Bulawayo's groundsman quits

Zimbabwe cricket has suffered another loss with the news that Noel Peck, who has been head groundsman at Bulawayo's Queens Club since 1988, has resigned.

Cricinfo has learnt that Peck quit on April 5 and is now serving out his three-month notice period before leaving at the end of June. It is understood that he will then leave Zimbabwe and settle in England, where he has family, and once there he hopes to continue working as a groundman.

Peck, who is 60, is also responsible for the maintenance of the pitches at Bulawayo Athletic Club and the recently-built Emakhandeni Cricket Ground.

He started maintaining the wicket at Queens on a part-time basis as he was still employed by the National Railways of Zimbabwe. He prepared the wicket for the first Test match to be played at Queens when Zimbabwe took on Sri Lanka in October 1994.

In 1997, Peck resigned from the NRZ and was taken on by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union the following year as a full-time curator. He has maintained both the playing and practice area that have been praised by a number of touring sides.