There was a distinct smell of springtime around the County Ground at Taunton this afternoon where the sun was shining for one of the first times for several days.

Head Groundsman Phil Frost who won the coveted Groundsman of the Year award for a record breaking number of times in 2001 was busy mowing and then rolling the square whilst one of his assistant's was mowing the outfield.

In another part of the ground a third member of his team was busy verti-draining the outfield with an elaborate piece of equipment that the club had hired from Torquay based Devon Garden Machinery.

Phil Frost told me, "We verti-drain the field at this time of the year to aerate the outfield, and also to reduce compaction so that it will take any storms that we get in the season."

I asked Phil how things were progressing for the new season. He told me "It's looking good for this time of year, and everything is taking shape but it's still very soft so there is nothing worth covering up at the moment."

He continued, "This is the first dry day that we've had for three weeks, so I'm giving the square a light rolling which I always do at around this time of the year.I will then progress onto the heavier rollers, but you can't rush these jobs, it's all about time."

He concluded, "Assuming that the weather stays fine we should have everything ready for the one day friendlies against the Somerset Cricket League on April 8th and the Somerset Board Eleven on April 9th."

© SOMERSET