The man who built an international cricket ground in his garden

The man who built an international cricket ground in his gardenImage caption, Jimmy Perchard turned his crop of Jersey potatoes into an international cricket groundByDanny ParkinsonBBC Channel IslandsPublished25 minutes ago"It's been life changing," says Jimmy Perchard, surrounded by caps, pictures and trinkets of international sides from the USA to Vanuatu that line the walls of his clubhouse. If you say 2005 to any cricket fan it's usually memories of one of the greatest Ashes series of all time.For Jimmy, it's when his dream became a reality - a cricket ground at the end of his garden, in St Martin, Jersey."When everything's coming alive, the trees are starting to blossom, the grass is starting to grow and I've got the mower on and you can smell that freshly cut grass, it takes some beating - I don't think money can buy that," he said.Image caption, Jimmy Perchard has been tending to the ground since its opening in 2005Jimmy's cricket adventure started back in 1977 when a group of farmers on the island played friendlies around the busier summer times on the fields. "We used to go for a pint afterwards and say, 'wouldn't it be nice to have our own cricket ground?'" he said.Perchard gained planning permission in 2003 to build a pitch on his field, with the first ball bowled on it two years later."Sometimes you've just got to stick your neck out," he said. "I'm in a very fortunate position. I own the field alongside my house and applied to planning and so it was making that dream come true."Farmers Cricket Ground took influence from the grounds in England they visited on tour - places like Goodwood, Arundel and Wormsley.It started with humble beginnings before becoming something of an obsession for Jimmy."We just had a little Portakabin and no pavilion, so we would do our best to change in the car and then make a pot of tea in the Portakabin," he s...