All-women ground staff prepare Edgbaston Ashes wicket

Ashes fever returned to Edgbaston on July 1 where England women took on Australia in the first of three IT20s.
This match marks another milestone in the women's game as for the first time ever the wicket was prepared by an all-women grounds team. Edgbaston has assembled a team of eight female sports turf specialists – led by Meg Lay, Sports Turf Operative at Gloucestershire CCC’s Seat Unique Stadium – as part of efforts to promote cricket careers for women and girls.
Meg, who was one the first female ground staff members in professional cricket, hopes the initiative will encourage more women to follow in her footsteps.
She added: “The sports turf industry is 98% men. If we want women to play on the biggest stages, we need women preparing those stages. Getting women involved is not an exercise in ticking a box, it is absolutely necessary for women’s sport to continue to thrive.
“I love the job and the industry is incredibly welcoming. Being outside all day, and having world class athletes play on pitches I have prepared is a real buzz. I could never go back to a ‘normal’ job.
Meg’s team includes Sports Turf Operatives Jasmine Nicholls, Tara Sandford and Rachel Hunter-Worrall – from Headingley, Arsenal FC and Queen Ethelburga’s College, York, respectively – plus Worcestershire CCC grounds apprentice Carlie Lambert.
Emily Geach from Boconnoc Cricket Club, Cornwall, Elizabeth Parker, from the matchday grounds team at Essex CCC, and Zoe Jones from the Ageas Bowl complete the line-up.