At the weekend when the video clips were shot of Joe bowling me with his Wrong Un http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUG6g9VLyd8 the wicket was going through a new stage. See images. The ground now having totally dried out has gone through the 'Big Cracks' stage and is now crumbling on the surface and the sections divided up by the big cracks seem to be becoming loose deeper down and therefore move when you try and move them. For the moment where the cracks are the edges are softening and breaking up, making the surface good for spinning on.
What we really need is water e.g. some heavy rain. I can appreciate if you've got a proper cricket wicket with access to a water supply it would be relatively easy to re-wet the ground and just roll it compressing the earth and re-creating a superb flat surface again. Unfortunately we have to wait for rain.
It's going to be interesting to see how well the grass recovers once the summer ends and we're able to re-seed it. I'm tempted to work on the other end as well this autumn and perhaps establish a crease a lot further back from the point where we bowl. That might mean that next summer we would tear up and damage/flatten an area in the middle of the current wicket extending the good really flat section?
Had a bowl and a bat tonight with Matt Pinnock, which was good and he might be looking to make it a regular feature. It gives me opportunities to devise batting strategies for spinners, not that they worked out that well tonight.
