Meredith Cricket Club ground flooded after 60mm of rain fell in an hour

Meredith committee member Terry Hart said he was concerned about his club’s cricket ground after recent downpours, with more than 60mm hitting the surface on Friday night.

Meredith Cricket Club. Like all GCA the game was called off. Meredith copped 60mm of rain over night. Pictured at the ground are committee member Terry Hart and groundskeeper Damian Brunt. Picture: Mark Wilson

MEREDITH Cricket Club stalwart Terry Hart says he has concerns over the surface of the ground after it was hit with more than 60mm of rain.

Hart, a member of the Rams’ committee, said he was unsure whether the surface at Pioneer Park would be fit for play this weekend rain left it waterlogged.

The GCA4 club missed its third consecutive round when all turf and hard-wicket cricket was abandoned, with the competition organisers restructuring the fixture as a result of the rain.

Hart said he hoped cricket could return to Pioneer Park soon, but the ground was currently under water.

“The pitch itself will be fine for next Saturday if we can have a bit of dry weather because it’s a hard wicket, but it’s the oval that’s the issue,” he said.

Parts of Meredith Cricket Club’s oval was partly flooded. Picture: Mark Wilson

“We’ve got drainage on the oval but with the amount of rain over the last couple of months it’s all waterlogged and it just can’t get away, the ground is waterlogged and it’s just sitting on top unfortunately.

“It’s pretty heavy soil, more of a clay based soil and it doesn’t drain, there are certain areas of the ground that when we get decent rain it gets really heavy and boggy, but we’ve just had so much in the last few months.”

Pictured at the Royal Hotel Meredith are members of the Meredith and Lethbridge cricket clubs after play was abandoned. Picture: Mark Wilson

Meredith is currently set to host Lethbridge next Saturday, but the GCA will revise its fixture to scrap two-day matches for the fourth division.

But Hart said he had concerns about the surface of the ground.

“The council hasn’t been able to get onto the ground to cut the grass for three weeks, they finally got on the ground on Thursday but the surface has just been too soft,” he said.

“It is really soft and boggy, if we got three sunny days and a bit of wind we could get onto it next week, we would’ve been playing on Saturday if we didn’t have the 60mm of rain in an hour.

“The water just couldn’t get away.”

Originally published as Meredith Cricket Club ground flooded after 60mm of rain fell in an hour