Grass half full: Keith Boyce on cricket pitches at New Rover

Keith Boyce, Head Groundsman at New Rover Cricket Club since 1999, knows a thing or two about cricket pitches.

The former groundsman at Yorkshire County Cricket Club for 30 years (below right) is talking about plotting safe passage across a boggy outfield to get the heavy equipment on:

“It’s very restricted getting machinery out to cricket squares but we all have our ways of doing it. We make our own little flight paths.”

We are at that frustrating time of year where optimism lingers with the clocks having sprung forward but persistent rain over many months makes the likelihood of club cricket seem remote.

This being early April, expect leagues to leap into action soon and pronounce postponements, a sharing of points or letting nature take its ruinous course.

With all of Keith’s experience, is there much chance of club cricket imminently? “I can’t see us getting a start this year… well, it could even be May!”

---

“It’s just been one of them years. We’ve had all sorts. I’ve been involved in the game a lot of years and I’ve got to be honest, I can’t remember a worse winter.”

---

With a mild and wet autumn, growing grass hasn’t been the problem but pre-season rolling that pitches need to conquer the demons of inconsistent bounce will be limited.

This could affect a pitch’s performance down the line but it is what it is. Groundskeepers aren’t miracle workers.

So… Keith, I ask, how has fluctuating weather over the past decade affected cricket pitches?

“What we seem to miss out on is the good, hard frost. I always used to try to get my seeds in during the autumn to get a reasonable germination. I used to enjoy getting out with the spikers.”

Relieving where a cricket ground has been compacted can usually be done by spiking the ground with holes and with the frost, Keith shares, it would then freeze down to a few inches and that encourages strong roots.

This hasn’t been possible at New Rover in the last year and without a frost but with heavy rain, all you do is fill up a hole with water!

With these frustrations, you might expect Keith to advocate for later starts or less cricket – but he’s having none of it.

---

“That’s what we’re here for. The more matches we can try to prepare pitches for, the more revenue comes into the bar and tea room and by autumn, that makes it easier to put our case forward for a few bob for maintenance work.”

---

Michael Richmond is Chair at New Rover Cricket Club and told me that the pitches at the club aren’t biased towards seniors:

“Keith absolutely thrives on seeing our juniors in action. He is so proud when he sees the juniors practising and playing and can never do enough to ensure they have the best possible facilities.”

That comes across in the way that New Rover has developed over the years. Apart from the outdoor nets crowdfunded for all ages to practice, the importance in the progression of young cricketers is front-of-mind with renovations.

---

“I’ve extended the cricket squares specifically for juniors and junior pitches get exactly the same treatment as the first-team pitches.”

---

A decent pitch with true bounce, carry and encouragement for both bat and ball is ideal for development of juniors and can be what keeps them in the game.

So, it was good to hear how pitches are helping junior cricket thrive at the Richmond Oval on Smithy Mills Lane in Adel.

We briefly flit onto the subject of birds as my office looks out onto a back garden where a pair of greenfinches are hungrily nibbling seed I’ve put out. We are like-minded on that front as Keith enjoys the blackbirds, tits and wood pigeons who flutter in to say hello.

He’d never have a cat apparently, they don’t go together I’m told, although ours is pretty content with watching the birds like his own Netflix channel.

“I feed the birds. I encourage them. I do the bird table analysis regarding what I can see. I’m fortunate here that you get the woodland and I sit out and can’t see another house anywhere.”

New Rover CC built him a bungalow as an ingenious reason to literally plant Keith at the club for years to come – and it’s worked.

It’s the cricket club’s 90th anniversary in 2024. Off the field, they’ve conquered projects like the outdoor nets and a refurbishment of the bar.

The evolution of junior cricket continues with half of the senior squad now from the junior teams. There’s also the honour of hosting the Aire-Wharfe League’s Birstwistle Cup Final in 2025 to plan for. 

Keith seems very content.

Although the buzzing traffic from the A6120 ring road is a minor gripe (he’s eagerly waiting for the adoption of more electric vehicles to quieten the roads).

A final question then and one I’ve deliberately left until the end…

At 88 years young, why keep doing it? Why not put your feet up and let someone else do the ground?

The idea horrifies Keith…

---

“That’s all I live for is cricket grounds, I just love it. I’m just addicted to it. I did my first cricket pitch way back in 1958 and since I’ve come to New Rover, I treat the ground like it’s my ground!”

---

Keith acknowledges that he can’t do everything he used to but the desire to support grassroots cricket isn’t going anywhere: “Long may my health hold up and the body standing and I just keep working.”

He added: “When the day comes when they have to pick me up in a wheelbarrow, there couldn’t be a better ending for me. It’s my life…”

It’s an extraordinary feat to be working on a cricket ground at 88 and there will be many groundskeepers out there who have learnt from Keith over the years.

All the best to New Rover Cricket Club for their season and if you’re playing there, the pitch is likely to be a belter.