Report from Iain Harrop – Groundsman at Sale CC
12/July/2021
As im sure you are aware we are in the very early stages of a long learning process on these pitches which have been installed by SIS pitches under the watchful eye of Matt Merchant at Emirates Old Trafford
They are deemed ‘Hybrid’ and not artificial which is the general feedback ive heard recently. This means that they are essentially a grass pitch with 95%+ natural grass and nylon fibre strands that are stitched in to a depth of 90mm by a uniquely designed machine ( pic inc) that amazingly puts in a total of 28km of twine that are spaced at 2cm intervals along the whole 25m length of the wicket
The thinking behind this process is help with root growth and drainage but also to bind the sub structure of the pitch to get better/harder wear and therefore increased usage
Im told that this can be upto 3x the use of a full grass wicket. Also there is quicker recovery after use mainly due to the lack of damage to the natural grass plants
This weekend was our first use of the 1st of 2 pitches we now have on the square and early signs are very promising
The pitch we used had a total of 160 overs over Saturday and Sunday and is hardly marked either by bowlers foot marks or by the batsmens scratches as the pictures 1&2 show
As far as i know Sale are the 1st club in Cheshire to have these pitches installed although they are widespread among clubs in the SE and across Yorkshire it seems. They are currently in use on all county grounds and are sanctioned by the ECB for all 1st class white ball cricket and all 2nd XI cricket and below.
Im happy to show any of your members our pitches if they want to visit but as i said before im still learning so have a limited knowledge myself currently
I enclose some pictures for you to see
I hope this has given a little more insight into what i believe will be the future of club cricket moving forward




