Woodlands Recap

18/11/2024 – Kevin Finn, Head Groundsperson

As the seasons change and yet another year draws to a close, I can look back on what I think has been a successful year with an increase in cricket bookings and also an increase in the number of teams who want to play cricket at Woodlands.

The weather forced cancellation of several games. Out of 87 bookings, the weather and other situations  resulted in a total of 18 games being cancelled.  Hopefully next year we can come closer to 100 bookings with less cancellations, so fingers crossed. I think with continued hard work, the Woodlands cricket pitches will soon have a very good reputation in the region.

The football pitches recovered well from what was a very wet winter last year. Having the verti-draining and seeding done at the end of March  worked really well. More rain with fewer dry spells this summer also helped the pitches recover. They are looking as good as I have seen them in a few years, which I think Thorpe Wood Rangers do appreciate. Hopefully, this continued approach along with other changes I have made to the maintenance routine, will keep the pitches improving for some years to come.

I think the future of Woodlands is looking very good and once we have the new Pavilion in place we should be able to make Woodlands the best sports facility in the area.

The future is looking bright and with the continued support of the Trust, I can’t wait to see where we can take it before I retire.