Magazine - Les Burdett Has Retired

By Editor in Cricket on 5th Feb 2010 10:35

Internationally-renowned Adelaide Oval curator Les Burdett has announced his retirement after four decades of services to the grounds.

For over four decades Les Burdett and his trusty 1951 pitch roller could be found endlessly toiling over the turf of the Adelaide Oval to produce the perfect pitch. After almost 42 years of working in what he describes as the "best office in the world", Burdett has decided to pull up stumps and retire from his position as the oval's curator. "People look for me in my office that's got telephones and computers, but I have to remind them from time to time that my office is the oval," he said. "I know all of the seagulls by first name and we have a chat every now and then."

He will still work with the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) as a consultant.

A favourite oval for many cricketers around the world, the Adelaide Oval has been host to hundreds of nail biting matches in Burdett's time, and as the years have progressed, the role and the scrutiny of a match pitch and its preparer has increased.

For Burdett though, it has always been about providing the best pitch possible, no matter who is playing. "You've got to know in your heart what is right and what is wrong and you've got to know the conditions you are prevailing with," he said.

The fate of Burdett's treasured, heritage bitumen roller is not yet known, but it is believed the roller will take pride and place at his home. Last year he joked that on retirement he would like the 1951 road roller "parked on the front lawn".

Burdett may also be happily spending more time in his beloved Riverland as he steps away from the oval.

His passion for the area and the health of the Murray saw him happily watch his private lawns die last year in the midst of a heatwave, an irony for someone who makes a live from creating a world famous turf. "I haven't watered my front lawn for two years," he said last year as he spoke of the condition of the river.

As the sun sets over the famous scoreboard and the colours of the Chappell Stand roof fade, a man in his battered, wide-brimmed hat that once happily toiled over the strip, will park his roller in its bay and leave the grounds for a final time.

Source & More: www.abc.net.au

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