We’ve all done it. Turned up at the start of a cricket match and taken for granted the fact that the pitch is prepared with the stumps standing ready for the toss and the game to start. But of course, someone had to make it happen. So for those that have never given it a moment’s thought, here’s how that wicket was prepared by Puddles at Berkhamsted….

Countdown to the match:

End of the previous season – this is when it actually all starts, when the square is “put to bed”. This involves about £800 of cricket wicket dressing, fertiliser and turf tonic being added to the surface and raked in. Every other year or so, a deep scrape is performed to remove the thatch and previous dressings to open up the ground ready for the new dressing. Without this the square would gradually end up higher than the surrounding area – something you see at grounds that haven’t done the scrape.

Two months prior to the start of the new season – The heavy roller is taken over every inch of the square every day for about two months – taking about 3 hours a day per square. Tedious but essential to provide that even bounce essential to a “good track”. Should the groundsman be a batsman (which he is), you might find a few extra hours go into the square’s rolling at every opportunity. A good pre-season rolling effort will amount to around 200 hours of rolling.

Start of the season – Mark Lewarne, our colts manager, gives Puddles a list of all the colts matches to go with the weekend adult fixtures and the myriad of County, Area and District matches that will be hosted by Berkhamsted to enable him to plan how the squares will be used. With something over 100 matches to fit onto each square of 10 or 14 wicket strips, it’s a tough juggling act to keep the wear even as the weather, Cup games, rearranged fixtures all conspire to disrupt the best of plans. First XI fixtures tend to be played on the middle strips (creating an even-sided boundary) and colts’ matches use wickets of differing lengths depending upon the age group just to add to the complexity.

Early season – the square is cut twice or three times a week during the vigorous growing season – and the rolling programme continues. Each week, the outfield is mowed, usually by Ian Campbell. Other work goes on, including worm treatments, weed-killing and, in the outfield, repair of rabbit damage, litter picking, nettle strimming and so on.

One week before the match – each day now the wicket strip to be used is cut shorter than the rest of the square.

The day of the match – the wicket strip is cut one last time, rolled a final time and then marked up with the creases. The stump holes are drilled and the stumps inserted. The teams arrive and the skippers wander out to the pitch, prod it, say things along the lines of “looks bouncy” and “it will come through well on that” and toss up.

The day after the match – the pitch is swept, bowlers foot marks repaired and worn areas are reseeded. If dry, the square is watered. And did I mention that rolling continues throughout the season, until it is put to bed…?

Our groundsman, Ian Putman, works almost full time on the two squares at Berkhamsted and the extra square at Cow Roast. (He also does Abbots Langley and Hemel’s squares with the help of Derek Pratt). The Club employs him year round and provides the array of mowers, rollers, gang mowers, tractors, scarifiers and other strange looking devices for the mysterious art of groundsmanship. Plus of course, pays for the petrol, diesel and servicing and maintenance costs for all of equipment.

So, next time you are watching or playing a cricket match on our beautiful grounds, you’ll know how the Club managed to make that happen. And having  witnessed some nightmare pitches this year around the county we should say we have one of the best pitches in Herts - despite the slope!