A clean surface is required to ensure good clay content when top-dressing

It’s the end of a long, hard cricket season, but there’s no rest for the curator. Now is the time to start preparing for next season. The renovation and maintenance activities during the off-season will have a big influence on the quality of wickets for the next cricket season.

The type of renovation and maintenance activities required are totally dependent on whether winter sports are played on the wicket block. If the wicket block is situated in between playing fields and can be fenced off for the winter, the approach will be different to a wicket block that is in the middle of a football or rugby ground and is exposed to games and training during winter.

Winter Traffic
Australian Rules football is particularly hard on wicket blocks because play is concentrated on the centre bounce area, which is usually on or near the block. Rugby also causes extensive damage, with the added problem of sand being used for kick offs and mixing with the clay. Kicking tees are becoming more popular in Rugby and are recommended on wicket blocks. Soccer does not cause damage to the same extent because there are fewer kick offs and play is spread over the width of the field.

Turf wicket block situated in the centre square of a football ground

Wear damage is most severe during periods of wet weather, when the clay becomes soft and slippery. Training is a big issue due to the increased potential of traffic occurring during or just after a rainfall event. It is important to have a good level of communication with winter users and, if possible, to get them to stay off the centre wicket during training. The benefit to them is that the centre square area will be in better condition for games if it doesn’t turn into a mud heap during the week. Also, if training is kept off after a midweek rainfall event, there is a chance of it drying to an acceptable condition by the weekend.

In early winter, there may be an issue with the wicket block being too hard if there has been no rain. The curator may be asked to soften the surface by watering. It is important not to water immediately before a game because the surface will be slippery and wear damage will increase. Check the weather forecasts and water a few days before the game. The aim is to have the surface dry enough so it is not slippery, but still soft enough for studs to penetrate and grip.

Immediately following the cricket season, it is important to fertilise with a high rate of Nitrogen (0.5 Kg N/100m2) to promote growth and obtain a thick coverage of couch before winter. So long as the wicket block is dry enough, continue mowing at 10mm to encourage lateral growth and good turf density. Mowing also repairs wear damage by smoothing out divots and depressions.

When the winter rains arrive and the wicket block is damaged, it is very important to keep up regular repairs. After games, do not let the clay dry with footprint depressions and divots because the surface will become dangerous. Also, the foot traffic brings up black clay that smothers the leaf blades. Do not let the clay dry on the leaf or the grass will be shaded and deteriorate very rapidly. A good practice is to lightly cross roll with a hand roller while the clay is wet to smooth out surface depressions. Deeper divots can be filled in with wicket soil. Then turn the sprinklers on to wash the clay off the leaf.

Renovations should be done immediately following the last game of football when the surface has dried out. Scarifying is generally not required to remove thatch, but is beneficial to provide good clay contact with the top dressing. Do not scarify when the clay is wet. It is important to sweep or vacuum to clean up debris and remove foreign matter from the clay.

Watching how the wicket block drains after heavy rainfall will help identify low spots that can be addressed with top dressing at renovation. Top dressing is required to smooth out the surface and regain levels. Fertilize with a complete N:P:K fertilizer and follow up with a high Nitrogen fertilizer 2-3 weeks later to promote recovery growth.

If the wear damage has caused bare areas that are not likely to recover from couch rhizomes, it will be necessary to re-plant. On batting creases, solid turf can be used provided it is fully washed and pressed into the clay to retain levels.

On the pitch area it is better to plant couch runners. Take a patch of couch, including roots, and soak in a bucket of water to wash all the soil from the roots. Pull it apart into individual runners. Plant the runners by punching deep holes in the clay with a screwdriver and insert the entire runner into the hole so leaf isn’t exposed to removal by mowing. Runners should be planted about 5cm apart.

If couch is not likely to recover in time, fine leaf ryegrass can be oversown to provide grass coverage early in the season. This can be done on one or two pitches for early games, allowing the rest of the wicket block time to recover.

Under winter traffic, wicket blocks are prone to wintergrass invasion, but this could be used to an advantage where there is a thin coverage of couch. Wintergrass will remain active all winter, providing at least some grass coverage. Actively growing grasses take up water from the soil, which has a drying effect on the wicket block. The wintergrass can also assist with grass coverage for early season games. It will gradually fade out as the temperature exceeds 30 degrees during summer. Provided it is not too clumpy, wintergrass is a good transitional species between seasons.

No Winter Traffic
April is the ideal time to carry out major renovations to prepare for next season because soil temperatures are still sufficient to allow turf recovery. This is very important if a wicket is required for pre-season trials in late August and early September. Otherwise, the wicket block has to be renovated in the middle of winter to be ready for September and couch recovery will be very slow.

Damage caused by football in wet weather

Immediately following the last game, water heavily to completely wet up the profile. Flood the surface to remove debris such as dead clippings that have been rolled into the clay. Apply a high Nitrogen fertilizer at 0.5 Kg N/100m2 to stimulate couch growth. When the clay is sufficiently dry on the surface, scarify in two to four directions and shave the couch back to stubble. Remove the surface debris by sweeping or with a vacuum, leaving a clean surface on which to top-dress.

It is important to get good clay contact when top-dressing and not to bury a spongy layer of thatch and dead grass. Spread the top dressing evenly over the surface and rub in using a level lawn to pick up low spots. A complete N:P:K fertilizer can be used at this time to promote recovery. An additional high-Nitrogen fertilizer application may be required after three to four weeks to further promote couch growth before winter.

Regular mowing at a height of 10mm is essential over winter to encourage strong lateral growth and to prevent excessive thatch development. Always double cut the wicket block and do not leave mowing stripes because they can show up later in the cricket season.

The main weed problems following autumn renovation will be clover and other broadleaf weeds. While they will not survive low mowing, rolling and hot weather, broadleaf weeds detract from the presentation of the wicket block in early spring. They can be controlled with a selective herbicide when the turf has fully recovered from renovation.

The wicket block is also prone to Wintergrass invasion following autumn renovation, which will not survive the next summer, but inhibit couch growth in spring. Kerb can be used on couch wickets where there is a full grass cover in late winter to control established Wintergrass and prevent new seedling establishment. Immediately following renovation, Ronstar is a good option for pre-emergent control because it will not inhibit couch recovery.

Conclusion
Cricket wicket maintenance is not restricted to the six-month playing season. Curators must be able to manage the wicket block all year round to obtain the best possible quality playing surfaces during the cricket season.

By Peter Ruscoe,
Sports Turf Technology Pty Ltd                                  http://www.golfandsportsturf.com.au/article.asp?ArticleID=329