The Grounds Team Go Global

Our grounds team is renowned the world over for the calibre of Adelaide Oval’s playing surface and cricket pitches. And that reputation takes them places.

Over the last few months, our Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions team – the consulting arm of our Grounds department that shares expertise and services with other stadiums and events – has been delivering cricket pitches for the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup in the USA.

Meanwhile, two of our Grounds people have been on secondment at major UK sporting destinations – the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and Lord’s Cricket Ground. While our hallowed home ground is always our number one priority, opportunities like these allow us to showcase Adelaide Oval on the world stage and bring back best practice knowledge to keep our grounds in immaculate shape.

Adelaide Oval, SA, Australia 
Update from Pete Foreman, Adelaide Oval Turf Manager: 

It’s been a fantastic footy season so far and the team has delivered a world-class playing surface each and every week. Outside of the packed AFL season including AFL Gather Round, our highlight has been the recent Matildas v China PR game.

Our team worked from the final siren of a Thursday night AFL game to transform the ground into a soccer pitch overnight in time for Friday, and then washed it out again ready for AFL the following Thursday. Tight turnarounds like that are always high adrenaline but the entire team pulls together to make it happen.

When we introduced the Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions side of the business, we were careful to build up the team to ensure we had the capacity to consult while also maintaining a full team here at Adelaide Oval. As Turf Manager I lead that home team, and I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved this season.

We love hearing from our mates on their travels – still waiting on a NYC souvenir from Houghy, though.

Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, USA 
Update from Damian Hough, Head Curator:

We’ve been working with the ICC on ten drop-in pitches since November last year, when we started growing them in Florida (you can read all about that process here).

Since then, I’ve flown between the US and Adelaide a couple of times to check on their progress and their transportation to New York. We were really happy with how they came up, and it was incredible to see them go into the pop-up stadium that the

ICC put together on Long Island. We’ve also had a couple of team members helping out at the World Cup venue in Florida.

The tournament has been full of cricket fans – and some Americans enjoying their first cricket experience – which has created a great atmosphere. The highlight was definitely India v Pakistan, when a full house helped cheer India to victory.

We’ve learned a lot about preparing pitches in such a short time frame. Its great to be home now, thinking about our own summer of cricket and about what other opportunities might be on the horizon.

Wimbledon, London, UK
Update from Brooke Francis, Grounds Person: 

Hello from London! The Wimbledon finals have just taken place here at the All England Club, and it’s been incredible to be a part of it.

For much of the tournament, my job was to mark lines on courts 8, 9 and 10. On day 13,  I had the great honour to line out centre court for the Women’s Singles Final. It’s always been a dream of mine, and to be the first Australian and first woman to do so is really special.

One of the highlights of my role at Adelaide Oval has been working with our neighbours Next Gen on their tennis courts, as well as making sure the stadium and surrounds are immaculate down to the smallest detail.

To do so at Wimbledon is as good as it gets – I’ll be bringing everything I’ve learned back home with me this summer.

Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, UK
Update from Caleb Hearn, Grounds Person: 

There’s something special about cricket at Adelaide Oval, but there’s no denying Lord’s is the Home of Cricket.

Pretty amazing to not just call this my workplace for the summer, but actually prepare a pitch here at Lord’s. It’s been a great experience to work with a different climate, soil and grass type and approach to prep than what I’m used to.

We’ve just finished up our first men’s test of the season with England beating the West Indies. Now, we’re straight into a women’s T20I and then preparing for a second test between England and Sri Lanka in August. It’s full on but exciting to see all our hard work pay off.

Looking forward to coming back in time for the Adelaide summer of cricket… hopefully there’s a bit more sun than here in the UK!