A new wicket will be laid at Seebarn, home of Vienna Cricket Club, Austria’s oldest cricket club, and Austria’s oldest dedicated cricket ground before the start of the 2014 season. The previous pitch has been in constant use since 2007 and needs to be replaced so Vienna Cricket Club are undertaking this urgent work before the start of the 2014 season, having also reseeded the run-ups at both ends during the close season. A milder than expected winter has certainly been appreciated in terms of how the new grass has taken. In addition to a new mat from Playrite, the crushed aggregate underlay, which is the bed on which the pitch sits also has to be renewed, and the club has enlisted the help of Strabag to assist in this part of the project.
Simon Birch, Chairman Vienna CC, said, “With the volume of cricket played on the ground, there is little respite for the ground to recover during the season, or for any improvement and repair work on the ground. Fortunately, with a mild winter this year, the work carried out at the end of last season as part of the annual work of getting the ground ready ahead of the winter has meant that the reseeded run-ups have had plenty of growing time. A project like a new wicket in Seebarn is a considerable undertaking for a club like Vienna CC, which is very dependent on its members to contribute in terms of financial support and manpower, but we hope that by investing sensibly and sustainably, we can ensure that clubs in Austria benefit from the best possible conditions to play cricket in.”