CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE - JANUARY 2016
Following the heady success of 2014 which resulted in all 4 Saturday League sides achieving promotion, 2015 was always likely to be a challenging season. And so it proved. It was a season in which our 1st XI tasted Premier League cricket for the first time and although the season ended in disappointment it was a valuable experience for our young players and I have sensed a determination for an immediate return.
The success story of the season was the 3rd XI who, thanks to a League reshuffle, earned a belated promotion; an apt reward for their hard work and excellent performances during the season. Congratulations to Victor and his team. The 2nd XI also had an excellent season and narrowly missed out on promotion finishing 3rd. The 4th XI had a solid season finishing in a respectable mid table position – they are an improving side and will be setting their sights on promotion next season. It was also nice to see regular Sunday cricket being played at the club courtesy of the Borkhatria connection. This is proving a useful source of introducing new players to our club as well as providing the opportunity of Sunday cricket for our current members.
2015 also saw the 1st XI reach the semi-finals of the Herts Trophy and it was good to see the start of a new under 19s side under Ray and Charlie’s organisation and leadership. This is an important initiative to try and keep our young players together and in our traditional bi-annual match against the MCC it was good to see six under 19 players playing and contributing to a victory against a strong side. Perhaps the most enjoyable day of the season was our games against the touring SCG party which included us fielding our first ever over 50s side. The cricket was enjoyable and competitive but it was the social aspect of the day that was enjoyed by so many.
The junior section continues to develop under George’s leadership and we have a coaching team that will be the envy of many clubs. Although our junior teams didn’t achieve any silverware last season, more importantly it’s exciting to see so many players enjoying their cricket and developing as players. We have a number of very talented players through most age groups who are benefitting from excellent coaching and the future of the club look very promising. The key is to retain these players and maintain their pathway into our senior sides. Expect to see some new faces playing in the senior sides this season.
Looking ahead to the 2016 season the two biggest challenges we face are retention and recruitment of both junior and senior players and the need to find more volunteers to help run the club. The club’s heightened status has created many challenges – the cost and amount of work involved in running the club has increased sharply. We need to maintain our membership levels to afford the cost of playing at Shenley and we need more volunteers to help with fundraising, social events, behind the scenes administration and with match day duties. 3 of our current committee David Gerrard (Treasurer), Nick Vance (Club Welfare Officer) and Gill Sheldon (Communications Officer) are all stepping down after many years of fine service so we are looking for new volunteers to fill their shoes. I’d like to say a massive thanks to the three of them for all their hard work and the contributions they have made to our club over the years. I’m pleased to say that Darren Poynton has agreed to take over the role of club treasurer but we are still looking for replacements for Nick and Gill.
One of the new initiatives for the club is the recent formation of a playing committee. The idea is to have a specialist group to specifically focus on playing and coaching related matters. It is primarily made up of the captains and Head Coach. One of the new roles that we are looking to create for the 2016 season is that of a match day coordinator. The purpose of this role is to oversee the off field match day tasks and take some of the pressure off the captains.
If you are interested in the Club Welfare Officer role, Communications Officer role or helping out on match days please get in touch with me. I’m very keen to get more people to help out so if you want to play a part in shaping the club’s future then please come on board. Remember that this is your club and the club can’t survive without volunteers – if you’re not presently involved, now is the time to offer your help if you want the club to continue to flourish.
I’d like to thank our main sponsors Southall Travel and Frankie and Benny’s for their valuable contributions and for their continued sponsorship this season. There are also ongoing plans to attract additional sponsors for this year to help raise the funds we need to improve our facilities and standards.
Our relationship with the Cricket Centre remains strong and it is important that this is maintained. Please do all you can to support events such as the annual dinner and dance which this year is being held on Friday 11th March. This is the last year of our three year agreement with the Centre, although I’m pleased to report that the owner has agreed in principle to another three year agreement after this season. I will sit down with him at some point in the near future to discuss this in further detail.
To conclude, I’d like to thank all my committee for their hard work during the year and for the support they have given me. I look forward to continue working with you and hope that you and all members are looking forward to the new season and the challenges that lie ahead.
Geoff Evans
07505 102152
geoffdevans@tesco.net