Covering Grass Wickets
Cricket covers are an essential tool for protecting grass cricket wickets from the elements. With the current shortage of cricket ground availability across the Western Bay it is vital that teams protect pitches leading into matches so that play can proceed whenever possible.
The information on this page covers WBOPCA competition requirements for covering wickets and also best practice guidance for how to do this.
Preservation and Protection of Covers
Covers are only useful if they are able to do their job effectively and this requires them to be completely waterproof.
Avoid any actions that could damage the covers and holes or tears allow water to seep through, rendering the covers inaffective.
Please do not:
- Walk on the covers with spiked shoes or any other footwear that may pierce the material
- Lie pegs or standard on top of the covers
- Drag over abrasive surfaces such as concrete or gravel
- Allow people (especially children) to play with or on covers, particularly when not in use
Preservation and Protection of Cricket Grounds
Improper storage and management of covers on cricket grounds can lead to irreversable grass damage that could prevent future games from occuring or incur consequences from Tauranga City Council and/or Western Bay of Plenty District Council.
When not in use, covers should not be left laid out in one spot for an extended period of time.
If games are abandoned due to rain, covers should not be left on the wicket block. These need to be removed as soon as play is abandoned. Leaving covers on pitches for long periods causes the grass to die underneath and renders the pitch unusable in future.
How to Apply Covers
- Ensure that you have all the materials required (covers, hessian, pegs/standards) and an adequate amount of people based on conditions
- If available, use a trolley to transport materials
- Assess the pitch, ensure it is dry, and that the block is free from debris
- Apply hessian on top of the playing pitch first, laying it out as flat as possible
- Make sure that the largest cover is centred over the playing pitch so that the neighbouring pitches are also covered (a wet block is cause for play to be abandoned even if the playing strip is dry)
- If there is significant wind, keep the cover as close to the ground as possible, to avoid people being pulled and injured by a cover swept by any gusts
- Never wrap handles around your hand or wrist - you need to be able to let cover of the cover if necessary
- Assess which way the wind is coming from and secure/peg the windward side of the cover first
- Place the rest of the pegs evenly spaced around the perimeter of the cover
How to Remove Covers
PLEATING IS THE PREFERRED OPTION FOR REMOVING AND STORING COVERS
- Assess the covers for standing water. Ensure that this water is carefully removed to the edge of the cricket block - not into the bowlers runups.
- If possible, drag the covers off the field of play and leave flat to dry during play. Moving the cover at the change of innings is also advisable to prevent grass damage underneath.
- Also remove the hessian from the field of play and lay out flat to dry. Hessian is early degraded if stored wet.
- When ready to store the covers, if you do not have a trolley available, move the covers to as close as possible to their eventual storage area
- To pleat covers, start at one end - go to the nearest eyelet/handle and drag this over the top of the cover towards the nearest end. It is preferable to pull covers into the wind.
- Repeat step 4, going to the each eyelet/handle and dragging this over the top of the rest of the cover, lining up with the end.
- Once the whole cover is pleated into a narrow strip, fold it almost in half in the other direction (handles to handles). Make sure you stop short of the end, leaving a small portion not completely overlapping.
- Begin rolling the cover up from the folded end.
- If you have a trolley you should be able to now lift the rolled cover up and onto it for transport.
For a video on this process, please click this link Bay Oval Cover Pleating Instructions
Thank you to the Kyle Dovey and the Bay Oval team for providing this useful video resource for the WBOPCA community
Fergusson Park Covers
Covers, hessian, pegs and trolleys for the three grass cricket blocks at Fergusson Park are providing by Western Bay of Plenty Cricket Association. These were recently upgraded in 2023. This was made possible by generous contributions from New Zealand Community Trust and Grassroots Trust.
Access to the shed containing the Fergusson Park covers can be gained by phoning or text messaging the WBOPCA Competitions Manager, Mikael Carter, on 021 120 5066.
For WBOPCA competition games scheduled on Fergusson Park grass wickets, the team named first on the PlayHQ is the 'home team' required to cover the playing pitch by 6:00pm on the Friday before any Saturday fixture. This team is also responsible for properly removing and storing the covers.
THANK YOU GRASSROOTS TRUST
