Cricket Surfaces: Equipment List

The maintenance of cricket surfaces requires hand tools, to pedestrian operated to ride-on or tractor operated equipment for the outfield. Where budgets are generous then a wider range and number of equipment will be able to be provided for these surfaces from day 1, however, a useful starting list is given below.
• Pedestrian cylinder mower, typically with 8 or more blades. Height of cut checking bar.
• Pedestrian rotary mower for topping the square out of the main season and when it isn't suitable for use of a cylinder mower.
• Roller: Hand operated (e.g. Poweroll hand roller: 0.76m width, 185kg unballasted, 303kg ballasted). Ride-on (e.g. Poweroll Club 3' (0.915m) being 790kg unballasted and 1600kg ballasted).
• Scarifier: Mechanical and being capable of penetrating to 12mm as a minimum, but ideally greater where thatch build-up over the season is a problem.
• Scarifier: Hand push with metal tines.
• Aerator: Mechanical, punch action, and being capable of penetrating to a minimum depth of 100mm.
• A spiked roller.
• Dragbrush.
• Hand forks: Garden fork and border fork.
• Besom broom.
• Wheelbarrow, shovel, lute, landscape rake.
• Dragmat for speedy incorporation of light top-dressing applications.
• Knapsack sprayer.
• Wheeled walkover sprayer is very useful where volunteer groundstaff would struggle and tire using a knapsack sprayer.
• Spreader for grass seed and fertiliser applications. Typically, this would be a cyclone type spreader, but a drop-spreader might also be used for more controlled application rates, albeit slower than a cyclone spreader.
• Straight edge, which could be just a 1.8m spirit level, but ideally something larger ¯ 2.4m or 3m timber with angle iron fixed to a cutting/working edge to ensure top-dressings are evenly spread and worked in.
• String (2 x 50m), metal pins / wooden pegs, mallet, paint brush, measuring tape (100m), straight edge or marking frame.
• Stump hole marker / creator.
• Bucket, heavy repair thumper.
• Sprinkler and irrigation hose (25m-100m length, but this will depend on where the coupling point is).
• Compact tractor.
• Outfield cylinder mower: tractor trailed 3 or 5 gang units; or ride-on mower.
• Tractor mounted aerator, ideally with interchangeable tines.
• Tractor mounted mechanical scarifier, or wire tines as a minimum.