Topic: Outdoor mat... (Read 1929 times)

Yorkershire · « **on:** March 12, 2019, 11:45:50 PM »

Toying with the idea of getting a paceman-esque bowling machine..

Was going to use it on my drive.. which has block paving... was wondering about recommendations for a mat to have a flat surface for ball to bounce. Was thinking a small piece of carpet or rug? Any one have any experience of using bowling machine at home ?

SD · « **Reply #1 on:** March 13, 2019, 12:05:17 AM »

Flicx is the best I have come across but it depends on your budget

Yorkershire · « **Reply #2 on:** March 13, 2019, 12:15:42 AM »

Yeah not in the 1000s...

Chompy9760 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 13, 2019, 05:01:29 AM »

On our cement pitch I've used a 3rd hand part roll of artificial grass that I got from the local cricket club. It was a bit short, so I bought a couple rolls of cheap artificial lawn from a hardware shop. If you are using light paceman balls, the artificial lawn is probably thick enough to even out most of the iregularities, but this might not be the case with heavier balls.

The cement pitch played perfectly, but did wear out the seams on cricket balls.
The 3rd hand artificial pitch is good on the balls, but has some creases and wear that give you a few surprises.
The artificial lawn plays nice and flat (if you get the joins right), but you do get some green stain on cricket balls from friction, but not a problem with light paceman balls.
If you go to any carpet shop, they are always replacing and throwing out perfectly good carpets that would suit your needs. Asking there would be a cheap place to start.

KettonJake · « **Reply #4 on:** March 13, 2019, 08:18:46 AM »

We do dozens of domestic installs every year. You need a level base really and block paving isn�t level unfortunately

A piece of heavy roll down matting may work, feel free to contact me to discuss.

Flicx is the only solution to roll directly onto grass, it also works on an array of other base surfaces. However it is a bit of a jack of all trades, master of none. in my opinion it�s fine for soft balls and the light paceman ball but that�s it

If you plan to use 5oz bowling machine balls and/or real cricket balls you�ll need a proper base. We can install this from start to finish using compacted aggregate. We also just install shockpads and surfaces onto concrete bases that customers have arranged themselves

Yorkershire · « **Reply #5 on:** March 13, 2019, 10:21:40 AM »

Thanks for the replies.

Looking for a cheapo solution without digging up the garden. Re balls with paceman , can I get heavier balls to use with one?

Chompy9760 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 13, 2019, 11:50:08 AM »

I guess it depends what model you have. I've only run the light balls in our paceman, but I'm pretty sure that it won't handle heavier balls that well. The extra weight would really drag down the RPM of the throwing wheel , and it would take too long for the motor to get it back up to speed. Plus they are not built heavy enough to handle the extra recoil a heavy ball would have.

Quote

The balls used in the cheapy Paceman machines are utter bobbins for any meaningful practice. You'll probably find them floating all over the place in the wind too outside in the UK. That would be a bigger problem that the surface

That would be what I call 'variation'

Not that a paceman will give you the exact same ball every time, even indoors, but I think that's more meaningful than practicing the exact same shot ball after ball. I set ours up at 14m to practice leg glances, and some go down legside, while others are on middle. But I guess that's another topic.

Some may cut, and some may swing - thats part of the game, but unless you have a net, your biggest problem will be finding where all the balls went.

Chompy9760 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 14, 2019, 03:12:33 AM »

I wouldn't say a waste of time, as it's still a way of practicing hand/eye co-ordination and timing, but agree that the feedback through the bat can be misleading. They all feel a bit like they come from the middle, as there is no twisting of the handle when you hit one near the edge.

The light balls machines are fine for juniors, but more experienced cricketers will find them wanting. Personally, I would have thought all christmases came at once if I had one back when I was a kid, when my only batting option was a ball on a string hanging from the roof!

Psi · « **Reply #8 on:** March 14, 2019, 02:53:20 PM »

While on the subject of home cricket nets, I couldn't resist posting this gem. Apparently you can make your own ball machine out of a couple of rotary sanders and some simple carpentry.

I would suggest: do *not* try this at home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dBVjBwqVng

[Apologies if it's already been posted 100's of times on the forum]

Author Topic: Outdoor mat... (Read 1929 times)

Yorkershire

Outdoor mat...

SD

Re: Outdoor mat...

Yorkershire

Re: Outdoor mat...

Chompy9760

Re: Outdoor mat...

KettonJake

Re: Outdoor mat...

Yorkershire

Re: Outdoor mat...

Chompy9760

Re: Outdoor mat...

Chompy9760

Re: Outdoor mat...

Psi

Re: Outdoor mat... Homemade ball machine