The Groundsman: It's a groundsman's life...

Former first-class cricket groundsman and MD of cricket surface specialist total-play Ltd, David Bates, gives an insight into what makes a good cricket groundsman

In cricket, perhaps more than any other sport, the pitch can guide any team's advantages – or disadvantages – toward a winning performance. From the grassroots volunteers who spend their free time down at the ground cutting the grass, rolling and getting the pitch ready for the rest of the members through to the professionals at top grounds, without the groundsman the game just couldn’t happen.

At the top level, the groundsman role goes beyond sound knowledge of agronomy, soil science, maintenance techniques and mechanical methods. There's an HR function in organising staff, budgets to be managed and the challenge of communicating with and managing expectations not only of players, coaches and managers, but also often the media.

But alongside the challenges there are plenty of rewards – a tight team is key, and with it the opportunity for banter and practical jokes abound. On one memorable morning during my tenure as head groundsman at Harrogate I came out of my on-site bungalow to see a series of strategically placed mounds all over the table.

My natural reaction was horror that that we'd got ourselves a mole infestation. On closer inspection, however, it was revealed that one of my colleagues – who will remain nameless – had carefully crafted these perfect little 'mole hills' out of some cricket loam from the shed!

So, what makes a good groundsman?

This is more than a job – it's a vocation that requires foresight, skill and some clever guesswork when it comes to what mother nature is going to throw up next. Controlling all these factors and making informed decisions to ensure consistency are key, but over the years I've also found that the best groundsmen are cricketers at heart, with a good understanding of how the game should be played.

During his residency at Northants CCC, David Bates gained a reputation for preparing some of the finest pitches in the country. Having worked as a pitch advisor and trainer for the Institute of Groundsmanship, David now heads up total-play Ltd – which designs and installs class-leading non-turf cricket pitches and pitch cover solutions, and sports pitch consultancy Total Turf Solutions

For more information, visit www.total-play.co.uk or call 01604 864 575