Grass is grass to sport's expert keeper of green

MECCA'S bowling green could be considered fit for champions. The Corbet Field was always affectionately known as Mecca by former Vale Rec president Tony Blondel and the club's bowling green is in line to host the finals to the prestigious island championships.

This weekend the semi-finals are being held at the club and there is a good chance it will also be awarded the finals after bowlers gave it rave reviews.

The word is that it is currently the best playing surface in the bailiwick.

Whether deserving of that accolade or not, it is a significant achievement for the club and a green that has seen something of a turnaround under greenkeeper Alan Hamilton.

The Northants man took over the reins at the end of last season and he has set himself a three-year plan.

'It's getting better but there's still a lot of work to do,' said the man also known for his skills in overseeing the KGV and Port Soif cricket squares.

'It was always going to be a three-year thing. There's a three-year plan on it.

'At the end of last season I completely renovated it to get the level back. At the end of this season I've just got a bit more scarifying to do.

'Over the three years I want to get all the thatch out of it. If I did it in one year I don't know if we would have been able to play on it this year.

'It's a gradual process. It's my first time looking after a bowling green so it's a learning curve for me.'

As the Guernsey Cricket Association's chief groundsman, Hamilton has received plaudits for his efforts at the KGV, Port Soif and Elizabeth College pitches.

For example, these days the KGV is near enough a batting paradise.

He says there is not much difference between looking after a cricket square and a bowling green.

'The basics are the same - you need to have healthy grass,' he said.

'It does need to be even like a cricket pitch. When the woods are rolling over it, you don't want them bobbling everywhere.

'But it doesn't need to be as hard. They say that if you can do a cricket square, you can do anything.

'A cricket square is a lot harder to do.'

But what has not helped Hamilton's task is the excessive rain that Guernsey and the rest of the British Isles has been experiencing this summer.

'It ruins everything to do with grass,' said Hamilton.

'I can't get the time on it that you need to. It's a nightmare.

'You can't get the time on the green when it's raining. I'm pleased with the green and so are the members.

'I'm pleased with my first year, but it could be better.'

But rain or not, Hamilton is having to pull his finger out this week to get the green in tip-top condition for the weekend's semis.

'I need to get the green spot-on that day because they judge where they will play the finals,' he said.

'Of course we want the finals. We've got a bar there and everything.'

The highlight of the weekend's action takes place at 1pm on Saturday for the semi-finals for the top event in local bowls, the Elliott Singles.

Ricky Nash meets Dan de la Mare on rink five while Sid Le Maitre takes on Don Batiste on six.