The bails had hardly come off after the final first-team game of the season at Edgbaston on September 28 before head groundsman Gary Barwell and his team began major work on the whole playing surface.
The Edgbaston pitches and outfield received high praise throughout a busy programme of county and internationals matches in 2017 – but the surface, as always, ended the long season in a tired state
Basically, the square has had a whole new surface on it and the outfield is being renovated. The surface was very tired after the longest ever English season and we have got rid of all the debris that builds up in it.
Gary Barwell
Come next spring it will be back to its most pristine – and that’s because of the work which commenced right at the start of the close-season.
The whole square with its 24 pitches, was subjected to heavy-duty scarifying, then over a period of days, reseeded, treated and top-dressed before disappearing under three growth sheets for protection for ten-to-14 days.
The outfield, meanwhile, was scarified and re-seeded to ensure that the drainage remains of a standard which has kept delays due to a wet outfield to an absolute minimum at Edgbaston in recent seasons.
“With the season ending so late, we had to move quickly to get this work done before the weather turns cold,” Barwell said. “Basically, the square has had a whole new surface on it and the outfield is being renovated. The surface was very tired after the longest ever English season and we have got rid of all the debris that builds up in it.
“The field looks rough now but this work is absolutely essential to ensure that it looks at its best and, most importantly, the pitches are good, next year.”
