Cricket

In August 2001, the contract to drain 11 of the 13 fields to be used in the 2003 World Cup Cricket tournament was awarded to Shelton Drainage Solutions SA cc. To our knowledge this is the world’s largest sports turf drainage contract ever!

The contract completion date was June 2002. This was achieved in spite of the complication that the 2001/2002 domestic season schedule could not be altered and the drainage installation had to be carried out between matches.

This was made possible because the Shelton Sportsturf Drainage System caused so little damage to the field, that play could commence in affected areas just a few days after the work was completed. No other system could have made this possible. The combination of speed of installation and minimal damage to fields gave the Shelton system a competitive edge that no other drainage contractor could match.

Drainage intensity can be varied
The intensity of the drainage is related to cost and can be varied to suite criteria (such as soil permeability or commencement of play after 25mm of rain) set by the client. Various options were included in the quote to enable the 2003 World Cup cricket to decide which intensity of installation of the drainage system would ensure that they will be able to commence play within a predetermined period after heavy rainfall. No other sportsturf drainage system offers this flexibility.

Special System for Installation of TV Cables and Cover Drainage
In addition to drainage, a special configuration of cable sleeves was installed for TV cables to reach the stump cameras. An innovative design was used for the drawpits. They were finished with special “Grass Pots” which improved field aesthetics by making them almost invisible. Rainwater catchpits had to be provided on all fields to collect the run-off water from the special large inner field covers that were used for the 2003 World Cup. Again the innovative “Grass Pot” technology was used to hide the catchpits in the playing area.