Gloucestershire installing irrigation

The county ground in Bristol is set to have a new drainage system and outfield in place for the 2009 season.

Work started at Gloucestershire this week and is expected to take around 20 weeks to complete, with White Horse Contractors Ltd having extensive experience in the area.

They recently constructed Chelsea Football Club’s new training facilities at Cobham in Surrey, the rebuilding of Ascot’s racetrack and are currently working at Old Trafford in a similar capacity.

The new drainage system at Bristol will be a big boost

Gloucestershire head groundsman Sean Williams explained: “We are rebuilding the entire outfield introducing irrigation and replacing the existing drainage with a system similar to that at Lord’s.

“Everyone who saw the Test against India earlier this year knows just how effective the Lord’s drainage system can be. We are making sure that we have a system tailored towards the specific needs of the county ground.”

Gloucestershire chief executive Tom Richardson added: “This is an exciting time for the club and it is great to see this project getting under way at the ground.

“Although it looks an extreme process, the work over the coming weeks will greatly help us to get matches under way much quicker following bad weather, something that had become a more pertinent issue in recent years.

“This is a very spectator-friendly measure and it will mean more cricket is played which, obviously, is a really important change. We are very grateful to the ECB for meeting the lion’s share of the costs, which are considerable.”