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Bespoke Pitch Systems

ClubTurf have two ECB approved pitch systems the ClubTurf “Natural” pitch system and the ClubTurf “International” pitch system. These are the pitch systems we would recommend and are the pitch systems we can install where the ECB have been involved with the funding. This includes the Lords Taverners and other grant bodies as well who require ECB approved pitch systems to be installed.

However if you require a different pitch system we can supply any of the following options which we have described below.

Bespoke options

An artificial pitch consists of a base surfaced with carpet(s). However there are many different options available for the base and for the carpets that we have broken them down under each section as follows.

The Base

There are two types of base construction the unbound system and the bound system

 Unbound system

The most common base construction and in our opinion the best is the Unbound pitch base. The material used is aggregate or gravel (Olisett) and this is designed to lock off in the same way as soil to provide the nearest playing performance to a grass pitch.

An unbound base is usually broken down into two components the lower base and the upper base. The lower base is a courser stone raft to provide good drainage and a solid foundation (50mm to 100mm deep). The upper base is a finer hard porous layer which holds moisture (50mm deep). The amount of moisture held in this hard porous layer bearing in mind it does drain well into the stone raft determines how the pitch performs.

In an ideal world with a small amount of work from the groundsmen all pitches would be purely unbound pitch systems with the surface straight on top of the base. This type of system (ClubTurf “Natural) requires regular rolling to iron out any irregularities that form in the hard porous layer when the pitch is used while the hard porous layer is holding significant moisture. This pitch system if well maintained is the closest to a good fine turf grass pitch and therefore the most realistic for match and practice.

The maintenance requirement has led to the development of performance pads to protect the hard porous layer and therefore reduce the amount of work required. We will discuss these further under the heading performance pads.

Bound System

Bound systems are aggregate bound together with a bonding agent such as concrete or Bitmac. The bonding agent forms a hard surface that won’t require maintenance work. However if settlement takes place or an area gets damaged in any way the whole surface will have to be removed and reinstalled.

The bound systems are the least realistic base to play cricket on. The bounce is too high in fact dangerously so. Therefore the base will require thicker performance pads to lower the bounce before the pitch can be used for cricket. The problem with these thicker pads is that they lower the bounce but they also affect the bounce characteristics with the ball stopping and bouncing rather than having a normal cricket bounce.

The Carpets

 The surface carpets are made up of the top carpet and performance pads between the top carpet and the base. Some of our competitors use carpets lower in the system but I am not convinced this has any impact on the performance of the pitch but it may make it easier for them to install the pitch.

Top Carpet

There are three types of carpet that can be used as a top carpet for an artificial cricket pitch. Our supplier Playrite have recently published an article on the different options which are woven, needlepunch and tufted. Click the link below to go direct to the article or read the summary below.

Playrite article

Woven is the most durable surface for cricket and provides a professional standard surface. In Playrite’s tests the woven surfaces were up to three times as durable as tufted.

Needlepunch is ideal for schools and local club’s who have a minimum budget. In Playrite’s tests the needlepunch surfaces were up to three times as durable as tufted.

Tufted is the least durable of the three surfaces but where life expectancy is limited anyway the tufted carpets will provide a good surface.

ClubTurf can offer the following products as supply only or as part of a pitch system. Prices are available on request.

ClubTurf                      woven

ClubWeave                  woven

ClubJunior                   needlepunch

ClubTuft                      tufted

Performance pads

 As a company we aim to provide pitches that perform as closely to fine turf grass pitches as possible. As explained earlier there is a compromise to be made with on one side maintenance and on the other side performance. The more pads or the greater the depth of padding reduces the maintenance but creates a less real cricket bounce.

The performance pad we recommend is called InterPad and is the performance pad we use in our pitch system the ClubTurf “International” system. The InterPad is 5-6mm thick and provides good protection of the hard porous lowering the amount of rolling and maintenance required. This is the thinnest pad available.

Most performance pads are needlepunch and we can supply any thickness of needlepunch carpet that is required. The thicker the pad(s) the longer the ball will hold in the pitch before bouncing and also the lower the bounce will become. For bound systems you will need much thicker performance pads to lower the bounce characteristics of the base system.