Netting replacement, refurbishments and upgrades…

12th July 2015

Cricket practice facility netting takes some punishment, so it’s little wonder it often shows the signs of wear & tear sooner than other elements of the system. From damage prevention and repair to replacement netting and upgrades, Anthony Burton mulls over the options…

With the season now in full swing as a player, club or committee member, you may well have noticed wear and tear on your practice facilities. Practice facility netting is often an area of prime concern, but it’s also an area where you can make cost-effective safety improvements.

Untidy netting is not only unsightly; it also presents a rift of serious safety concern as the ball stop structure is in situ for precisely that reason – to stop the ball and control its direction in a predictably safe way.

It’s not always regular wear and tear that presents a problem – it could be vermin chewing their way in or out or even intentional abuse. Whatever the cause, thecricketgroundshop.co.uk offers various options from system upgrades through to the bespoke replacement and repair of all types of netting on all types of practice facility.

For most applications we favour ‘knotted’ netting over ‘knotless’, as it enables almost invisible repairs where necessary. Knotted netting comes in both traditional duty spec and heavy-duty spec and can offer a way to give worn facilities a cost-effective ‘facelift’ before the 2016 season, with quotes available for bespoke sizing of traditional netting panels.

For clubs looking to make more of an investment, total-play’s revolutionary ‘HD Protection Tunnel’ netting design offers enhanced player safety. The system incorporates HD spec netting in a single piece design, held in position top and bottom by 5mm hi-tensile steel wires through sewn in 90mm PVC sleeves which evenly distributes the netting load, avoiding stress, pinch & wear points. Each batting lane is effectively provided its own ‘tunnel’ of netting; affording two walls of netting between lanes. The Protection Tunnel system currently comes with a 3 year limited warranty. As well as coming as standard with all new practice facility installations of total-play’s ECB approved tp365 non turf surface it can, in most cases, be retro-fitted.

As the old adage goes, ‘prevention is better than cure’ so, for clubs looking to preserve their netting additional barriers can be an effective way of helping prevent damage. Vermin skirts can be manufactured in PVC or high-density mesh in a range of colours and sizes. These provide a physical barrier on the outside of the netting, held in place with place with integrally sewn in 5mm hi-tensile steel wires, as a deterrent to chewing vermin like rabbits.

Batting curtains are also a worth considering as they afford an additional barrier at the ‘business end’ whilst also creating a more sheltered, distraction-free environment for the batsman. Again, we recommend the use of tension wires to fix into place and can manufacture these to bespoke requirements.

And if simple netting repair is what you need, we can provide pricing for a manufacturer call-out to repair on site or for factory repair once nets are removed at the end of the season.

So, whether you want new, bespoke replacement netting, to repair existing damage nets or look into installing vermin skirts or batting curtains, contact us to discuss your needs and get prices for replacements or retrofits.