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  The
construction of our new cricket pitch was completed as planned
by the end of April, 2002. The
contractors, Kestrel, arrived on the Friday as arranged did a quick, tidy and professional job. The
photo on the right shows the final brushing prior to the seeding two
days later, after which a surrounding fence pitch was erected. The parish council’s
contractors returned to re-do their job of leveling out and re-seeding
the outfield area to the council's satisfaction. In total the amount of money spent by West End Cricket Club
and the Parish Council on the ground was over £16,000. So it was with
disappointment that, on Tuesday 25th June as we returned from tour, we
found a Gypsy/traveller encampment surrounding the wicket. The
fence was damaged and the wicket itself was used
 as a crèche and
kennels. The pond was used as a toilet and underage joyriding on the
outfield was common. After a week, they left, thankfully leaving little damage to the wicket and the
fence was easily repaired. The total clean-up
bill for the Recreation Ground, paid for by
the parish
council was £4000, and steps have been taken to prevent a repeat
of this appalling event.
Autumn
2002 saw plenty of showers and low depression weather systems plaster the
ground, which meant less watering required from us! In November 2002,
the square looked lush and healthy (see picture, left), the
grass growing ever more strongly. There were occasional
reports of more damage to the chestnut paling surround, minor stuff
after last summer, and anyway the fence was taken down in April 2003
for final pitch preparations to take place. A Grand Opening Day was
organised,
 invitations being sent out to many, including ex-players
and vice-Presidents. Despite rain having been around during the
previous week, everyone was met with a magical scene unlike at any
time before, closer inspections notwithstanding! You can read about
the opening day and match
report here.
After the first half of 2003 season had passed,
and we had moved on to the usual dry summer
weather. We were forced to review the pitch maintenance programme as
the wickets looked decidedly worse for wear. Further home games were suspended until some remedial work
had been carried out. ServiceTeam, local contractors who look after
the good-condition Council pitches over at Frimley were engaged on
favourable terms to carry this work out and by the start of 2004 the wickets looked
even lusher and
greener than a year previous. ServiceTeam have given their promise to
keep up with the number of games planned for West End in 2004 and the
future looks rosy indeed.
With
thanks to Howard Turner
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