Well done to Imperial Commander

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Click here to read why I sensationally sacrificed the big bucks of Chelsea for the adventure of Watford

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(image on left not representative of how relative my support of Watford is to my support of Middlesex)

Vic
As i mentioned earlier i have now started to re turf the garden,spent a few back breaking hours today clearing the bald,dead parts!
Would this work.............if i put down a hessian style cloth,and put new top soil down(how much please?),the new turf on top soil,would the turf take ok?
Have dug approx 1" off the top,and now fully knackered!
cheers mate

JW, thank you for bringing this back to reality after a brief interlude. He went well throughout unlike Kauto, who never travelled and made a couple of horrible mistakes. Denman had every chance, there can be no complaints. Four days of top quality entertainment, well done Channel 4, huge crowds, great racing, sport at its very best.

Beefy,
Not sure why you want the hessian? Would fork over the soil below, toss on some top soil to about level with existing turf, firm it down with your heel, if needed add more top soil, rake it over, then lay turf, again heel down edges and keep well watered. Can't say how much soil but keep adding bags till enough.
Easy work this grass cutting ain't it?

Between my wife and daughter they had Imperial Commander to win, Denman win and Mon Mome e/w. So a profitable afternoon even though they lost their money on Denman.

Think I might just invest in their pin sticking.

Jeff,

Only ex bankers and their families can afford to bet (and lose), not poor old grass cutters, so my money remains firmly where you suggested thank you.

Think the saying is "money goes to money" but good fortune to the Coleman family and keep up the pin sticking.

Cheers for that Vic,only thinking about hessian to try and stop the dreaded weeds showing up,maybe not a good idea.Will do as your good self says.Many thanks for your help.I ache in places i never thought i could ache in! I now realise all the hard work you boys put into getting the grounds ready for the matches,i only had my front lawn to sort out,you got a huge area.
Noticed the roller was out on the ground this lunchtime as well,all going well i hope in your preperations for the coming season.
cheers mate

Indeed Beefy, we are now almost ready, Amazing what a difference a good couple of weeks looks. Got another roll across the square yesterday morning before a survey on the bowling green levels.
Good luck with the lawn, if the grass coverage remains strong, weeds won't get in. All a fight for space and survival of the fittest.
Each to their own mate, sure I couldn't do your work.

Vic,
I am deeply disappointed that you have failed to come up with a suggestion for my doggy ruined lawn.
Things are now getting desperate ... the craters are now threatening the underpinning of the property.
There will be ,of course, a drink in it for your good self.
Very best wishes Desperate of Barnet

BH,
sorry to disappoint, must admit to thinking you were caught up in all that lettuce stuff. Not a problem that one normally encounters at Uxb, as for some strange reason dogs are banned from the field.
Perhaps you could ban the puppy from your garden and get out on walks more often. Do believe puppies are good for attracting the opposite sex as well, perhaps have a stroll down the Barnet rec.

Nice ideas. But she already has four walks a day and loves the garden.Perhaps swapping her for a hamster would be the answer....? Cheers BH. P.S. Would that be attracting the opposite sex to me or to her ?

Ah, it's a @#$%&. Why do they kill grass and dogs don't? Just have to go for decking BH.

Vic

Derbyshire have just been given planning permission to change the alignment of the pitch.

link

Leaving aside the issue of where planning permission comes into it, how would you prepare a square if you didn't know whether the pitches were to run North-South or East-West?

HR, the pitches can only run one way, you can't have the evening sun shining in the batsmans eyes. We used to play a club called Harwell village, who always batted first on a ropey pitch and bowled after tea when their left arm bowler came right out of the sun.
Think this is also due to happen at Old Trafford.
Hope that answers your question.

Vic, my point was that up to now the Derby square has been running broadly east-west; hence their problem of 'sun stopped play' in day night games. To get round this they're turning the square round from the start of this season.

However because they've only now got the agreement the groundsman hasn't known which way the pitches will be running. Does it matter from a preparation point of view which way the pitches run? Do you roll equally across and along the square?

Racer,
Sorry was a quick reply at lunch, now have more time. Take a look at the following link, which shows this work has been ongoing for some time now [www.pitchcare.com]
To answer your point, I'm not sure what they will have done a Derby but it would cause minimal inconvenience as the only thing which may be changed would be the pattern of rolling. We tend to roll across the square, then the two diagonals and finish in line of play.
As the Derby groundsman got the best combined marks overall for 4 & 1 day cricket last season, I am sure all will be fine.
Hope that is a better effort.
Regards, Vic.

Vic
Thanks for your tips on laying turf,all put down this morning,watered and looking good.Just hope nobody walks over it,as its the front garden!
cheers mate

Umpire appointements have been made for the 2010 season. At Uxb we have Mark Benson & Barry Dudlestone for the 2 x T/20 games and Jeff Evans & David Millns for the Championship.
Pleased with those.

Vic - we were supposed to be playing at Ealing this weekend. Could you possibly have got wickets ready for such an early date, in the average English March?

DB, we could have played last weekend and perhaps the week previous, probably could have got a game on this weekend with good use of covers. Difficult ask though and it's a long season, one can understand grounds not wanting to jeopardize their square in an effort to get a friendly on.
As always it's a difficult balance, how much revenue is the game going to bring in on a date when nothing would normally be happening?
Vic.