Polegate cricket club could be getting an impressive update

Polegate and Stone Cross Cricket Club, in Polegate War Memorial Recreation Ground, has submitted plans to Wealden District Council to install a new non-turf cricket pitch. This would be used for junior cricket and in emergency situations for senior use. This is because the field getting wet has resulted in matches being cancelled and this work would protect the eight-strip square on the field.

The proposed surface is NottsGrass Ultra (NGU), the first and only surface within England Cricket Board approved systems to move away from traditional fibrillated fibres used in cricket surfaces since the 1990s. It says this surface ‘[brings] cricket into the 21st century’.

This surface was chosen by Lords in 2018 for their non-turf pitch and outdoor nets, and is used in the High Performance Centre in Ireland. Planning documents says NGU provides ‘both increased wear resistance and superior performance’.

If the work was to be approved, there would be an excavation of topsoil which would then be overlain by a fixed woven carpet ‘designed to enable consistent bounce of the ball’.

No decision date or comment section can be seen on the application (reference: WD/2022/3060/LDP). You can view the plans here.

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