Mainmark UK is a subsidiary of Mainmark group of companies, established in the UK in 2016. The first project of its kind for the company, Mainmark was able to provide a solution that reinforced the club’s flood infrastructure, to enhance the “long-term viability of the club” [1] .
It is widely accepted that 2024 was one of the worst on record for severe weather warnings and floods across the Midlands, with the Environment Agency issuing more than 300 flood warnings in January alone.
Worcestershire County Cricket Club fell victim to eight floods over the 2024/25 winter period, and the club made the national headlines as its Board of Directors considered moving the club away from its historic New Road ground, which has been home to Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1896.
The impact of the repeated flooding took a huge toll on the club, which is one of 18 major county clubs in the English and Welsh cricket scene. The extreme weather issues posed a threat to the viability of the club, not to mention the impact it would have had on the club’s broader mission to nurture tomorrow’s athletes at grassroots, county, national and international level.
Helen Grayer, Head of Operations at Worcestershire County Cricket Club, said: “We have the most beautiful backdrop for a cricket club, being overlooked by the iconic Worcester Cathedral on the bank of the River Severn, and this has been our home since 1896.
“However, as the climate crisis continues to bring us unpredictable weather conditions, and floods continue to ravage our soil quality and financial resources, we really did have to consider moving our operations entirely to save the club.
“Most floods last for over a week, and water can reach more than three foot above the pitch surface, filling the surrounding stands and damaging our infrastructure. The flooding we experienced most recently rendered our lift unusable, as water had filled the underground lift pit and damaged the electrical cabling. If repeated, it will have a huge impact on our accessibility and the lift itself would’ve been extremely time-consuming and costly to replace.”
Worcester County Cricket Club is not alone in its quest to future-proof its flood defences, with the Met Office claiming that around one third of grassroots pitches are losing between six weeks and two months of the year to flooding [2]. Through its operational hubs in Hampshire and Greater Manchester, in addition to its Milton Keynes base, Mainmark is well positioned across the UK to deliver cost-effective ground engineering solutions.
Given the significance of Worcestershire County Cricket Club – within British cricket, but also within the county’s history and community – it needed a plan in place that would make its recovery efficient, safe and as cost-effective as possible.
John McBey, Business Development Manager at Mainmark, said: “Worcestershire County Cricket Club came to us with a unique challenge, one which required a good deal of problem-solving to find the right solution. We were very aware of the issues the club faced being on a major flood plain, and needed a solution that would help boost the longevity of the club.
“We have a wealth of experience in remedying subsidence issues because of flooding (where wash outs create voids in the ground underneath a structure, causing instability and damage). But sealing and waterproofing the lift’s pit, to make it easier for water to be pumped out during periods of heavy rainfall, was a novel concept for us.
“Our experience with resin injection technology held us in good stead, and we were able to provide a wall-to-floor waterproof seal around the concrete lift pit, ensuring that any water which enters the pit can be pumped out with ease.
“The alternative for the club would’ve been to completely overhaul the existing lift infrastructure, which would’ve been a drain on financial and physical resources. We knew that the club had already considered moving from its iconic New Road cricket ground and supported its decision to prioritise future-proofing its infrastructure to cope with increasing threat of extreme weather”.
Mainmark’s team was able to find a lasting solution to the problem using its engineered resin injection solution, injected through drilled holes at 500mm spacing around the wall and floor of the lift pit. The project was completed in just three days, so that the lift could be made functional for the start of the 2025 cricket season.
John concluded: “The Environment Agency is predicting that up to eight million commercial and residential properties will be at risk from rivers, sea or surface water flooding by the middle of the century [3] – one of the many potentially disastrous impacts of the climate crisis.
“While we have little control over the cases of extreme weather, we feel it’s important for our communities to start building resilience measures, future-proofing their infrastructure to boost longevity. Worcestershire County Cricket Club’s demonstration of this is commendable, and we were pleased to play a small role in that.”
[1] Paul Wilkinson Jones, Andrew Dawkins, BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cljy6ejyrkgo
[2] Met Office Statistics: https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/getclimateready/football
[3] Environment Agency, gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/environment-agency-publishes-major-update-to-national-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-assessment