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How to Protect Your Equipment Ready for Next Season
As the cricket season draws to a close, attention naturally turns from match preparation to winter maintenance.
For grounds teams, clubs, schools and universities, the months ahead provide an important opportunity to inspect, maintain and correctly store cricket equipment. Taking the time to do this now can help protect your investment, reduce unnecessary repairs and ensure your ground is ready when preparations for the new season begin.
From mobile cricket covers and flat sheets to batting cages, sight screens and netting systems, a little preparation can make a significant difference.
Cricket covers work hard throughout the season, protecting wickets and playing surfaces from the unpredictable British weather.
Before mobile covers or flat sheets are stored for winter, they should be thoroughly inspected.
Look for:
Most importantly, covers should be clean and completely dry before being folded or stored. Storing damp covers can lead to deterioration and make them far less pleasant to deal with when they are brought back out in spring.
For mobile cricket covers, winter is also a good opportunity to inspect the frame, check nuts and bolts and ensure moving components are in good condition.
Addressing smaller maintenance issues now can prevent them becoming bigger problems when you need the equipment again.
Give Your Flat Sheets Some Attention
Flat sheets are one of the most versatile pieces of equipment at a cricket ground, but their size means correct handling and storage is particularly important.
After their final use of the season, sheets should be cleaned and allowed to dry fully before being carefully folded or rolled for storage. Check grab handles, reinforced areas and eyelets for signs of wear. If repairs are required, organising these during the quieter winter period means your sheets can be ready to go when the weather starts causing problems again next season.
Mobile batting cages should also be included in your end-of-season inspection.
Check the frame, wheels, fixings and netting for any signs of wear or damage. Where possible, netting can be removed and stored indoors, off the ground, during the winter months.
If removing the net isn’t practical, lifting and securing it away from ground level can help reduce the risk of damage from wildlife and prolonged contact with wet ground.
Taking care of your batting cage over winter can extend the life of both the frame and netting and reduce the amount of work required before pre-season training begins.
Sight screens are another major piece of cricket ground equipment that can benefit from a winter inspection.
Check frames, wheels, panels and fixings and identify anything that needs repairing or replacing. Grounds with mobile sight screens should also ensure wheels and moving components remain in good working order.
Winter is an ideal time to deal with repairs or consider whether ageing equipment needs replacing, rather than discovering a problem just before the first fixture.
Netting systems can easily be overlooked once outdoor cricket activity reduces.
Inspect ball stop netting and practice facilities for:
Catching these issues early gives clubs more time to arrange repairs or replacements before outdoor training resumes.
Preparing for winter isn’t only about putting equipment away.
It is also the perfect opportunity to review how your cricket ground performed throughout the season.
Were your covers quick enough to deploy when the rain arrived? Do you need additional flat sheets? Is your existing batting cage reaching the end of its usable life? Does your sight screen need replacing? Would additional ball stop netting improve your practice facilities?
Planning these improvements during autumn and winter gives clubs, schools and grounds teams more time to budget, order and prepare ahead of the new season.
While much of your matchday equipment may be stored away, work on the square doesn’t necessarily stop.
Germination sheets can support renovation and pitch preparation by creating more favourable conditions for grass establishment. They can help retain moisture, regulate soil temperature and provide protection for newly seeded areas during periods of challenging weather.
This makes autumn and winter an important part of the preparation cycle for the following cricket season.
Preparing Now Makes Spring Easier
The start of a new cricket season can quickly become busy. Fixtures approach, training returns and grounds teams are faced with an increasingly long list of jobs.
Taking care of your equipment now means one less thing to worry about.
Cleaning, inspecting, maintaining and correctly storing your cricket equipment can help extend its working life while giving you the opportunity to identify anything that needs repairing, replacing or upgrading well before the first ball of the new season.
With over 50 years of experience, Stuart Canvas manufactures and supplies cricket ground equipment for clubs, schools, universities and professional venues.
Our cricket range includes:
Whether you’re maintaining existing equipment or planning improvements ahead of next season, our team can help you find the right solution for your ground.
Explore the Stuart Canvas cricket equipment range or speak to our team about your requirements.
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