The latest phase in the creation of a better playing surface at Davidson Park took place recently.  The aim was to finally complete the drainage work which commenced at the start of last season.  The project, always acknowledged as potentially disruptive, was scheduled to begin at the start of last summer but was delayed, by the contractros, until September. This delay impinged on the playing season and subsequently disabled Davidson Park completely, forcing matches at all levels played between September and January onto the Keswick School pitches at the Howrahs.

Worse still, but not surprisingly, the grass seeds which were scattered as the drainage channels were filled in late October were ineffective in the face of winter's early chill, and more emphatically seen off by Novembers's floods. The pitch emerged a striped and mottled thing made easier on the eye, and playable, thanks to the expertise of our ground staff led by John Clark, and later by tining and application of drilled sand by the main contractor. 

More seed was scattered in April but had little chance to flourish thanks to the hammer of soft shoe rugby activity beyond the end of the extended season , and the near total absence of rain. The installation of floodlights during the savagely cold spell just after Christmas, was quick and straightforward by comparison.

The pitch has now been fenced off and will remain a no-go area until the fruition of new grass at which time it will look brilliant for the start of the new season. The pitch recovery plan is simple but will nosedive without further sacrifice. This was felt initially by the gang who grafted all day to top up and re seed depressed channels. It was a hard shift in very warm conditions for a work force grateful once again to Jeremy Hall for his apprecation of the link between morale and food. England's loss of a Test Match in Australia was buried under a strong sense of achievement. The pitch has now been fenced off and will remain a no-go area until the fruition of new grass at which time it will look brilliant for the start of the new season.