TOP DRESSING
With a tight 55-day schedule planned for summer 2022 , Kim must ensure that matches go ahead as scheduled , with rained off games one of the most significant risks . Having had the outfield levelled in August 2021 , the experienced 39 and a half year Winchester team member wanted to enhance the drainage with AMS .
Kim explains : “ We had the outfield levelled back in August / September last year , and the plan was always to have some secondary drainage put in . We didn ’ t want primary drainage because we ’ re on chalk , so the water just goes away anyway , but we wanted to help the drainage and levelling a little bit as well .
“ I had a preference on what secondary drainage I wanted to use , and I talked it through with AMS , and we looked at other options , but I had my preference .
“ It was good to be working with a company who wanted to put options forward and explore them , but at the same time , they weren ’ t pushy at all . They just presented their opinions and were happy to proceed
with what we wanted and work to get the best result .
“ I ’ m really pleased with how the project went . It all ran very smoothly , and I think that was due to the project ’ s planning and then the execution . It ’ s filling in nicely , and it was left in good condition , so we were able to play on it a week after the work was completed , and that is a testament to how well everything went .
“ We ’ ve got about 55 days of cricket coming up on there , so it ’ ll be very busy . Because we have such a busy schedule , we need to play the matches when they are planned , and that ’ s why having good secondary drainage is so important .”
The method of drainage requested by Kim was the Blec Vibramaster at 20mm sand slits , 250mm apart and 150mm deep . This was implemented after the whole outfield had been ShockWaved and was followed with topdressing , drag matting and overseeding using a 2.5m Vredo overseeder in two directions .
www . amsdrains . co . uk
GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | July 2022 55