ECB statement on recreational game

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ECB statement on recreational game: “Following the Government’s latest advice around social distancing, it is with sadness and reluctance that we recommend that all forms of recreational cricket are for now suspended.

“This extends to training, pre-season friendlies and any associated cricket activity.

ECB statement on recreational game

ECB statement on recreational game

“Sport plays an absolutely vital role in the nation’s mental and physical wellbeing, and it helps people find meaning where there is fear and uncertainty, so one of our goals in the coming weeks will be to explore ways that we can support some levels of physical activity in communities – particularly at junior levels.

“Using our cricket community to support others could be one of the most important services we can offer during the difficult next few months.

“It will be critical that any decisions we do make are medically-led. And we will continue to work with Government and their advisors to ensure we are informed by science in our decision making.

“Over the coming weeks we will work with the game to understand what support is required across the cricket community, particularly local clubs and leagues – who will have such a huge role to play in our nation’s response to coming out of this situation.”

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Louth’s lease deal looks long term

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Louth’s lease deal looks long term: Founded in 1965, Louth Golf Club is situated in the Lincolnshire Wolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty. 

The 18-hole parkland course offers attractive panoramic views from every hole over the Lincolnshire countryside and towards the Humber Estuary.

Louth’s lease deal looks long term

Louth’s lease deal looks long term

Responsibility for the course’s upkeep at this family friendly community club is down to a young team of just three full-time greenkeepers headed by Sean McDonnell, who was deputy head greenkeeper at East Herts before moving here from Bedfordshire about a year ago.

Sean’s arrival coincided with the club’s decision to upgrade its older competitive course maintenance equipment and invest in its first ever package for eight new John Deere machines from local dealer F G Adamson & Son, based on a finance lease deal with PowerGard maintenance set up by John Deere Financial.

The new fleet includes a 2500B triplex greens mower, 2500E hybrid electric greens mower, 7700A PrecisionCut fairway mower, 8800A TerrainCut rough mower, 2653B tees & surrounds mower, 3038E compact tractor with front loader, ZTR 997R commercial zero-turn mower and an HPX 815E Gator utility vehicle.

General manager Nikki Chantry, who is also a qualified PGA golf professional and was the club’s director of golf before taking on her new managerial role in summer 2018, had recognised that Sean’s predecessor was spending far too much time repairing ageing equipment and not enough time out on the course.

They were familiar with John Deere as the club had already been running a newer 8700A fairway mower and 8800A rotary rough mower as part of the mixed fleet. Together with greens chairman Richard Ablott, a meeting was therefore set up with Adamson’s commercial sales manager Tony Jenkins and salesman Scott Trestrail.

Scott knows the course very well as he had worked as a greenkeeper at Louth Golf Club for 15 years before joining the dealership. He put this knowledge to good use in recommending a package to meet the club’s specific requirements without overcommitting it financially, and when Sean took over he only changed one machine on the proposed kit list.

“Some of our other older machines were simply falling to pieces, and we decided that buying a couple of new replacements now and again was not a sensible approach long term,” says Nikki Chantry. “In addition, we kept having to bring in people from outside to do the frequent and expensive major repairs that were necessary, so that’s when Adamsons came in and showed us how to find a better solution.

 

“We went for a finance lease package rather than outright purchase, and John Deere Financial offered us a very competitive deal which has made our overall financial planning much easier.”

 

Sean McDonnell was also impressed by the dealer’s support when things were continuing to go wrong with some of the older machines during the changeover. “On my first day at the club the cutting units fell off one of the old greens mowers, but we got a replacement plus a banks mower straight away from Adamsons to tide us over. The dealer’s been very helpful in that respect right from the start.

“I like the cut quality you get from the John Deere mowers,” he adds. “You get a sharper cut without digging into the surface, and you know if you set them up at 4mm, you get 4mm. The TechControl system with password protection on the A Model mowers is good too – it puts me in full control so I can set them up the way I want in order to deliver consistent quality across the course, whoever’s driving.

“With a small greenkeeping team it’s vital that none of us are spending valuable time in the workshop instead of out on the course. We’re now able to benefit from using up to date technology that is much more reliable and productive, and that can only be a good thing.”

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Tribute to groundsman Reg Lomas

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Tribute to groundsman Reg Lomas: Reg Lomas, former head groundsman at Stratford and Cheltenham racecourses, has died at the age of 88.

Lomas was awarded an MBE in 2002 for his work within racing and had a race run at Ludlow in his honour in October 2005, the Reg Lomas Lifetime In Racing Handicap Chase.

Tribute to groundsman Reg Lomas

Tribute to groundsman Reg Lomas

“He was a great friend of mine and I worked with him for many years,” said Philip Arkwright, former clerk of the course at Cheltenham.

“I grabbed him when he retired from Stratford, having been there for a long time, and he came to Cheltenham until I retired in 2000. He was a remarkable groundsman.”

After leaving the racecourse, Arkwright nominated Lomas for an MBE to show his appreciation and paid tribute to his practical ability.

He said: “I put him up for an MBE shortly after I retired on account of his groundwork, and he was awarded it in 2002.

“He was very knowledgeable and that wasn’t born out of scientific knowledge, but of practical years looking at turf and dealing with different types of it.

“He was a groundsman even when I was hunter-chasing back in the mid-1960s, so he did it for a good 50 years. He was bloody good at his job.”

Lomas, who is survived by wife Elizabeth, retired in June 2001 at the age of 69, but remained an active participant in the sport alongside trainer Jonjo O’Neill.

“When Reg retired Jonjo made quite a lot of use of him,” said Arkwright. “He knew him very well and used his brain a lot. They were huge mates and lived within half a mile of each other.”

Arkwright added: “From the moment I retired in 2000 we spoke on nearly every Saturday. He was a delightful man.”

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Muthing flails much in demand

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Muthing flails much in demand: Simon Richard Ltd, UK Agents for the Muthing flail range, report an excellent start to the year for their front mounted MU-FM 140 and 160 flail mowers, from Shibaura, Kubota, Ransomes and John Deere dealers.

Simon Richard says, “Financial pressures mean local authorities are looking to maintain spaces with fewer staff and cuts per year. As a result flail mowing has become more important to maintain to the standards required and the Muthing front mounted MU-FM 160 has become a ‘go to’ product for local authorities and contractors all over the UK and Ireland, whether the requirements are for rough grass or fine cut finish.

Muthing flails much in demand

Muthing flails much in demand

The quality of cut afforded by flail mowers has increased dramatically over the years, to the point where these machines are no longer kept just for rougher areas. Smaller, lightweight versions are now finding employment on golf courses and cricket wickets.

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OxyShot to the rescue

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OxyShot to the rescue: The OxyShot from Charterhouse Turf Machinery has been hailed a saviour for FC United of Manchester, enabling a fixture to be played just 48 hours after the pitch was deemed to be unplayable.

The relentless heavy rainfall in February meant that many Grounds Managers, including Graham Byrne, were unable to conduct any decompaction work which left the club with no option but to cancel valuable fixtures. One visit from local contractors Bancroft Amenities Limited and their OxyShot air injection unit saw things swiftly back on track.

OxyShot to the rescue

OxyShot to the rescue

“I was aware of one particular area, a goal mouth, that was displaying signs of reduced drainage capacity for some time” explain Graham, who has overseen the pitch at Broadhurst Park since it opened five years ago. “In a normal season, we would call on Bancroft’s to come in and conduct some aeration work to relieve this compaction and improve drainage – but the weather has meant this isn’t a normal season! The ground has been too wet and soft to get anything onto the pitch.”

The OxyShot being small and lightweight was able to be used, with the tractor and compressor, left on the side-lines. “Bancroft’s came in shortly after Storm Ciara in February with the OxyShot, which effectively shattered the compaction to improve the drainage down through the profile. There’s no denying that if we had not brought the OxyShot in, the game would have been postponed and that would have been critical income that we as a non-league club just cannot afford to lose.”

Graham says, “Since the OxyShot work was conducted, we’ve noticed the ground in the affected area to be firmer and surface water is no longer gathering. It’s an outstanding machine, and we must say thank you again to Bancroft’s for their help in our hour of need.”

The OxyShot is ideal for ‘on-the-spot’ treatment of compaction, in a variety of situations from walkways, touchlines and arboricultural operations. It uses a single 25mm probe to inject air into the soil in four directions, at a pressure of up to 110psi and to a maximum depth of 500mm (20”). It can also be fitted with an optional 14mm probe, to reduce the working depth to 250mm.

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