MIDDLESEX CRICKET APPOINTS FIRST-EVER FULL-TIME MEMBER OF GROUND STAFF<\/p>\n
Last week, Middlesex Cricket marked a landmark moment in the Club’s 162-year
\nhistory as our first-ever full-time groundsperson has started their position.<\/p>\n
Raj
\nNath has commenced his role as Head Groundsperson at the QEII Sportsground on
\nSwyncombe Avenue \u2013 the Club\u2019s new home for women\u2019s and girls\u2019 cricket.<\/p>\n
Nath
\n\u2013 who has spent many years working for Middlesex in the Community \u2013 brings to
\nthe role extensive knowledge in the turfcare industry having been responsible
\nfor grounds at Kenton Cricket Club and Chiswick Cricket Club previously.<\/p>\n
In
\naddition to working on the grounds, Nath \u2013 as part of his role with MITC, from
\nwhich he has been seconded \u2013 has overseen the county\u2019s Pitch Support Network,
\nsupporting the recreational game across Middlesex.<\/p>\n
This
\nappointment is a key part of a multi-year strategy for the site as the Club
\nstrengthens its commitment to women\u2019s and girls\u2019 cricket across the county \u2013
\nwhich in 2025 saw over 200 teams compete in fixtures.<\/p>\n
It
\nis believed that the Swyncombe Avenue ground will host girls\u2019 cricket this
\nsummer and some senior women\u2019s training sessions before Middlesex Women make it
\ntheir full-time base from 2027 onwards.<\/p>\n
Turf
\nmanagement runs in the Nath family as Raj\u2019s son, Tushal, is on the ground staff
\nat Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Commenting
\non becoming the Club\u2019s Head of Grounds, Nath said:<\/p>\n
“It
\nis a massive honour for me to be considered for the role and to be Middlesex\u2019s
\nfirst ever groundsperson.<\/p>\n
“I
\nhope that the QEII Sportsground at Swyncombe Avenue will provide a wonderful
\nfacility for us as a country to develop our women’s and girls’ teams. I am
\ndeeply indebted to those who have supported me in my career, especially the
\nlate Alan Digby from Kenton CC, who taught me everything about cricket.”<\/p>\n
Middlesex
\nCricket’s Facilities and Project Lead Josh Knappett commented:<\/p>\n
“We\u2019re
\nincredibly proud to secure Raj Nath as Head Groundsperson, becoming the first-ever
\ngrounds maintenance employee of Middlesex Cricket as he goes to work at the
\nQEII Sportsground at Swyncombe Avenue in Hounslow.<\/p>\n
“This
\nground means a huge amount to us at Middlesex Cricket as it represents the
\nfuture home of women\u2019s and girls\u2019 cricket and sits at the heart of an
\nambitious, multi-phase masterplan which we are in development of with the ECB
\nand officers and councillors in the London Borough of Hounslow. This
\ngroundsperson role is the next vital step in providing high-quality playing and
\ntraining facilities for female Middlesex cricketers.<\/p>\n
“Raj
\nbrings a wealth of experience and genuine passion for the site, which is
\nexactly what we need to produce outstanding pitches at what will become a venue
\nserving the professional, pathway and community game. We are grateful to MITC
\nfor releasing Raj to take on this role and look forward to seeing him develop
\nthe site to a first-class standard while building a strong workforce around it.
\nWith the rapid growth of the women\u2019s game and a historic under-provision of
\nfacilities, this site presents a transformational opportunity to change both
\naccess to and the experience of women\u2019s and girls\u2019 cricket across
\nMiddlesex”<\/p>\n
Middlesex\u2019s
\nDirector of Cricket Alan Coleman added:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis
\nis a significant moment in the Club\u2019s history and plays a key part in our
\ndevelopment and ongoing commitment to the future of women\u2019s and girls\u2019 cricket
\nin Middlesex.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs
\nMiddlesex Women continue to strive towards becoming a Tier One side from 2029
\nand beyond, having a permanent home is essential. The QEII Sportsground project
\nis an extremely promising one and we can\u2019t wait to see the development go from
\nstrength-to-strength \u2013 providing a state of the art base for generations to
\ncome.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIDDLESEX CRICKET APPOINTS FIRST-EVER FULL-TIME MEMBER OF GROUND STAFF Last week, Middlesex Cricket marked a landmark moment in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-529277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}