How to prepare a cricket square for spring matches

Reading the square after winter

By the time March arrives, most squares have spent four or five months under rain, frost and very little growth. The first job is not to reach for the roller or the spreader, but to walk the square properly and work out what winter has left you. Get down on your knees, part the grass and look at the crown of the plant. Check for disease scarring, bare patches where the covers sat, worm casts, and any areas that stayed wet long enough to go sour.

Pay particular attention to the ends. The worn areas in front of the stumps will always be thinner, and if they are badly poached you may need to accept that the first fixture or two goes elsewhere on the square. Push a knife or a soil probe into the top 100mm in several places. If it slides in easily, the profile is drying nicely. If it fights back or comes out smeared, hold off on any heavy work until things improve.

Make a simple plan on paper: which pitches are candidates for April and May, which need remedial work, and which should be left alone until later in the season. A square prepared in a panic in the week before the first match never bounces as well as one that has been coaxed along for six weeks.

Scarify before you feed

Once the grass has started to grow — usually when soil temperatures at 100mm are sitting around 6 to 8°C — it is time to clean out the square. Raking or scarifying removes the dead leaf, stolon and thatch that has built up over winter. That material holds moisture against the crown, harbours disease and prevents the roller from doing its job evenly.

Work in two directions, at right angles, using a spring-tine rake or a powered scarifier set shallow. On a fine-leaved square, one pass in each direction is plenty to begin with; you can repeat in a fortnight if there is still a mat of debris coming up. Be careful not to rip into the crown or tear out healthy plants. The aim is to lift the rubbish, not scalp the square.

• Collect and remove all debris — do not leave it to break down on the surface.
• Brush the square afterwards to stand the grass back up.
• Check for any localised hollows and note them for top dressing later.
• If you find bare areas larger than a hand, mark them for overseeding.

A clean square takes feed and water far more effectively, and it responds to rolling with a much more uniform surface.

Feeding for even growth

Do not be tempted to push the square with a heavy nitrogen dose in early spring. Lush, soft growth is exactly what you do not want going into April — it is weak, disease-prone and slow to harden off. A balanced spring feed with a modest amount of nitrogen alongside phosphorus and potassium is a better choice.

Apply with a calibrated spreader, in two passes at half rate in opposite directions, to avoid stripes and overlaps. A typical granular spring feed at around 30 to 35g per square metre will usually do the job, but always follow the product label rather than a figure pulled from memory. Water it in lightly if no rain is forecast within a day or two.

If the square is uneven in colour and vigour — often the case where covers have sat — consider a light liquid feed to even things up before the first match. Iron can be useful for hardening the plant and improving colour, but use it sparingly on young growth.

Rolling: gentle at first, then with purpose

Rolling is where spring preparation is won or lost. The mistake is to go heavy too early on a wet profile, which smears the surface, seals the pores and creates a layer of compaction that lasts all summer. Wait until the top 50mm is moist but crumbly — if the roller leaves a shiny trail or the soil sticks to the drum, stop.

Start with a light roller, around 250 to 500kg, and work up and down the square rather than across it. Do two or three light passes in the first week, then increase the weight gradually over the following fortnight as the soil dries and the grass knits together. By the time you are within ten days of the first fixture, a heavier roller of a tonne or more is appropriate, but only on a firm, dry surface.

Watch the ends closely. They dry and firm faster than the middle, so they need less rolling, not more. Over-rolling the ends is the quickest way to create a surface that cracks in May.

Mowing, watering and filling the gaps

Begin mowing as soon as growth allows, but keep the height up at around 15 to 20mm for the first few cuts. This encourages the plant to tiller and thicken rather than stretch. Over three or four weeks, gradually bring the height down to the 6 to 8mm you want for match play — never more than a third of the leaf off in one cut.

Water deeply and infrequently to push roots down rather than encourage shallow, surface-hugging growth. If bare patches need overseeding, do it now rather than in April, using a seed mix suited to your square and brushing it into the surface. Keep the seedbed damp until germination, then ease back.

Light top dressing with a compatible loam will help level minor hollows and improve the surface, but keep quantities small and work it in with a lute or brush.

Choosing pitches and the final week

Pick your early-season pitches from the best-prepared, best-drained parts of the square, and prepare them in good time rather than all at once. Mark out the first pitch at least ten days before use so you can give it focused rolling, mowing and watering.

In the final week, firm the pitch with the heaviest roller the conditions allow, mow down to match height, and give a light watering only if the surface is genuinely dry underneath. Check your line markings, stump holes and any required covering. A square that has been scarified, fed, rolled and mown with patience through March and early April will give you even bounce, healthy grass and fewer headaches once the season gets properly under way.