By Charles Randall

24 October 2014

Sign of the times at Islington. Thanks to one flying cricket ball that damaged a car in 2011, the local council have decided to erect high netting at Wray Crescent, the borough's only public ground.

In view of past legal cases around the country involving sixes, Islington Council understandably felt they should play safe to ensure cricket could continue, but local residents protested. One voice said that erecting a 10 metre net was a “needless, ugly and expensive” project.

Pacific CC, the main users of Wray Crescent, pointed out that car damage – it was a Porsche that cost the council £680 – was very rare. Peter Hollman, secretary, told the Islington Gazette that the club realised a net might be needed. “But from our perspective it’s using a mallet to crack a nut,” he added. “The kind of cricket we play really doesn’t cause many problems - there has only been one incident in the last four years and I don’t think that involved Pacific CC. And why can’t the council rely on users to have insurance, as they have done since the 1990s? From our point of view it will reduce the boundary size, and Wray Crescent is already quite a small pitch.”

The local community produced a petition of more than 70 people in the area objecting to the net. Jonathan Ward, from Friends of Wray Crescent, said: “Large sections of the fence will be installed across the open grass of the field, creating a hazard for cricketers and other park users. The fence will cost over £60,000 and will be put up at the beginning of the cricket season and taken down at the end, at additional cost to the taxpayer. If the netting is required, then why doesn’t it protect the full boundary?”

Ward added: “Even people living next to park don’t want the fence. The park is a little oasis in what can be quite a gritty part of Islington. This fence is going to ruin our village green. We have collected signatures from passers-by who were near unanimous in their objection to this needless, ugly and expensive project. Public opinion is clear, but it seems like Islington Council is not listening.”

Janet Burgess, an Islington Council executive member, suggested they had little choice. “We want to make sure all forms of cricket can continue on the field,” she said. “Our legal advice is clear – without nets at Wray Crescent, adult cricket will have to stop, or we risk huge compensation claims. Where possible – where balls are least likely to leave the field – we are not installing fencing.”

Advice and some six-hit cases
http://www.club-cricket.co.uk/news/details/143

Winchmore Hill local warnings
http://www.club-cricket.co.uk/news/details/357

Britwell Salome costs
http://www.club-cricket.co.uk/news/details/359