Home Cricket pitch?
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WABH-J

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Home Cricket pitch?
« on: April 14, 2020, 09:37:13 PM »
Need some help talking down from a potentially terrible idea.

Would love to have a cricket net in the garden but it's a rented property and we're due to move next August so laying down a concrete base is out. At the moment I've been firing the bowling machine onto a scrap piece of plywood about 1.5m by 1.5m. Whilst it's workable for a bit getting the machine (just a paceman type) set up so it consistently hits the square is absolutely doing my tits in!

I think I've ruled out trying to make a natural pitch as the area where I have to bat is under a large oak that has blocked out the light for years so it's mossy and uneven - plus I don't have a roller.

My idea is to try and get a couple of meters of recycled astro turf or maybe some kind of matting and attack it to two sheets of 18mm Ply that I can hinge and fold up when not in use, thus making a sort of batting quarter size wicket.

Is this a stupid waste of time and money or for paceman balls will that work?

TIA
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KettonJake

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Re: Home Cricket pitch?
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2020, 09:55:56 PM »
No idea on paceman balls, it may work. But really if you want any kind of repeatable consistency you’ll need a proper base below it. We install layers of compacted aggregate as standard (but we will fit cricket carpet to concrete bases that customers have installed themselves) - a flicx pitch is the only removable/roll out option that will go straight down onto grass, but even these are not ideal with proper cricket balls or 5oz bola balls. In any case flicx are completely closed down currently and not fulfilling orders until restrictions ease.

We are installing a number of home nets currently, we do a few every year but demand has gone up significantly recently, unsurprisingly. Feel free to contact me to discuss but they are permanent in nature (although you could fairly easily arrange for a dig out the base and dispose of it in a skip/grab lorry, and keep the carpet when you moved. The total depth of our dig out is 145mm)
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Chompy9760

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Re: Home Cricket pitch?
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2020, 11:20:25 PM »
As far a a waste of time and money goes, your project would be minimal money, and I'm guessing you might have some extra time, so why not?

What type of paceman?  Ours only runs the light 50g balls, and they would bounce off a sheet of ply laying on grass without major issue.  Heavier balls maybe not.  Having a hinge would be a great idea to avoid an uneven join which you will always seem to find.

Be aware that sheets of ply generally come in 1.2 x 2.4 m, and while two of them hinged together would be portable, they would be heavy and awkward to move on your own - especially the 19mm stuff.

We run the paceman on a 12m pitch, and that makes it easier to hit a spot.
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WABH-J

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Re: Home Cricket pitch?
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2020, 07:21:31 AM »
So having measured up I've come to the conclusion it would work - I just have to figure out how to get hold of the sheet material without being a nuisance to everyone!
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Buzz

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Re: Home Cricket pitch?
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2020, 08:29:06 AM »
£250 will buy you a collapseable net that you can take you your next house.
As for flooring, the flicx mats are good, but expensive. So find some old carpet from the skip for now.
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WABH-J

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Re: Home Cricket pitch?
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2020, 11:57:04 AM »
Quote from: Buzz on April 15, 2020, 08:29:06 AM
£250 will buy you a collapseable net that you can take you your next house.
As for flooring, the flicx mats are good, but expensive. So find some old carpet from the skip for now.

Interesting you say that, I was wondering if a carpet would do it!
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uknsaunders

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Re: Home Cricket pitch?
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2020, 10:35:08 AM »
I looked into doing something similar and plywood/used astro seemed the most affordable route. You need stiffness in the surface for pace and bounce but also some kind of grip. Paceman balls are light so you need to avoid them simply shooting along the floor or sitting up like a tennis ball.

I wouldn't rule out grass but it will take longer to setup. Paceman balls aren't going to hit the seam or dig into the surface, so just getting it flat is the important thing. Rotavate a section of grass, get it level. Re-seed and keep the weeds off it. Purchase a light garden roller you can fill with sand/water (I've seen a fair few used on ebay/facebook). The ground doesn't need cricket ball levels of compaction just enough to keep it flat and hard. In theory, as long as you keep the grass short and fairly compact and level it shouldn't play too badly in dry periods. It might even look a bit like a wicket. If nothing the surface will be perfectly flat and you can lay wood over it later.
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