Lord's gets new groundsman ahead of World Cup

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has appointed Karl McDermott as the new head groundsman of the Lord's Cricket Ground ahead of the World Cup.

McDermott, who is currently serving as a head groundsman for The Rose Bowl Cricket Ground in Hampshire, will be replacing Mick Hunt, who will be retiring from the job after a period of 49 years.

Reflecting on the appointment, MCC assistant secretary John Stephenson said that Karl holds enough experience to maintain the reputation of Lord's Cricket Ground and hoped that he would live up to the expectations ahead of the World Cup and the Ashes.

"Karl emerged from a competitive field as someone who will be able to maintain the reputation of Lord's as the ultimate ground at which cricketers of all levels wish to play," ESPNcricinfo.com quoted Stephenson, as saying.

"His first season will be a challenging one, with five World Cup matches including the final, Ireland's inaugural Test match at Lord's as well as the prospect of England facing Australia in an Ashes Series but we have no doubt that he will prove himself up to the task," he added.

McDermott has spent seventeen years with Clontarf Cricket Club and during the tenure, he won the International Cricket Council (ICC) Groundsman of the Year award in 2007. He later moved to Worcestershire County Cricket Club as an assistant groundsman before joining the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground as deputy head groundsman in 2009.