Friday Cuts For Bowling Greens And Cricket Wickets

Bowling greens and cricket wickets across Bridgend County Borough will be given their final ‘pre-match’ cuts on Fridays before fixtures this season. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Historically, bowling greens have been cut on Saturday mornings, while cricket wickets were cut, rolled and marked on Saturday, or occasionally Sunday, mornings for weekend fixtures. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Letters have been sent to all local cricket and bowls clubs to inform them of the new arrangements, and Councillor Hywel Williams, Cabinet Member for Communities said: “Due to substantially reduced budgets, weekend working is now strictly limited for parks staff, which means that this season the wickets and greens will continue to be maintained during the week, with final preparations taking place on a Friday. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“However, there may be alternatives which could enable the final preparation work to be carried out on weekends, with clubs paying for this additional service. We appreciate that the competitive playing season is little more than a month away, so it doesn’t give clubs much time to assess their options, but we are keen to hear from clubs to discuss their requirements.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​