Behind the Scenes

Groundsman

Derek looks after both the football and cricket pitches at Damerham, and takes pride in keeping the field in excellent condition.

A self-taught groundsman, he has put a great deal of time and effort, not just into doing it, but also into researching how best to treat and maintain the square.

It was relaid in 2002, and since then has got better and better, entirely due to Derek and his tireless ministrations. There’s a lot of tlc in that square.

In 2006 the Damerham pitch was awarded Most Improved Ground in Hampshire by the Hampshire League, an award Derek collected in person, with our President Trevor Kidd, from the home of Hampshire cricket, the Rosebowl.

Visiting league sides regularly give the ground the maximum possible rating.

The square is so well maintained that Derek can often get us out playing when the weather has been more suited to rugby than cricket, and many other grounds would call games off. These last three dreadful summers, that has been invaluable.

Unusually for a dedicated volunteer groundsman, Derek was never a cricketer himself. His sport is F1.

In fact he used to work on race cars, and his mechanical skills and knowledge of engines have come in useful for his work on the square. That machine he’s on in this picture is a case in point.

It’s a Benford 2-75 twin road roller with a few years under its belt. When it came to us it still had its original noisy, smoky, diesel, which was very reluctant to start. So Derek replaced it with an 8hp Honda petrol engine he rescued from an old cattle feeder he got for £40. Like you do. With this and various other modifications to its drivetrain and pump, it now works perfectly. This is typical of his ingenious improvisation.

He gives up his time on an entirely voluntary basis, because he enjoys doing it – in the same way that we give up our time to play cricket. It’s just that Derek’s hobby has a direct impact on how enjoyable ours is.

These two pictures are a dramatic illustration of just how much our splendid groundsman Derek does for us.

The one on the left was taken after the game on Wednesday night, which very nearly didn’t happen and some might say (have said) shouldn’t have. But it did, we got to play – the sole point of having a cricket pitch, let us remind the doubters.

And the one on the right, presided over by the man himself and taken before play on Sunday, shows just how extraordinarily well it recovered under his ministrations.

This strip – No. 6, as Derek calls it – has had four games, about three inches of rain, and around 1000 runs on it in the last seven days.

When you see him, buy him a pint.