Tag Archive for: Durham

Razor Ultra Demain mower at Durham

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Razor Ultra Demain mower at Durham: Vic Demain, Durham CCC head groundsman, says that the Dennis Razor Ultra 560 fine turf mower has made a significant improvement to the pitch at the Emirates Riverside stadium and in particular has praised the groomer reel attachment.  

Vic was appointed head groundsman at Durham County Cricket Club in 2015, following two years as deputy head groundsman at Trent Bridge and before that seven years as head groundsman at Uxbridge CC.

Razor Ultra Demain mower at Durham

He was the first ever cricket groundsman to win the Professional Groundsman of the Year in 2017 and just last year his team was named Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year. It is without doubt testament to the incredible job he is doing at the Emirates Riverside. To say that Vic is constantly striving for improvement is an understatement.

“I’m someone who constantly needs to be challenging himself,” he says and candidly admits to facing a number of trials throughout his five-year tenure at Durham.

“When I first came here a lot of the equipment was aging and money hasn’t particularly been forthcoming so we soldiered on with what we had,” he said.

However, Vic claims that his most recent addition of the Dennis Razor Ultra 560 fine turf mower has made a significant difference to his pitch preparations.

Before purchase, the mower was demonstrated at the Emirates Riverside and there was something in particular which caught Vic’s eye.

“The Razor Ultra has a tungsten tipped groomer reel and I’ve never really used one of these for cricket before. However, at the time I had a very good friend of mine with me who had come over from Australia to help out with the World Cup preparations. He is in golf now and told me that he uses groomer reels all the time. Needless to say, he was really impressed and so I decided to give it a go.

“It takes a lot of rubbish off the pitches such as creeping grasses and all the stuff that is lying down flat. This groomer simply flicks them all out and carries out a more thorough job than a cutting reel.”

Razor Ultra Demain mower at Durham

Superbly balanced and ideal for cricket pitches and other fine turf surfaces, the Razor Ultra features a 560mm (22in), 11 blade cutting cylinder for a perfect finish. An ultra-short wheelbase ensures easy manoeuvrability and excellent performance, even on undulating surfaces. The Dennis Razor Ultra encompasses the simple ‘no tools required’ click height adjusters for quick and easy operation, a feature which Vic is particularly impressed with.

“It is so easy to adjust the height of cut with the simple click adjustor – half a mm here or half a mm there, depending on requirements, and it is not a question of running for the spanners or any other tools.

“I’ve been working with Dennis for as long as I’ve been in the industry and they have never once let me down.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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

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G34D picture perfect at Durham

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G34D picture perfect at Durham CCC: The Dennis G34D cylinder mower is helping to provide a fantastic finish on the pitch at the Emirates Riverside Stadium according to Durham CCC head groundsman Vic Demain.

This year has been particularly testing for Vic and his team especially with the pressures that come with hosting games for the Official ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. However, Vic alongside his team of four, rose to the challenge and received a number of plaudits along the way.

G34D picture perfect at Durham CCC

“We had three World Cup matches, but in addition to that we had approximately twenty days of World Cup practice sessions. At the end of the day we are competing against other international cricket venues such Lords, the Oval, Trent Bridge, Headingley and Old Trafford.

When the World Cup is on TV, viewers might see a game at Lords one day and then the next day they will watch a game here at Durham. That’s a lot to live up to especially with the game being viewed by a global audience.

“The feedback we had about the pitch off the back of the World Cup was absolutely amazing and that was from people all over the world. We have to be realistic in the sense that we don’t have the same kind of budget as most of the other venues, so to be able to achieve what we did with the resources that we have, really meant a lot to me.”

For that all important, presentation Vic relies on the Dennis G34D which has been designed and built following the same concept as the popular Dennis G860 cylinder mower. Available in three different cutting sizes – 26”, 30” and 34” – the mowers incorporate a large-diameter eight bladed cutting cylinder to cater for a wide range of uses to leave a precision cut. The handlebar design makes manoeuvring easy and the wide adjustment makes it comfortable for all cutting heights.

“The G34D is a designated mower for cutting the squares and we probably cut them anywhere between once a week and fifteen times a week – depending on what presentation we need. Obviously, the more cuts the better the definition and the better it looks on television. The G34D offers superior presentation – it’s always a picture-perfect cut.”

“There are other mowers on the market and we did try a variety. However, as a grounds team we talk as a collective unit when it comes to new equipment. It was a unanimous decision to go with the G34D.

“The staff at Dennis are very amenable, have fantastic industry knowledge and the spare parts are easy to get hold of. If I build up a working relationship with someone and that relationship goes well, I will tend to stick with them. I have always put my trust in Dennis.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

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Durham CCC Groundsmen Honoured

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Durham County Cricket Club groundsmen honoured for keeping Chester-le-Street ground pitch perfect: Some of the unsung heroes of North-East sport have been honoured for their dedication to keeping a cricket field pitch perfect.

The grounds team at Durham County Cricket Club has won two major honours at this year’s Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards.

Durham CCC Groundsmen Honoured

The club won the Headland Amenity Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year and head groundsman Vic Demain was named individual Groundsman of the Year.

Both awards were presented at a ceremony at the National Conference Centre, in Birmingham, hosted by Talksport radio presenter Mark Saggers.

Mr Demain was appointed head groundsman at Chester-le-Street in 2015, following two years as deputy head groundsman at Trent Bridge.

The Durham grounds team of four full-timers and one part-timer ensure the Emirates Riverside Stadium pitch is maintained to the level demanded of an international cricket ground.

They keep records of moisture content and hardness of every match pitch, which are forwarded to the ECB so that a data picture is created for every game.

They also compile a daily record of all work undertaken on the pitch, and of daily temperatures and rainfall.

As well as internationals, the ground hosts County Championship, 50-over and T20 fixtures for Durham’s first team, second XI and academy sides, along with other events including rock and pop concerts.

The grounds team is also overseeing development of a new second XI pitch next to the stadium.

Mr Demain said he holds regular meetings with other groundsmen to: “reach out to the local community of groundsmen to help them develop within the industry”.

IOG chief executive Geoff Webb, said: “This year’s awards demonstrate the skills and passion of groundsmanship throughout the UK.

“Winning an award is testament to the dedication of the grounds teams and individuals whose ability to produce and maintain ever-improving playing surfaces, which enables more games to take place, goes largely unnoticed.”

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