Work begins to breathe new life into 60-year-old cricket square in Leighton Buzzard
Work has begun to breathe new life into a 60-year-old cricket square in Leighton Buzzard.
Leighton-Linslade Town Council’s grounds team has started a project to remove and relay the cricket wicket at Pages Park ready for the new season next year.
It is hoped the work will fix the saddling effect on the pitch, removing elements of uneven bounce and making it a safer experience for all players.
Head of grounds and environmental services at the town council Rich Davis told the LBO: “The square has saddled over time which is a natural process that happens when you continue to compact the square, and it causes the middle to sag and then the two ends are higher.
“This means when you are playing the ball pitches on the slope and it lifts the ball higher in the air causing more balls to come at you around head height.
“The work has involved removing the old surface and then rotavating the old surface to aerate it and then add fertiliser to this before compacting it back down.
“We have then added a loam based soil on top with more fertiliser mixed in.
“This is levelled off removing the saddle effect and making a more even surface before finally adding a special tri mix sports turf on top, which is more hard wearing and robust for sports usage.”
The pitch is now going to be left until February 2026 to allow it time to grow and bind in, before the usual processes are started to get it ready for play in time for the new season.