The Spin | Heatwaves leave groundstaff high and dry in search of playable wickets

A summer of five heatwaves and barely a drop of rain have left groundstaff wrung out as they work all hours to keep packed schedule going On Thursday, the County Championship resumes for its final six-week run, charging towards 27 September with barely a pause for breath.

It’s tight at the top of Division One, with only 11 points between first placed Nottinghamshire and sixth placed Essex, while Kent and Northants prepare to elbow it out for the second Division Two promotion place alongside almost-inked-in Durham.

The players, on the treadmill since 3 April, and switching between competitions, are run ragged.

But no one is as wrung out as the groundstaff, dealing with a summer of fiery extremes, five heatwaves, excruciating temperatures and barely a drop of rain across most of England.

In the words of the Met Office scientist Mike Kendon, “the climate of the 20th century has now gone” but the cricket season is expecting to roll on by as if nothing is happening.

The Spin asked three head groundsmen how they are coping.

This is an extract from the Guardian’s weekly cricket email, The Spin.

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