Plastic Pitches Set For Twenty20

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Plastic Pitches Set For Twenty20: The ECB expect plastic pitches to be used in domestic Twenty20 action this season when the heavy World Cup scheduling takes its toll on the squares of the country’s leading grounds.

Artificial surfaces are yet to be used for professional matches in the UK but the ECB’s cricket committee sanctioned reinforced grass pitches – woven with up to five per cent of a soft polyethylene yarn – for both the Royal London Cup and the Vitality Blast in 2019.

Plastic Pitches Set For Twenty20

In order to use one of the new generation pitches, a club must notify both the ECB and their opposition of an intention to do so in reasonable time. With the midpoint of the 50-over competition’s group stage being reached this Friday, it is not anticipated such a request will be forthcoming.

However, with so much cricket being played across the country this summer due to the hosting of the World Cup, that is likely to change when the T20 competition begins in the second half of July.

Ten counties have had the hybrid strips installed at their headquarters, with the Kia Oval housing as many as six on their square. Although the majority are located on the edges, and used chiefly as practice nets, several are in positions that would allow for boundaries in excess of the minimum regulation lengths.

In July, the ECB will carry out tests using Hawkeye technology to assess how such surfaces react to genuinely fast bowling and how much the ball deviates off the seam.

Reports since the ECB invested £12,000 on the first one at Loughborough three years ago suggest they provide excellent pace and carry, making them ideal for bat-dominated, limited-overs games but they have not been ticked up for first-class cricket as they do not deteriorate over time – a process that encourages different skill sets at the end of a game to the start, such as spin bowling.

It is their durability, in fact, that has made them so popular around the country – manufacturers SIS Pitches say one of their fibre-injected pitches can be used up to five times longer than a regular grass equivalent.

Their successful introduction would place less strain on a groundsman’s primary pitches, and reduce the number of used surfaces being prepared at the end of the season. It has been mooted that they could feature in the new eight-team Hundred competition from 2020.

Chris Wood, the ECB’s pitch consultant, began the process of looking for quality carpet pitches in 2013 due to concerns about ‘wear-and-tear’ caused by an increasing volume of matches. He had already rejected a couple of ‘astroturf’ prototypes when he witnessed how the goalmouths at Tottenham’s former home of White Hart Lane were repaired.

In those areas, finer fibres were injected than in the rest of the pitch, sparking a belief that a similar process could be used across 22 yards for cricket.

Leicestershire and Somerset have both explored the idea of introducing artificial outfields over recent seasons, in a bid to hire out their grounds when dormant in winter, but concerns over restricting the roll of the ball and not having a thick enough pile to the grass covering to cushion the falls of diving fielders scuppered plans.

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The Worker Is King: GKB Renovator

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The Worker Is King: GKB Renovator: Encountering problems with a compacted synthetic or hybrid turf pitch? Is the compacted infill layer responsible for reduced water permeability?

GKB Machines, the company behind sustainable, reliable and robust maintenance machinery for natural, synthetic and hybrid turf are able to provide you with the solution thanks to the GKB Renovator.

The Worker Is King: GKB Renovator

Adaptable for scarifying hybrid and natural turf pitches, the GKB Renovator’s interlocking five brushes that form the foundation of the machine can easily be removed and replaced with a set of rotating spring tines. Available in 1.6 and 2m working widths, the circular oscillating movement of the spring tines removes unwanted material from around the plastic fibres and in turn improves the quality and effectiveness of the pitch.

Not only a method for in-season hybrid maintenance, the GKB Renovator can also be used subsequently with the GKB Combinator as an important part of the renovation method. Using the GKB Renovator and GKB Combinator together is an ideal combination for stitched and non-stitched hybrid pitches. Through vigorous testing in The Netherlands, UK and Belgium, this method has been developed over the past 2 years.

In addition, you are able to adjust the operating depth of the GKB Renovator by turning two adjustable legs, in or out, and the rubber wheels ensure the GKB Renovator will softly roll across the synthetic turf pitch. The machine is driven by a power-take off shaft (PTO) and the entire powering system is executed in a robust manner.

For more on GKB Machines and their reliable and robust range of machinery for natural, hybrid and synthetic turf, please visit www.gkbmachines.com or contact Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617.

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The Worker Is King: GKB Infiller

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The Worker Is King: GKB Infiller: Are you looking for a way to infill in the construction of your sports field? Or do you have other material such as cork that you want to apply accurately?

GKB Machines, the company behind sustainable, reliable and robust maintenance machinery for natural, synthetic and hybrid turf are able to provide you with the solution thanks to the GKB Infiller which can perform these different actions.

The Worker Is King: GKB Infiller

Equipped with a rotatable driver’s seat, the innovative GKB Infiller can be driven in both directions and has the ability to efficiently apply several types of infill material like sand, SBR rubber, TPE rubber and cork in two directions.

The precision control valve can be set from 0 to 100mm to determine how much infill material is sprinkled which is manually adjustable as well as hydraulically operated. This flap in the front of the bunker gives you the possibility to regulate the amount of sand that is distributed whilst there are specially designed agitators in the bunker to break up rubber crumb infill and guarantee an even spreading pattern.

The GKB Infiller is also provided with aluminium extensions to enlarge the bunker capacity of the bunker mounted on top of the chassis. The bunker is increased by these extensions from 1.06m3 to 3m3.

For more on GKB Machines and their reliable and robust range of machinery for natural, hybrid and synthetic turf, please visit www.gkbmachines.com or contact Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617 to enquire about the GKB Infiller ready for next season.

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Toro Key At Royal Cinque Ports

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Toro Key At Royal Cinque Ports: Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club course manager James Bledge is on a mission to make the club a “bucket list destination”, choosing to invest in the complete Toro Total Solutions package to help it get there.

Regarded as one of the finest links courses in England, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Kent has been impressing members and tournament players for 126 years and key to that longevity is the club’s determination for continuous improvement and investment. Most recently that has involved the club signing its second five-year machinery agreement plan with Toro, as well as installing a new Toro irrigation system.

Toro Key At Royal Cinque Ports

James explains: “Royal Cinque Ports has a lot of history and has been at the top of its game for over a century. Next we want to make this course a bucket list destination for golfers and to do that investing in our course maintenance is vital.”

This is the second Toro machinery package the club has invested in says James and when it came to investing again Toro easily came out on top in a series of demonstrations.

“With our first Toro fleet we saw a real improvement and you wonder if that could happen again. But it has,” says James. “Toro is an innovator and that never changes, the product just keeps getting better.”

Once the decision to go with Toro again had been made, the greenkeeping team and James put together their ‘dream package’ which includes four Greensmaster Flex 2120 pedestrian mowers, a Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder and three Greensmaster TriFlex 3420 mowers to name just a few, in addition to three Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers and a Groundsmaster 4500-D purchased from the club’s previous fleet.

“In particular the new Greensmaster Flex 2120s have been great. The course seems flat from afar but is incredibly undulating, especially the greens, which can be tricky to work with. But that’s not a problem for the Flex 2120 – the head of the mower follows the green closely and contours seamlessly, so we don’t get any scalping which is pretty special. We have seen instant improvements in appearance and so have the golfers which is even more important”

With the decision made on machinery next up was who to trust with irrigating the course. “The quality of the machines is fantastic, and we saw the same with the irrigation system,” says James. “It became clear that the Total Solutions package was the best way to get our course to where we want it to be. Plus, we’ve got a great relationship with Toro distributor Reesink and sales rep Richard Wood, which made the decision a lot easier. Whatever we need they’re always there, whether that’s backup service or general advice – Reesink really feel like a part of the team.

“There are some incredible courses nearby doing amazing work and we want to be at that level. Places like Royal St Georges and further afield at St Andrews Links who also use Toro, they invest a lot in their maintenance, and it shows.”

With Toro on board, the future is looking bright for the club, but when asked which machine is James’ favourite, the answer is unexpected: “To be honest, I like to take out the Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer, not only is it highly accurate in its application and easy to use, but best of all, it has room for my dog Stevie to come out for a ride!”

With the new Toro machines and the new Toro Irrigation system just installed, James is confident they’re on track to turn the club into a top golfing destination.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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SISIS Key At Beaumont Park

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SISIS Key At Beaumont Park: Cameron Flitten, head groundsman at De Montfort University at Beaumont Park in Leicester, believes that most of his maintenance programme can be achieved by using just two key pieces of SISIS equipment – the Multitiner and the Quadraplay.

Head groundsman Cameron Flitten has a number of strings to his bow when it comes to sports turf maintenance. After starting in the industry with an apprenticeship at a golf course, he went on to specialise in the maintenance of cricket squares, football pitches and rugby pitches in his previous position at Loughborough University.

SISIS Key At Beaumont Park

Cameron has now been in his current employment with De Montfort University for three years but revealed that it was in his former position where he first became acquainted with SISIS machinery.

“I used SISIS machinery at Loughborough so I already knew that they were brilliant pieces of kit. We never used to have any problems with the equipment; they were reliable, simple to use and did an excellent job every time. I tend to always go with what I know works so I was keen to get some SISIS equipment in here.”

In particular, Cameron uses the SISIS Multitiner 1.8m and the SISIS Quadraplay 1.8m at the impressive Beaumont Park which plays host to the university’s men’s and women’s football teams. The facilities are also used by the local community and with a high amount of recorded usage, regular pitch maintenance is essential.

One of today’s most useful pieces of kit in any groundsman’s armoury, the SISIS Quadraplay significantly speeds up maintenance tasks by carrying out more than one operation simultaneously – making it ideal for groundsmen like Cameron who have several sports pitches to maintain.

This single-pass maintenance system incorporates a mounted frame for up to four implements such as grooming rakes, slitters, rollers and brushes. The implements can be fitted to the mainframe in any order and can be independently adjusted to achieve the desired effect.

“Quite simply, the Quadraplay is essential for us. We’ve got the slitter, the rake wires, the brush and a roller for it and we tend to use it regularly throughout the year. I like the fact that you can carry out a number of tasks in just one sweep which saves so much time. It provides the pitch with aeration, removes organic matter, gives the surface a good clean and then leaves an excellent finish,” Cameron explains.

The SISIS Multitiner is a tractor mounted drum-type aerator which is ideally suited to a range of applications from sports field maintenance, lawns and amenities. It has three drums with independent rotation and its interchangeable tines with a maximum depth of 100mm ensure excellent turf care when the time comes to aerate.

“At this time of year, we tend to use the chisel tines on the Multitiner because it ‘cracks’ the soil incredibly well and we find that it gives us a bit more depth. It’s great to be able to open the surface up especially when it is cold and wet.

“We rely on the Multitiner for drainage and aeration – to ensure that air gets into the surface and to keep the pitches draining freely. I would say that we try and use the Multitiner every couple of weeks and when the weather gets warmer, we switch to the solid tines. It only takes an hour to go over the whole pitch, so it’s incredibly quick compared to other machines on the market.”

“For me, these two machines help me carry out a huge part of our maintenance programme and we use them in tandem. They are well built, reliable and are key pieces of turf maintenance machinery for us here.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter & Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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Toro Hits The Mark At Altcar

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Toro Hits The Mark At Altcar: The UK’s premier facility for small arms marksmanship training, Altcar Training Camp in Merseyside, recently invested in a Toro Groundsmaster 7210 and LT-F3000 triple flail mower for their sports and residential grounds maintenance.

With a football and rugby pitch, general-purpose field and residential green areas, having robust and high-performance mowers to tackle a variety of jobs was essential for Altcar Training Camp. After a competitive demonstration process where Toro and multiple other brands were tested, Toro hit the mark and came out on top.

Toro Hits The Mark At Altcar

Mark Byrne, infrastructure resource manager, explains: “Our previous machines were on their way out and so we wanted to get the best possible replacements. That was when we got in touch with Cheshire Turf Machinery and set up a demonstration with several brands.

“We wanted a zero-turn mower again because that suited our needs here perfectly. We were looking for something that would be simple to use and would be a seamless transition from our previous machine. With the triple flail mower, we wanted to get a robust alternative that would be more reliable.”

With the help of Cheshire Turf Machinery a competitive demonstration was organised in order to trial several machines and find the perfect replacements for the camp.

“It became quite clear fairly soon that Toro was winning,” says Mark. “The combination of performance and price was just what we were looking for, and with simple and easy to use operation, it meant we could get straight onto using the new machines when they arrived.”

Having had the machines since September 2018, the GM7210 and the LT-F3000 have proved to be right on target. “They’re both really good machines and doing everything we expect from them.”

And with Toro impressing Mark, future investment is definitely on the cards. “We’ve had Toro before and been impressed and would definitely consider going with Toro again.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Pitchmark Win Queen’s Award

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Pitchmark Win Queen’s Award: Bristol based line marking machinery and equipment manufacturer, Pitchmark, has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2019.  

Pitchmark was founded in 2010 by ex-groundsman of over twenty years, Mark Rodman, and his wife Sue, with the vision of making line marking easier and with a better result for groundsmen everywhere. They were joined by their sons Tim and Darren and a family friend, Jon Griffiths. The five directors have grown the business rapidly to now employ fourteen people in the local area and sell products in over thirty countries around the world.  They began as an export-only company, reaching as far as Brazil, Iceland, Australia and Qatar. Even today overseas sales account for 70% of the turnover. Pitchmark’s products are used at all levels of sport, from local amateur clubs to top international stadia like Wembley Stadium and competitions such as the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 and EURO 2016 France.

Pitchmark Win Queen’s Award

“We as a company are very proud to receive the Queen’s Award for Enterprise,’ says Mark Rodman. “It is the pinnacle of our achievements and puts the focus on what a small business can achieve in worldwide markets. It also recognises the contribution of our team of people at Pitchmark and the efforts of our key partners in each overseas territory. We work closely with our distributors, with a focus on education and support alongside our market-leading products.”

Pitchmark manufacture and supply a complete range of line marking paints, machinery and equipment for all kinds of sports and surfaces. Line marking is often a strenuous task and the company has shown a winning formula in making the job easier through innovation and solving customer pain points. An advanced GPS line marking is a strong example of the company’s approach. Pitchmark has demonstrated an exceptional growth record and remains focused on ambitious but realistic targets in the UK, Europe and overseas. The company is exploring opportunities for expanding the product range and providing services as well as products.

Pitchmark Win Queen’s Award

“Promoting British-made products around the globe is something we’re very proud of,” says Mark. “We’re big fans of putting the UK on the map wherever possible and joined Made in Britain so we can promote and advertise this recognisable logo on our British made products. Now we thank everyone who has been involved in our journey to achieving the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.”

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Queen’s Award For Allett

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Queen’s Award For Allett: Allett, the Staffordshire based specialist cylinder mower manufacturer, has won the coveted Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2019 in recognition of its growth in exports and contribution to the British economy.

A wholly British-owned company, Allett has designed and manufactured mowers for the sports and premium lawns market for over fifty years. The award marks a major period of development for the company, with ranges of new products launched to meet the needs of strong emerging markets. Allett’s main export success has been achieved with their professional products for sports stadiums and training grounds, achieving increased sales with the USA, Russia, Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Spain leading their top ten markets in the past three years.

Queen’s Award For Allett

“We’re very honoured to receive the Queen’s Award,” says Austin Jarrett, Allett’s Managing Director, “it recognises our achievements and team efforts in bringing innovative developments in our mowing systems to meet challenges in overseas markets with large potential. We’re no longer confined to the seasonality of domestic sales cycles in the UK. Our mowers and turf maintenance systems are used throughout the world where they are maintaining sports surfaces and lawns to the highest standards.”

Allett was the major supplier to the host stadiums and contractors in Russia for the 2018 World Cup football tournament. The company concentrates on assisting a World Cup country for a period of three years to help attain the striking light green-dark green stripes in time for the main tournament. Markets with large potential such as the USA offer access to developments for sports such as American football and baseball as well as soccer. South America, where previously they have not had the financial resources, is now a developing market, says the company. Allett has placed its first mowing systems in China where there are great World Cup ambitions.

“The groundsmen in the UK are recognised as being the best in the world and they demand the highest standards from their equipment suppliers,” says Austin. “This demand drives our engineering team to improve and develop our mowing systems which consequently produce world class sports surfaces and garden lawns. We have benefitted from this and we are confident that we can deliver improved standards to the stadiums and lawns using our systems in the rest of the world. This is because of the help we get from our great customers in the UK. Every one of our machines proudly wears a Union Flag decal, and this really helps us in our export markets where the UK is revered for their lawns.

“We will be hosting Pitch Maintenance training seminars in China this year,” adds Austin, “to help set standards and expectations for the playing surfaces in this huge country which is growing rapidly as a footballing nation. Allett is more than just a machine. We’re strengthening our technical support and embarking on a plan of new product development to concentrate on a wider range of grass and sports turf maintenance products.”

Allett recently launched and continue to develop products powered by Lithium-ion battery, with the advantages of zero emissions at the point-of-use, low vibration for the operator and almost no noise. To accommodate the growth of the business Allett recently moved their Hixon, Staffordshire base to a new, larger factory.  The company has an After-Sales team in place to support overseas national distributors and, as export sales grow, consider it is important to maintain the ‘brand value’ which has been a keystone to home market success. Allett say the recognition of achievement the Queen’s Award for Enterprise brings is a proud moment in its history, and one the company can bear as a premium standard into the export markets of the future.

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New Appointment At total-play

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New Appointment At total-play: Sports surface specialist total-play Ltd has continued the ongoing expansion of its team with the appointment of Lee Bennet in the role of Sales Development Manager.

With a background in medical capital equipment sales, Lee brings extensive sales experience to his new role, which will see him work alongside clubs to develop new natural and non-turf sports facilities. Lee will focus on the Midlands territory for design and build projects, while also working alongside Business Development Manager Anthony Burton on the evolution of the company’s online cricket ground store, thecricketgroundshop.co.uk.

New Appointment At total-play

A keen Liverpool supporter who enjoys attending sporting events and playing cricket, Lee relishes the opportunity to work in the sports sector. He says:

“I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into my new role, most especially working with clubs and schools to provide a world-class training facilities which will ultimately improve their game and performance.”

Lee’s appointment is part of an ongoing drive to grow the company’s workforce as its profile continues to rise, as MD David Bates explains:

“We’re still very much cricket pitch experts, and now have six ECB approved non-turf cricket pitch systems in our portfolio, but we are working on an increasing number of MUGA and other artificial sports surface projects. Lee’s appointment will allow us to manage the growing number of projects and will also help us to further develop the range of products available via thecricketgroundshop.” 

For full information on total-play’s range of services – call 01604 864575 or visit www.total-play.co.uk

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CWC Launch New Website

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CWC Launch New Website: In light of increasing public scrutiny over glyphosate, Complete Weed Control (CWC) is pleased to announce the launch a new online glyphosate resource: www.glyphosateinfo.co.uk.

The website is but one facet of CWC’s ongoing campaign to address the misinformation and fear mongering that is pervading the industry.  The layout is that of a ‘FAQ’ (Frequently Asked Questions) library containing useful information such as which qualifications are required to use glyphosate professionally; what PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is necessary and how soon after application people and animals can use the treated area.

CWC Launch New Website

Designed with a gamut of stakeholders in mind including members of the public, local authorities and industry operatives, there is also a wealth of information available through the “Resources” section: from links to related articles from the European Food Safety Authority, to operative-oriented advice on tender specification, complaint handling and application advice.

The concept was brought about following CWC’s successful “Glyphosate Roadshows” – staged in numerous venues throughout the UK – having been attended by over 150 local authority delegates from across the country.

Speaking at the seminar, Complete Weed Control’s managing director, Ian Graham, said: “There has been a considerable and sustained volume of frankly unsubstantiated bad press and much negativity surrounding this product – so we felt it was essential that we explore the reality and present the data that exists from numerous agencies around the world that have all declared this product to be safe.”

Indeed, this data is now readily available through the website and its primary function is to act as a uniform point of reference for common questions posed by members of the public to spray operatives.  All Complete Weed Control employees will now be equipped with a wallet-sized card that displays both a text URL and QR code that leads the enquirer to the FAQ.

To help tackle the growing public concern for glyphosate use in amenity space, Complete Weed Control is offering a similar service with bespoke rebranding for local authorities whom will be able to disseminate their own cards throughout their constituency. Any local authorities interested in this service should contact Complete Weed Control.

To view the new glyphosate website please visit www.glyphosateinfo.co.uk

For more information, please contact Complete Weed Control’s National office on 01325 324 277 or visit www.completeweedcontrol.co.uk. You can also follow CWC on Twitter @CWCLimited for more news, reviews and insightful views.

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