Tasmania University Cricket Club

Latest News (4th. May 2007)

Life to be made easier for Uni bowlers.

For many years now bowlers at Uni training sessions have found the going hard, at times, in the turf practice area.

When the turf practice area was originally constructed the bowler's landing area was just a part of the normal Oval itself . As such, when a new turf practice wicket has been prepared, the bowler's landing area has quickly developed holes where the bowler's spikes have dug out the soil.

In addition to this the poor drainage, coupled with the fact that it is the lowest part of the Oval, has often left the area quite moist and bowlers have struggled to keep their feet in their delivery. During last season's Under 19 Girls Championships our groundsman, amusingly, pointed out 'Lake Pedder' to the visiting mainland teams.

The combination of these factors has often made bowling at Uni training sessions a treacherous pursuit. Now that is about to change!

A couple of seasons ago Asset Management Services (A.M.S.) at the University of Tasmania agreed to trial a clay base on a couple of the turf practice wickets. The trial proved succesful and made life much easier for bowlers. The clay base has kept the landing area dry and compact and minimised the 'hole problem'. Bowlers have been sure-footed and confident in their delivery stride in the trial area.

The success of this trial has prompted A.M.S. to finish the job properly and to lay a clay base across the whole run-up deck. The job started yesterday!

The existing soil has been removed to a decent depth. In the crucial area the soil has been removed to a greater depth. The area will be completely filled with clay and the surface will be laser-levelled with a very gentle slope (~0.5 degrees) to sheet water clear off the whole area. A sub-surface drainage channel will direct the water to the northern end of the oval and then downhill to the stormwater drain. Finally, the area will be seeded ready for pre-season training later this year.

We have been pursuing this matter for many years now and we are extremely grateful to A.M.S. and UTas for taking on this project. We will all sleep much better at night now, especially our bowlers!


The finished job.


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