As well as being known for our fondness for cricket, we Brits are renowned the world over for being a nation of animal lovers.

And that certainly proved to be the case here at Notts Sport Cricket Towers recently when we chanced upon a story in the news about a hapless fox cub who somehow managed to get himself tangled up in a cricket net.

Quite what the poor little chap was doing there, we don’t know – maybe he was trying to squeeze in a cheeky bit of batting practice – but despite getting himself tied up in knots, he lived to scavenge another day thanks to an RSPCA rescue.

Now we’re not the sort of folk who go round saying ‘I told you so’, but we do know of a way this unfortunate incident could have been avoided.

Because with every Notts Sport Cricket nets installation, we give our customers the option to have ground-level skirting boards fitted to make sure over-enthusiastic animals are kept well away from the playing surface.

So if you’re in the hunt (sorry!) for a top-notch, ECB-approved practice pitch for your club, give those foxes a fighting chance – and give Notts Sport Cricket a call!

As of 27th April 2010, Andy Carter is no longer employed by Notts Sport. He left by mutual consent.

Notts Sport is a big backer of the grassroots game, and so it was a real delight to design a new non-turf pitch for Old Newton Cricket Club in Stowmarket, Suffolk, giving keen players the chance to get out in the field again after years without a proper facility.

The 30m Envelope System covered with NottsWeave carpet that we created replicates many of the best playing characteristics of a grass pitch and, thanks to careful work by our approved installers, Bingham’s, the grass outfield was also left in tiptop condition and ready for action.

Bingham’s does us proud every time, and their high level of service received glowing praise from Kevin Swinburne, Chairman of Old Newton Cricket Club, who wrote:

"Just wanted to say a huge thank-you for the work the guys did. As you know, I was worried about any residual damage to the field so the fact that they
dug the ground by hand, barrowed away the spoil and also barrowed in the base components across the full length of the field was fantastic. I know this would
have made their work twice as hard, but please pass on my thanks for doing this. The artificial pitch looks great – fantastic job.”

The March issue of the Pepsi ICC Development Programme - Europe newsletter is now online at www.icc-europe.org so click on the link below to see the latest developments in European cricket.

http://www.cricketeurope2.net/docs/ECC/NEWSLETTER/issue108.pdf

As usual, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the newsletter.  If you do not already have this installed on your computer, you can download it free of charge from: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

We have added a new colour to our range of VHAF NottsSward carpets - bringing a fresh dimension to sports, play and leisure environments.

Sunset Orange joins the company's wide spectrum of surfacing options, which comprises 15 colours including Grass Green, Vivid Yellow, Lavender, Platinum Grey, Marine Green, Burgundy and Fjord Blue.

All the colours are available to create courts and pitches for individual sports such as tennis, hockey and football, and for multi-use games areas (MUGAs).

Sunset Orange and the full range of shades can also be used to mark out patterns, shapes and playground games on Notts Sport's popular ChildsPlay and Green Dragon Play systems.

Shaun Patrick says:

"Colour adds vitality to sports environments, and the new Sunset Orange looks particularly impressive as a tennis court or five-a-side football surface.

While play is fast becoming a colourful business - for example, the Polish government is investing in 15,000 new blue and orange play areas for its schools - we would like to see more local authorities, schools and clubs adding vibrancy to their sports facilities.

As well as making their sports resource uniquely eye-catching and unforgettable to the people who use it, facility owners can recreate the look of clay courts, match their pitch to local team colours, or reproduce a company or sponsor logo as part of the surface."