Essex County Cricket Club have been praised for the quality of the pitches produced by Head Groundsman Stuart Kerrison and his team for the two England Women’s International fixtures at The Cloudfm County Ground in 2021.
The ratings are awarded by The ICC, who award a rating on the performance of the pitch and the outfield for every Test Match, One-Day International and T20 played between all full and associate member nations.
Pitches and outfields are marked after the match has ended by The ICC Match Referee on duty. The rating is then provided as feedback to the host Member Board to assist in future pitch and outfield preparations for International matches.
The Cloudfm County Ground hosted two International fixtures in 2021, the first being a T20I between England and West Indies in July, for which the Club were awarded a ‘very good’ pitch rating as well as a ‘good’ outfield rating. The second International was also a T20I between England and New Zealand in September, for which the Club were awarded a ‘very good’ rating for both pitch rating and outfield standards.
Head Groundsman, Stuart Kerrison, commented: “It’s always nice to be recognised for the hard work we put in here at Chelmsford.
“The team work incredibly hard to prepare the best pitches and outfields possible throughout the year, not only for the International matches.
“It’s been a challenging schedule which has made these marks even more pleasing and hopefully we’ll be able to host more International fixtures in 2022.”
