fertiliser requirements for an outfield it is essential to primarily consider the following four factors:
- Are clippings removed or 'let fly' and returned to the sward?
- Is the outfield used only for cricket, or does it double up for winter sports?
- What is the dominant species - perennial ryegrass or a fescue/bent sward?
- Has an assessment of the sward and soil been undertaken?
On outfields that have the clippings returned then the amount of fertiliser required will be minimal, typically ~3-4 g/m² of Nitrogen being applied in the spring time. For example, a fertiliser that contains 11% Nitrogen, being applied at 35 g/m² would provide 3.85 g/m² of Nitrogen.
For outfields that have the clippings removed, there may be a need to apply more than one application of fertiliser during the playing season. The amount applied per application could typically vary from 2.5 to 4 g/m² depending upon circumstances. The lower application rate may be a fertiliser that contains 10% Nitrogen and is applied at 25 g/m².
If the outfield is primarily a fescue / bent sward, and it is only used as a cricket facility, and clippings are not boxed off, then the actual nitrogen and other nutrient input may be nil.
An end of season application may be applied to aid worn areas recover before the onset of winter; It is not usually necessary to fertilise the whole of the outfield at this time.
Where outfields are also used for winter sports, especially football or rugby, then a typical fertiliser such as a 20:10:10 might be applied at 25 g/m² during early September.
Rolling
During the end of March to early April, a light rolling of the outfield may be desired to help firm the surface, especially if any frost heave had occurred over the winter period.
Pesticide Application
Earthworms, disease, leatherjackets and weeds may all pose a problem to one degree or another. Cultural control/prevention can be practised to help reduce the potential for them to infest turf, which essentially is good turfculture practices. However, with the relatively rapid control achieved by the use of pesticides these should then be used, where needed, to complement the cultural work undertaken to provide an appropriate quality surface.