Advice, support and funding for maintaining cricket grounds

In this feature with the Yorkshire Cricket Board (YCB), we’ll discuss the pressures on cricket grounds in Yorkshire, improving standards and some of the new support now available for clubs and teams from the YCB.

If you read Cricket Yorkshire regularly, you’ll know that capacity of grounds is a theme I frequently discuss. It’s the happy result of more ways to play cricket in Yorkshire, with new teams and competitions, particularly with the women and girls’ game.

The challenge is that there are not enough grounds to match the demand. A situation that is fluid and varies from place to place depending on a whole range of circumstances.

Folding teams and selling land for development over many decades feature in that list and have trimmed down the number of cricket grounds in Yorkshire.

A ground might be privately-owned by a land owner as with many clubs, maintained by the council or be at a school, to give just a couple of examples.

Terms of use, availability and upkeep are just some of the facets to this puzzle and the YCB as guardians of the recreational game in the region head up an overarching strategy.

Another consideration is the pressure on those looking after cricket grounds. Where once it might have been weekends only, you may now have All Stars, Dynamos, junior and senior leagues during the week too.

That’s obviously extra work for those groundskeepers and often across different sites. As you’ll read below, improving current grounds to a certain standard and making the most use of them for cricket is a key part of the picture.

YCB Grounds Strategy

As you’d expect with something as complicated as a cricket grounds strategy where the governing body neither owns the grounds, nor can directly command stakeholders to act, there is the question: How to have the most meaningful impact?

In chatting with Richard Wilkinson, the YCB’s Head of Region for North Yorkshire who is also heavily involved with the broader grounds strategy, we discussed the YCB’s objectives and new support.

“We’re looking to bring the Grounds Management support network in Yorkshire closer together. This is down to the increasing pressure on volunteers in respect of grounds maintenance, with limited resources and finances.”

He added: “It is important that we can support clubs in maximising use of existing facilities and resources. Within this, we are working with the Grounds Management Association (GMA) on greater education and experience to upskill grounds maintenance volunteers and workforce across the County.

Grounds Management Association (GMA)

As a county board, the YCB work closely with the GMA to look at the best support possible for the network of grounds managers.

The GMA toolkit is an essential guide to Cricket Grounds Maintenance; the first point of reference for cricket club volunteers to find practical guidance on maintaining and developing their ground.

Using easy to follow text, images and videos, this resource guides you through the operations undertaken on a cricket ground and the equipment and materials used.

County Pitch Advisors

The YCB have recruited five new County Pitch Advisors to join the current team from 2025.

• Nigel Malyan – (South and West Yorkshire)
• Adam Cutmore – (South)
• David Hodgson – (West)
• Keith Hudson – (West)
• Jasmine Nicholls (YCCC) – (West)
  

These new advisors will join the current team who consist of:

• Andy Pierson – (North)
• Malcolm Maw – (East and North)
• Kevin Byrne – (North and West)
• Nasa Hussain YCCC – (West)
  

These YCB contacts will be responsible for conducting Pitch Analysis reports via the Pitch Power app, which is the current assessment tool created with the ECB and GMA.

For more info, contact Richard Wilkinson – 07850 928190 or email [email protected].

For individual contacts in your area of Yorkshire, visit the Ground section of the YCB website.

Grass Pitch Improvement Fund

The Grass Pitch Improvement Fund (GPIF) aims to tackle inequalities by providing improved access to good quality, safe playing facilities for targeted groups. The Sport England Lottery Fund will provide funding for projects in England with projects in Wales supported by the England and Wales Cricket Trust.

To qualify for the fund, clubs require a full Pitch Power report undertaken by a qualified County Pitch Advisor.

Priority will then then be given to applications which support cricket for the following groups:

• Women’s and girls’ cricket
• Cricket in diverse communities
• Disability cricket
• Low socio-economic groups (LSEG)
  

Investment will be targeted into three main areas:

• Improving the quality of squares and outfields (for grass pitches rated ‘unsuitable’ or ‘basic’ to improve to at least ‘good’)
• Creating sustainable management of sites (through irrigation and machinery improvements)
• Installing hybrid pitches to increase playing capacity
  

I imagine many maintaining cricket grounds feel somewhat isolated and left to their own devices but there is help available.

There’s more resources and support than you might have known about for your club or team’s ground. Do make contact with the YCB and discuss any of the areas raised in this article.

YCB staff can offer advice locally and grade existing pitches in order that they can potentially qualify for the ECB’s Grass Pitch Improvement Fund.

Equally, this is only part of a broader strategy as helping the existing groundskeeping community and improving current grounds sits alongside creative ways to offer more places to play, whether that’s roll-out mats on outfields or use of other sports grounds such as a 3G hockey or football pitch.

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Lots to think about and as ever, here on Cricket Yorkshire, we’ll be interviewing those involved with cricket grounds and you can read all of our articles in our Cricket Grounds Hub.

Thanks to the YCB’s Richard Wilkinson for his insight into what support is now available across Yorkshire.

All the best with mowing, rolling and the long, long list of jobs that ensure many of all ages can get outside and play cricket, thanks to you.

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