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Lighthouse Phuket International Cricket Sixes 2006
PHOTO GALLERY
Preparation of the Pitch at Karon Stadium
An enormous amount of work went into preparing the Karon Stadium and laying the pitch in readiness for the tournament.
The stadium had been hit by the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 and the lush grass pitch destroyed by the seawater. It will
never recover and deperately needs to be returfed. However, the local government has higher priorities as it struggles to
rehouse victims of the tsunami and cope with the economic aftereffects.
The Sixes this year was played on a completely new matting surface, which replaced the old one used in last year’s
tournament and will be used in several league games in the Phuket area during the forthcoming season. This playing surface
was being held in a storage facility in Bangkok and was not going to be released until a fee was paid for the storage and shipping.
Enter the
Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) and
Southerners Cricket. Typical Thai style bargaining ensued and the mats were released for a substantial
fee which was all paid by the Cricket Association and the Southerners in a joint donation towards the Sixes. Southerners’
sponsor
Crown Relocations also came in to bat and offered to transport these mats down to Phuket as part of
their commitment to Southerners Cricket as well as to the development of cricket in this country.
A big thank you must go to the Cricket Association of Thailand and Southerners Cricket for acquiring this new playing
surface and gratitude to Crown for providing transportation. Thanks also to individuals Vaughan McClear
(CAT & Southerners) and John Perry (Crown & Southerners) for their commitment in seeing this achieved.
Professional groundsman Dixie Joy, a member of the Perth Postels, arrived in Phuket early to prepare the wicket for the tournament
Photo #0536: Kevin Bishop
On Monday, after first removing the loose sandy cover, Dixie levelled the playing area down to the firm clayey surface beneath and watered it in preparation for the heavy roller
Photo #0537: Kevin Bishop
Rain on Monday afternoon meant the rolling had to be postponed until Tuesday to give the gound sufficient time to dry
Photo #0538: Kevin Bishop
Dixie had to judge just how much rolling was necessary. Too much and the surface would begin to buckle. A light watering and a second roll a few hours later proved to be enough
Photo #0539: Kevin Bishop
Netting was improved and added to various parts of the stadium in an effort to prevent too many balls disappearing out of bounds, and of course, to prevent injuries to innocent by-standers unfamiliar with the hazards of this strange sport
Photo #0540: Kevin Bishop
Photo #0541: Kevin Bishop
The stadium staff mark the boundary
Photo #0543: Kevin Bishop
Torrential rain on Tuesday night failed to damage the prepared playing area and early morning sunshine helped to dry it out. The new matting surface was unrolled and pegged into position
Photo #0544: Kevin Bishop
Photo #0546: Kevin Bishop
Postels’ Mark Molinari and Mark Wiley assisted Dixie each day with laying the mat early in the morning before play, and then rolling it up and covering it at the end of the day
Photo #0547: Kevin Bishop
Photo #0548: Kevin Bishop
Photo #0549: Kevin Bishop
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