Around 25 ground managers from around the West Midlands attended a successful ground seminar hosted by Andy Cartwright and Damon Willetts at West Bromwich Dartmouth.

Those present included a number from feeder leagues to the Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League in addition to familiar faces from a range of first and second division clubs.

Following on from the inaugural ground seminar held at Moseley in Spring 2023, those present had the opportunity to view an almost-silent electric roller operated by Sean Lloyd (RGS Worcester).

Richard Ding (Sports) kindly brought a tractor-mounted scarifier which his demonstrations showed to be extremely effective in both operation and in saving time and manual labour.

A discussion led by Andy and Damon then took place in the comfort of the Dartmouth bar. This focused on the impact of the wet springs of 2023 and 2024 and how they affected those responsible for the maintenance and preparation of cricket grounds.

The audience were privileged to hear from former New Road ground manager Tim Packwood whose equipment shed includes a pair of thigh-length waders!

Thanks go to Andy and Damon for their efforts in staging the event, to Tim, Richard and Sean for their input and to those who attended.

The BDPCL club and ground accreditation sub-committee hopes to stage further similar events in the future.