Former Worcestershire head groundsman Gordon Prosser has died at the age of 82.
Prosser was head groundsman at New Road from 1970 to 1976 and during that period was voted county groundsman of the year three times in four seasons.
He was also at the helm when Worcestershire won the County Championship title for the third time in 1974.
Prosser produced pitches which had a reputation for being full of pace and bounce and opening batsman Glenn Turner scored a club record 10 centuries during the Championship-winning campaign.
After leaving New Road, he held similar roles at Lancashire and Somerset, where he was head groundsman for a decade frm 1979-1989, and was also groundsman at Yeovil Town FC for a spell.
Michael Vockins, who was Worcestershire secretary during Prosser's time at the county, said: "Gordon was a splendid and highly regarded groundsman.
"To him groundsmanship was an art, not a science, although he was always ready to take note of the scientific advances there were in soil science and pitch preparation.
"He was a great believer in the use of the heavy roller in pitch preparation and it was not unknown for him and his team to be going up and down the square at a snail's pace or even late February if conditions allowed.
"Our players loved playing on his pitches."
Prosser's funeral wil take place at Taunton Deane Crematorium on Wednesday, August 27 at 1pm.
