Case studies

Natural pitch colour practice nets facility

Salford side Winton CC are among the first clubs to choose total-play Ltd’s new Natural Pitch Colour (NPC) carpet to grace their new, state-of-the-art practice nets facility.

With its ageing 2-lane practice nets no longer fit for coaching the club’s expanding senior and junior sections, the club embarked on a fundraising drive; successfully securing a £40k grant from Viridor Credits, with the remainder from a Lancashire County Cricket Club initiative called “Lancashire Line”, club funds and a generous donation from main shirt sponsor e3p Ltd.

Funds in place, the next challenge was to select a supplier, with the project going to competitive tender between three ECB approved system suppliers. According to Second Team Captain and Committee Member Nick Bellingham, total-play Ltd was the clear choice:

“Although not the cheapest, total-play’s warranties were better which we believe represents value for money. This, together with the support and advice Anthony provided during our grant application process made total-play stand out from the crowd.”

When it came to specifying the new facility, total-play worked closely with the club to ensure a bespoke finish. The new 3 lane, 33m, fully enclosed facility was built to total-play’s tp5t base design, which features a dynamic aggregate base topped with quality tufted carpet. To help improve drainage on the site, the system levels were raised. The club opted for combining the newly launched NPC (Natural Pitch Colour) and green carpet, with each lane featuring a different configuration – lane 1 features mainly green carpet with NPC borders; lane 2 – mainly NPC with green borders and lane 3 green carpet with NPC borders and white training lines.

The system was completed with HD Protection Tunnel netting, extra batting curtains, protection skirting and a lockable access gate. The facility was completed in summer 2019 and has been a real hit at the club, as Nick explains:

 “The response to the new facility has been amazing! It’s being used every day & night by all sections of the club, from the first team to the youngest members, together with the recently formed ladies’ team. We also received c.10k hits to our announcement on Twitter – so the club is buzzing!”