An expert cricket groundsman is on a one man mission to improve Cambridgeshire’s sports pitches.
Mel Pooley, of Doddington, keeps March Town Cricket Club’s ground The Avenue in peak condition and serves as pitch advisor for the Cambridgeshire Cricket Board.
Now, as part of a joint ECB, FA and RFU scheme, he is using his expertise to tour the region’s other sporting venues, including football and rugby grounds, to improve the quality of the pitches.
To help him with his assignment, he has been provided with some top of the range machinery from Sport England, who are funding the project.
He has already carried out work at Cherry Hinton, Waterbeach and Doddington United and, on Friday, helped out at Wimblington’s home the Parkfield Leisure Centre.
Other planned destinations are Manea United, St Ives Town, Alconbury and Histon.
He said: “I’m very busy at the moment. The phone is constantly ringing. The idea is to go around different sports grounds in Cambridgeshire and improve the quality of the surfaces because that will help improve the quality of the players.”
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