CATCHING UP WITH – Jared Carter

Welcome to the Bay Oval website pre-season build-up to the 2025/26 cricket season. We open this segment with our Catching Up With section that chats with the people who play a part in the Bay Oval success story.

We start with the annual catch-up with Jared Carter, who plays the pivotal role in providing the outstanding playing surfaces and training facilities in his position as the Bay Oval Turf Manager.
 
Let's start with the Super Rugby Pacific rugby encounter between the Chiefs and the Western Force on Anzac Day - what was your reaction when the proposal of rugby on the Bay Oval first surfaced?
Excited but nervous. Great to be able to use the venue for a different code and put on an exciting event such as this for the community. But then the risks associated with putting a rugby game over a cricket block, only 3 weeks after the last game, had me a little nervous. Luckily, we had a cricket schedule that allowed us to re-grass a lot of the used pitches through February, which helped a great deal.
 
What preparations were involved in transforming the ground from a cricket venue to a rugby pitch?
The main focus was to get the cricket block into a reasonable state for the match. This included trying to get as much grass back on the used surfaces and then softening the clay as much as possible. From there, it was letting the grass grow longer on the outfield, marking the lines, and putting some posts up.
 
How did the grounds surface stand up to a myriad of sprigs, and how did you protect the wicket block?
The ground held up really well. The damage was not much more than the fielding drills from when cricket teams train on the days leading into a game. As for the block, there was no protection, as we had to soften it up as much as possible for player safety. In saying that, though, we didn’t mind that as we take to top 20mm off the block every year and resurface, so damage to the block was no more than expected.
 
What was the state of the outfield after the encounter, and what was necessary to return the ground to a cricket venue?
There was very little damage to the outfield. We spent the following three weeks slowly bringing the heights down before the winter dormancy period kicks in.
 
An important component of the Blake Park cricket site is the indoor grass training wickets - what are your thoughts on the unique facility several years down the track?
I still think the greenhouse is revolutionary for training facilities for cricket, as evidenced by many other nations and provincial teams starting to build their own around the world. It does have its limitations, but these are far outweighed by its positives. I’m in no doubt that this facility, and the one in Lincoln, contributed to the Blackcaps' Test series whitewash in India and the White Ferns winning the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year.
 
Tell us a little about the day-to-day challenges of maintaining the indoor grass?
Devon and Kyle do an amazing job in there to keep pumping out high-class pitches each year. June and July in particular can still be very challenging due to the lack of drying in those two months, but other than that, having the ability to control the climate throughout the winter enables the teams to prepare for their tours or the start of the home season really well. Not to mention it's a lot nicer place to work than outside at this time of year...
 
Does the outside weather have any effect on growing the grass?
Winter plays a major role in grass growth. The outfield is couch grass and has gone into dormancy, and has stopped growing until August. The rye grass on the blocks will slow down in the next few weeks and have minimal growth for the next 2 months. So, it just becomes a waiting game until things start warming up.
 
Tell us how you create the different playing surfaces that the New Zealand teams that train at the facility may face overseas.
Last year was a great learning experience for us with both the Blackcaps and White Ferns touring the sub-continent. We experimented around with taking all the grass off with a line trimmer and then adding dry soil in the spinner's landing area or artificially creating footmarks, etc. Then we reused the same pitches for most of the winter. We basically listen to the team as to what they are likely to face and try and replicate as closely as we can.
 
What outside grass training nets are at the Bay Oval, and what maintenance is required to have them in tip-top shape?
We have 12 outside training strips that are used for match preparation and game day training. We treat these exactly the same as all the other blocks as these are required to emulate what they will be playing out in the middle.
 
And finally, to sign off - when is the Bay Oval likely to see the first balls in anger in the 2025/26 season?
I believe our first games are looking like early October at this stage. This should be confirmed in the next month or two.