Non-Turf Cricket Practice Nets | total-play Case Study
Brief:
To construct a new 3-lane 33m x 10.9m fully enclosed nets facility with the aim of enhancing the club’s coaching and practice capability. In particular, it was important that the bowling as well at the batting end of the system be fully enclosed to prevent flying balls from damaging solar panels on the clubhouse roof or hitting spectators.
TP Solution:
Taking into account the club’s need for a fully enclosed system meant that total-play made some adaptations to its standard ‘Protection Tunnel’ netting system, which effectively ‘cocoons’ each lane in its own net to prevent injury or damage from flying balls passing between lanes. The roofed bowling end, approximately 10m x 10.9m, was added to the new 3-lane 33m x 10.9m facility; with additional brackets fixed to all four sides of the steel framework and high-tension wires criss-crossed to hang nets and provide a roof net free of cable ties and yarn fixings. To complete the specification, total-play’s ECB-approved non-turf surface design, tp365, was laid.
“When the Club embarked on this project, we invited all the ECB-approved suppliers to site to assess the works location and to discuss their proposed facility designs. total-play’s presentation of its system alongside the team’s willingness to listen and respond to our specific needs was outstanding.
“We were particularly keen on the total-play “Protection Tunnel” which avoids the use of cable ties to secure the nets – in most other designs I visited the nets had been cut by ties and sections were hanging loose where ties had snapped. When you add to the equation the fact that total-play’s quote was on a par with those of the competitors and that the company has its own, dedicated in-house installation team rather than having to outsource the work to sub-contractors, it made our decision a very easy one.”
Honorary Club Secretary, Nigel Shore
