The close of a vintage season of Village Cricket on the Common and with memories still fresh from this summer’s highs and lows, the Nutters groundsmen have swooped into action to tidy the ground and give the square some much needed TLC.

Following on from a difficult wet spring preparing the wicket, the decision was made to undertake work to improve the condition of the square for future benefit. The Nutters were treated to a visit from Chris Vacher (a professional groundsmen and friend of our very own skipper) who very kindly gave his thoughts and recommendations about what the Club could do. On the back of that meeting, plans were made to carry out the work necessary on the square and some new pieces of equipment have been bought and hired.

During the organisational period for the wicket improvements, we have also seen another oak tree felled in the journey towards building our new pavilion. Although the club realises that this is an important step in preparing to lay the foundations, we are still immensely saddened by the loss of such an important piece of the common’s scenery and ecology. The resulting logs have been split and delivered to members of the parish and chippings have been spread around the site.

The square received multiple cuts and a thorough hand weeding in order to make best use of a scarifier the club hired from Sussex Association of Cricket Groundsmen. The scarification process removed layers of thatch and moss that had accumulated over the past couple of seasons. Our thanks go to Brian Fletcher for all his help and wisdom guiding our team through the process, we hope to see you next year! The wickets have been heavily seeded to produce a more even covering of grass along the scarified grooves and high-quality loam applied. The team pulled together to pass the heavy roller along each wicket and press in the seed and loam. Fertiliser has been spread around to encourage the grass seed to germinate quickly. The result of all the team’s efforts looks fantastic and should allow for some great cricketing contests in the future.

Huge thanks go to our ‘Joint Head Groundsmen’ Jonty Greenwood and Jeremy James as well as our ‘executive groundsman’ Ben Hewson and everyone who lent a hand over the last month for all their hard work organising and committing to the work. The works parties have been hugely enjoyable and really highlights what a great Club this is to be a part of.

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