Cricket Club Slams Vandals

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Cricket Club Slams Vandals: The chairman of a cricket club has voiced his anger after their pitch was vandalised ahead of an all-important title decider.

Players and officials at Bradenham Cricket Club were left devastated last week after groundsman Brett Gates arrived to find the outfield desecrated with tyre marks.

Mr Gates subsequently took to social media to call out the “mindless damage”, branding the offenders “muppets”.

And now Tim Evans, chairman of the club, has blasted those responsible for spoiling a highly-valued community asset.

“It is just so disappointing to see,” said Mr Evans. “Whoever’s done this has just mindlessly driven round the pitch and even on the square as well. You can still see the circles where they have gone round.

“We’re fortunate that the ground itself was not that wet at the time. It was a bit damp but, had it been wet, the damage would’ve been much worse.

“We’ve had a really good year and Brett and others have put in untold work on the outfield to keep it looking nice – not just for the club, but for the whole village.

“It is just so frustrating – after all the hard work that’s been put in – to see the pitch ruined by some idiots who think they are clever. They’ve achieved nothing by doing this, other than making a complete mess of something in their own village.”

As Bradenham First XI prepares for its final game of the season at home to table-toppers Great Melton on Saturday (August 31), the club feels the pitch could barely have been damaged at a worse time.

A win will see second-placed Bradenham leapfrog their rivals into top spot, handing them the Norfolk Cricket Alliance division three title.

“Having this match against Great Melton on Saturday is all the more reason to be disappointed about the damage,” added Mr Evans.

“We’ve cut the grass and been round the pitch with a roller which has flattened out the marks as best we can ready for the weekend.

“Bradenham’s promotion has not been confirmed yet as there are all sorts of other factors that come into it, but as far as we know and as far as we’ve been told, it looks 99pc sure that we’re going up.”

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£40,000 Mower At Inverness Castle

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£40,000 Mower At Inverness Castle: Highland Council is planning to use a £40,000 remote-control lawn mower to target difficult-to-reach steep slopes around Inverness – including at the city’s famous Castle.

While the lush green banks by the castle and the River Ness are regarded as a major tourist attraction, they come with serious grass-cutting problems.

The local authority, while aware that keeping these areas well trimmed contributes significantly to the visitor experience, acknowledges that the safe maintenance of the banks has presented significant challenges.

Over the last three summers it had employed a contractor with specialist equipment to safely maintain the steep slopes.

But next week, at the City of Inverness Area Committee, councillors will be asked to consider buying their own machinery and completing the work in-house.

Purchasing the equipment would also allow enhanced maintenance of similar locations throughout the city.

The health and safety concerns associated with cutting the steep banks including the castle and river banks are being drawn to the attention of councillors.

They will be asked to approve the funding from the Common Good Fund for the 2019 season contractor, costing £14,430.

But officers are recommending the direct purchase of their own machinery at a cost of £40,000.

This would include a contribution from the Common Good Fund of £20,000. The remaining capital cost, plus the annual maintenance and operational running costs of the machine, would be met by the service.

In a report before the committee members, amenities manager Debbie Sutton says: “If the option to purchase a remote mower was approved then the added value this could facilitate would be cutting at numerous locations throughout the city including General Booth Road, Suilven Way, Leachkin Road, Scorguie Drive, Overton Avenue and Balnafettack Road.

“In addition to this, numerous other steep bank locations could be identified which have not previously been considered as safe to cut.

“Furthermore, outright ownership of this machinery would give the council greater control over the timing of the operation to ensure that it takes place at the most appropriate time rather than depending on the availability of the contractor.”

Over the last three years, a contractor has been engaged to cut the north side of the castle banks and the banks of the River Ness two or three times per summer using a remote-controlled mower.

Ms Sutton continued: “Whilst this has resulted in a high standard of maintenance of these areas, better value for money for the council could be achieved through the outright purchase of this type of machine.”

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Bridesmaids Win Groundsman Award

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Bridesmaids Win Groundsman Award: Everyone connected with both Boreham Wood and Arsenal Football Club, would like to congratulate our groundsmen Daniel Hunter and Declan Robinson on winning the very prestigious and Nationally awarded ‘groundsman of the year’ award.

The dedication, skill and application shown by these two very committed grass and soil technicians come rain, wind or shine, has meant our incredible pitch is prepared to an incredibly high standard.

After the decision was made to restructure our pitch four seasons ago and after improved investment was put in over the last three years, our hard working lads have finally been rewarded.

They have in truth both spent years knocking on the award panels door and gone close to winning this prestigious award on so many occasions, today’s news means we couldn’t be happier for these two very dedicated groundsman.

Well done Dan and well done Dec, you deserve the title of ‘groundsman of the year’.

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Hastings Groundsman Scoops Award

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Hastings Groundsman Scoops Award: Hastings United’s surface- and its architect- recognised in FA Groundsman of the Year Awards.

Grass. It’s often something we take rather for granted, isn’t it? But creating a fine surface for football doesn’t happen by chance; it involves a great deal of back-breaking work and an incredible amount of skill, which is why the FA honour those who have proved incredibly good at it. So stand up and be honoured Simon Rudkins of Hastings United- and a number of your BetVictor Isthmian colleagues!

Yesterday at St George’s Park, Simon- who recently left his role at Pilot Field after many years of incredible service- was honoured as Isthmian League Groundman of the Year. He was also the runner up in the national competition for Step Three and Four, which is why he’s holding two trophies in our image (borrowed from Simon himself, thank you).

Much credit also goes to Andrew Facey of Maldon & Tiptree, who was the Isthmian runner up, and Derrick Matthews of Hayes & Yeading United, who came third. Both Brian Quinnel of Bognor Regis Town and Andrew Ward of Wingate & Finchley were highly commended in in the Isthmian League category and the Step Three and Four awards.

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New App For Groundsmen

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New App For Groundsmen: The Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation are ramping up efforts to improve the quality of grass pitches in England with the launch of the Football Foundation Groundskeeping Community app.

The new platform provides a resource of expert advice for grounds staff, enabling them to connect with peers, discover new tips and tricks and share advice on best industry practice. Users can seek guidance from the IOG’s Regional Pitch Advisors, who are available to answer questions and update members on changes to industry standards.

New App For Groundsmen

The system is entirely free to use and will feature regular new content, with videos from high-profile groundskeepers, such as Wembley Stadium’s Karl Standley, case studies and the latest in groundskeeping techniques.

Developed in partnership with the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) and run through Hive Learning, Europe’s leading peer learning platform, the site represents the latest step of the Football Foundation’s Grass Pitch Programme, which aims to ensure every affiliated football fixture in England is played on a quality football pitch.

Karl Standley, Wembley Stadium Head Groundsman said: “Whether it’s Wembley or your local community football pitch, groundkeepers all face the same challenges.

“I think it’s great that we can now all come together on this new platform to share these challenges and help each other find solutions. We are all aware of the importance of improving the state of pitches in this country and this is a great step to making a long-lasting difference.”

Geoff Webb, IOG CEO said: “This is the culmination of over five years of work within our partnership with both the Football Foundation and The FA via the Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme and will complement the invaluable pitch-maintenance service that the Regional Pitch Advisors provide for volunteers at grassroots football clubs.

Dean Potter, Director of Grant Management at the Football Foundation, said: “The majority of community football is played on grass pitches and it’s a priority for us that we are able to sustain this.”

“We know how important football facilities are in transforming lives and bringing communities together and this platform will enable us to build a new groundskeeper community that will provide huge benefits for people across the country.”

For more information, go to http://thefa.hivelearning.com/groundskeeping.

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