"What sort of thrills do you get out of doing this stuff?"
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That's the question that came to a Bendigo cricket pitch curator's mind, following damage overnight.
John Hewitt said the damage to the pitch at Strathdale's Bell Oval was equal to some of the worst he'd seen.
It looked, to him, like those responsible had used a motorised bike.
Both ends of the wicket sustained damage and it looked to Mr Hewitt like those responsible had attempted to do burn-outs.
Some of the damage appeared to have been done by people who were on foot.
The damage is believed to have occurred sometime after sunset on Saturday.
The pitch was used earlier in the day and cared for by both Mr Hewitt and the City of Greater Bendigo until about 9.30pm.
Mr Hewitt received the bad news about 8am on Sunday.
"It didn't start me off very well," he said.
The 72-year-old has been the pitch's curator for a number of years.
He used to devote at least 20 hours a week to the task before he retired. Mr Hewitt lavishes even more time on the pitch, now.
"It's a lot of pressure to try and get it right and do the job properly," he said.
Whenever the pitch is damaged, even if it's a seemingly innocuous foot or paw print, Mr Hewitt wonders whether those responsible realise how much work goes into it.
Some of the damage he has seen throughout the years has made him want to cry.
What happened overnight made him angry.
"There are other places you can go to ride your bikes," Mr Hewitt said.
He channelled some of that energy into repairing the wicket on Sunday morning, restoring it to the best possible state.
"If you went to see it now you wouldn't believe it was the place where the pictures had been taken," Mr Hewitt said.
He plans to further work on the wicket once it is dry enough, ready for another busy weekend of cricket.
"Most clubs struggle to get somebody to do the job," Mr Hewitt said.
He said he had readily offered it to anyone who might be game to take it up.
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