Durant Cricket | Specialists in Professional Cricket Equipment
Showcase of 22 Yards Cricket Centre, Gloucester

Approximately a month ago, Durant Cricket embarked on a substantial installation project at what is now recognised as The 22 Yard Cricket Centre. This specialised Centre, dedicated to cricket enthusiasts, has been meticulously designed and is managed by individuals deeply motivated by the world of cricket. The initial idea for the facility stemmed from a persistent frustration with the lack of specialised cricket facilities, not only in Gloucestershire but throughout the entire nation. 22 Yards stands as a facility equipped to replicate in-game scenarios, achieved through a combination of the founders’ ideologies and personal experiences, then matched by our expert insight.

The three-bay retractable netting system enables players to bat without the immediate netting surrounding them, providing an experience similar to a game scenario, batting outside the confines of a net. This feature is facilitated and possible by the facility’s enclosed nature, ensuring that the ball remains within the premises, safeguarding against any potential damage to infrastructure, safeguarding against any potential damage to infrastructure.

Our versatile extended run-up areas, doubling as ideal spaces for fielding drills, are rapidly gaining popularity. Offering practice areas with diverse capabilities adds significant value to cricket centers like 22 Yards. It enhances the appeal for summer camps, club training sessions, and school programs, providing additional selling points that cater to a wide range of training needs. Also, our specialist fielding turf limits injuries and severity of impact when falling.

Bringing the outdoors indoors, DuraWeave facilitates realistic practice sessions at any time. It delivers a true and consistent bounce, mimicking outdoor match conditions effectively. The specialized flooring caters to both batters and bowlers alike. We offer customizable variations in the system, allowing for adjustments in spin or seam according to specific requirements. With a standard width of 3.65m, we can manufacture DuraWeave to your desired length specifications.

Our lighting service stands as a critical component in the construction of indoor cricket centres. It’s not just about brightening up the space; it’s about creating an environment where players can perform at their best. By meticulously designing lighting solutions that eliminate shadows, minimize glare, and evenly distribute light across the playing surface, we ensure that every movement is visible and every action is clear. This not only enhances player performance but also safety.

On February 26th, the foundational work and installation of shock padding for the 22 Yard Indoor Centre commenced. At Durant Cricket, the decision to incorporate shock padding has become standard practice for the majority of our installations. This is attributed to shock padding’s recognised reliability in preserving performance, ensuring safety, and prolonging the lifespan of the facility.

Shock padding serves multiple crucial purposes. Not only does it mitigate wear and tear on the facility and safeguard foundations against long-term deterioration, but it also provides essential cushioning. This cushioning effect is invaluable as it helps reduce the impact on players’ joints and muscles during play, significantly lowering the risk of injuries, particularly those affecting the knees and ankles. This aspect is of paramount importance, especially considering 22 Yards’ commitment to hosting young training camps and accommodating high-performance cricketers like Gloucestershire’s 1st team, who frequently utilise the facility for training sessions.

After completing foundational work at 22 Yards, the next crucial step was ensuring optimal levels of brightness and evenly spread illumination throughout the indoor cricket centre. This step is essential for various reasons, including enhancing player visibility for accurate ball tracking, facilitating video analysis for performance evaluation, improving the spectator experience by eliminating visual hindrances, ensuring player safety by minimizing hazardous conditions, and maintaining consistency across different playing surfaces and training areas within the facility.

Due to the uneven ceilings of the facility, adjustments were necessary to adapt the dimensions of the practice areas. To address this challenge, our manufacturing team at Durant Cricket’s warehouse constructed a protective steel and netted structure. This structure was specifically designed to safeguard the building’s interior structure from any potential damage. With our own on-site welders and fabricators, we possess the capabilities to produce equipment tailored to effectively address such issues. The framing structure also facilitated the ideal location for installing backstop netting, effectively segregating the batting lanes from the rest of the facility. This created a secluded and dedicated area perfect for fielding training drills.

The next phase of our project at the 22 Yard Cricket Centre involved the installation of our specialized non-turf surfaces and flooring. This crucial step entailed meticulous planning and precision execution to ensure that the surfaces met the correct dimensions and required specifications desired for the facility, optimizing performance and durability. Our team carefully laid out each section of our DuraWeave surface, ensuring a seamless and uniform finish across the entire playing area. The specialized flooring was chosen for its renowned reputation, in addition to the surfaces ability to withstand the rigors of intense cricketing activities, further providing players with the necessary traction and stability.

Finally, following precise measurements, meticulous installation, and thorough verification of the nets, our team delicately marked each lane at the 22 Yard Cricket Centre. We opted for specialized white paint, specifically designed to dry quickly and withstand gradual friction, ensuring durability against regular use and potential impacts from fast bowlers like those from Gloucestershire CCC.

Along each bay, creases were meticulously painted from the batting end to the bowling end. Simultaneously, we conducted comprehensive cleaning, maintenance, and quality checks throughout the entire facility before concluding our installation on the 6th of March, meaning we had completed the installation in just over a week! Our rigorous approach and care to detail was taken to ensure that every element met the highest standards, creating a top-tier environment in anticipation of the upcoming grand opening of the cricket facility on Saturday 9th March.