Staines Preparatory Pupils Aspire to Greatness with New Cricket Nets

Following complications in the construction of their new cricket nets, Staines Preparatory School & Nursery turned to Slatter Cricket & Play to remedy the problem. Our dedicated Cricket division re-built the poorly constructed nets, delivering a performance standard suitable for practicing the very highest levels of cricket.

Key Achievements

  • 2x ECB Approved NottsBase D System® Practice Pitches, as installed at Lord’s Cricket Ground
  • Heavy duty tunnel netting system to provide increased protection for bowlers and batters in the adjacent lane
  • Worked closely with school to rectify issues caused by initial contractor
  • Unique monofilament NottsGrass Ultra surface (Bringing Cricket Into the 21st Century) featuring blue edges to match school colours

 

The Challenge

Staines Preparatory School and Nursery is co-educational school where pupils are encouraged to aim high, both academically and in their extra-curricular endeavours. Sport is no exception, with the school providing an array of fantastic facilities for pupils to develop their sporting skills.

With cricket already popular amongst pupils, the school wished to deliver cricket nets to the very highest performance standards, empowering pupils to aspire to brilliance, learning and developing their skills on the best surface possible.

The school had engaged initially with an alternative supplier, however, cancelled the agreement due to continued project delays and quality of materials and installation.  The School acted quickly to engage with specialist providers with not only the quality of products and installation but with the capacity to complete the project in a short timeframe so that the crickets nets were ready for this year’s cricket season.

The Solution

While ‘more expensive’ than the initial suppliers, Slatter Cricket & Play pride ourselves on providing the best value for money. The school turned to the expertise of our cricketing division to deliver cricket nets to the standards they aspired to. With over 30 years of partnership with Notts Sport in the South, we’re proud to be the preferred non-turf cricket supplier for Lord’s, the home of cricket.

Experienced in constructing cricket nets for use by the world’s best cricketers, the school knew they were in safe hands with our dedicated team. We inspected the work that had been carried out and identified the rebuild works required to deliver the appropriate foundations, base and artificial turf system to best suit the school’s requirements.

Our team worked carefully within the school’s grounds, recycling available topsoil within the school’s dedicated eco-area.

We constructed two cricket nets to the NottsBase D System specification, with the unique NottsGrass Ultra surface (Bringing Cricket Into the 21st Century) – the same construction as all of the artificial surfaces at Lord’s, the home of cricket. providing a facility to truly inspire the school’s future cricketers, while suitable for training and development for players of all ages and abilities.

The Result

When speaking to Jon Philpott, Business Manager he explained that: “Slatter Cricket & Play went above and beyond” in delivering the project, working collaboratively with the school to ensure minimal disruption. The project showcased the importance of considering the best value for money, over cost alone, when selecting a supplier, to ensure maximum longevity, performance and return on investment. The new cricket nets were delivered on time and to budget while adhering to necessary coronavirus restrictions, to the high performance specification the school had been seeking from the start.

The nets have already proved extremely popular with pupils of all ages, with an increased interest in participation. With one of Staines Preparatory’s year six pupils already playing for Surrey CC, it’s clear that the school is equipped to serve their most talented players while developing the skills of those new to the sport.

As well as providing top-quality cricket nets for their pupils, Gavin McCoig, the school’s Facilities Manager noted how word-of-mouth was already spreading across the cricketing and local community. He explained that the quality of the nets provided an added bonus to the school, in the form of external hire, which helps to contribute to the project’s ROI.

Further to this, Jon added that providing such facilities helps to attract parents to the school, furthering Staines Preparatory’s commitment to providing the very best education for its students both academically and in extra-curricular opportunities.

When visiting the school, we were delighted to see that the nets were packed with children practicing on their lunch break – so much so that it was tough to ask them to tear themselves away while we took photos of their beloved new facility! No sooner had lunchtime finished than another set of pupils were waiting in the wings in their cricketing whites, eager to get their games session underway on the nets.

It was a joy to see just how much of an impact the facility has already had at the school, we look forward to hearing all about the cricketers of the future emerging from Staines Preparatory!

Dedicated In-House Team

Slatter Cricket & Play has an exceptional heritage in building cricket and play facilities, dating back to the company’s formation in 1991.

Projects range substantially in size, complexity and application but all continue to embrace and exhibit the same attention to detail and commitment to outstanding personal customer service.

Call 01488 501052 or email info@slattercp.com