A hover cover is a specialised

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

used at major

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

grounds to cover and protect the

cricket pitch A cricket pitch is the rectangular central strip of a cricket field between the two wickets, where most of the action takes place. It is long (1 Chain (unit), chain) and wide. The surface is flat and is normally covered with extremely sh ...

from inclement weather, particularly showers of rain. The hover cover can be stored close to the edge of the

cricket field A cricket field or cricket oval is a large grass field on which the game of cricket is played. Although generally oval in shape, there is a wide variety within this: perfect circles, elongated ovals, rounded rectangles, or irregular shapes with ...

, and when required can be moved over the pitch within minutes, and then removed easily when weather conditions improve. A hover cover can be used instead of more traditional wheeled covers, typically with a metal frame covered with fabric or metal, but two or three separate sections are necessary to cover the pitch completely, which take much longer and require more effort to push into place and remove. Usually around long and wide, sufficient to entirely cover the pitch of {{cvt, 66, x, 10, ft, m, the hover cover has a petrol motor at either end driving fans which generate an air cushion to lift the device, and also provide propulsion which allows the hover cover to be moved by a few people with relatively little effort, hovering smoothly over the field of play without causing any damage. The hovercraft can also carry plastic sheets or tarpaulins which can be quickly rolled out to increase the covered area, with sheets at each end to cover the bowlers' run ups, and at either side to protect other pitches on the square. It can also incorporate gutters and drainage pipes so the collected water may be directed way from the square and towards the drains. The concept was developed by the fabric manufacturer Stuart Canvas, which also makes and sells cricket accessories including

sight screen In cricket, a sight screen is an apparatus, often comprising wooden or poly-carbonate slats, or cloth sheeting, on a large frame made of wood or another material, that is positioned alongside the cricket field to provide the Batting (cricket), ...

s, cricket nets,

scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score (sport), score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards i ...

s, and wheeled covers. The first hover cover was trialled in Cheshire in 1998 and used at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

in 1999. The first hover cover at Lord's was replaced with a new model in 2020. Hover covers are used at most Test cricket grounds in the UK, including

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

Sophia Gardens Sophia Gardens ( ; ) is a public park in Riverside, Cardiff, Wales, on the west bank of the River Taff. International test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestig ...

in Cardiff, and the Rose Bowl near Southampton, and at some grounds outside the UK, including the

Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS; ), also called Mirpur Stadium, is an International cricket ground at Mirpur, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Located 10 kilometres from Mirpur city centre, the ground holds approximately 25, ...

at Dakha in Bangladesh and the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium at

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

in India.

References

MCC hovering on a deal for improved coverage
ESPNcricinfo, Christopher Martin-Jenkins, 13 April 1998
The Hover Cover: Protecting cricket pitches since 1998
Wisden, September 25, 2019
The Stuart Canvas Hover Cover
Stuart Canvas Group
New Hover Cover at The Home of Cricket
Stuart Canvas Group
Lord's Cricket Ground Hover Cover 2020
Stuart Canvas Group, 22 June 2020 Cricket equipment Hovercraft

See also

References