Headingley outfield relaid

The outfield at Headingley Carnegie has gone from being bare in 2008 to ready for use later this month

Yorkshire have completed the re-turfing of the Headingley Carnegie outfield, marking the end of a six-month project to install new drainage and irrigation systems.

With the exception of the square, the 15,000 square-metre area is now covered in a specially designed reinforced mature turf grown in the Vale of York by locally-based company Lindum.

Yorkshire will first play on the new surface on April 29, against Sussex in the Friends Provident Trophy, but the White Rose players will train on it beforehand.

Besides Headingley, which will host the fourth npower Ashes Test in August, Lindum turf has also been laid this winter at the Brit Oval, the SWALEC Stadium, Old Trafford and the County Ground, Gloucester.

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said: “The laying of the turf marks the end of the first chapter of major redevelopment work being undertaken at Headingley Carnegie.

“The drainage systems now in place will be a huge plus over the coming years and will allow more cricket to be played. There is nothing more frustrating than watching the covers when the rain has stopped and these periods will be considerably lessened now.

“Yorkshire people are very proud of their cricket team and by using Lindum the players will be running out on Yorkshire turf for many years to come.”

Stephen Fell, managing director of Lindum, added: “We have been nurturing the turf through a difficult winter to provide the best possible surface for the coming season and we are just glad that the weather has been kind in the last few weeks whilst the turf has been laid.

“It is a great achievement for all the team that the ground is now finished and will be played on in only three weeks.”