It's rained all day today so the paddock has a had a good soaking and the cracks have all swelled up and closed on the wicket. What with the ground being so moist I've taken the chance to do further repairs and try a different method. This time I used a combination of the 2/3rds chalky clay and 1/3rd garden/kitchen compost and then mixed it up. So I've filled any dents and holes that have developed at both the batting end and the bowling end. The bowling end is really uneven and the dirt put down there has made it a lot more level. Normally I'd have then rolled it, but the last time I did this the sticky clay then stuck to the roller and was pulled out of the ground. This time I put a net over the repairs and pressed the earth by standing on it into the holes and dents. The good thing about this was that you could see that the 'repair dirt' becoming moist and wet as well, so the theory as before is that the 2 wet compounds blend together and dry at a similar rate? Wont know till the sun comes out as it is due to in the next couple of days. Hopefully it'll rain a little more over-night and the new stuff with fuse with the existing soil more effectively?
The majority of the dirt went on the bowling end and it'll be interesting to see how this holds up what with being trodden every time you bowl.
