Chairmans Report 2022

The Club cricket year 2022 started with the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions lifted allowing cricket to be played without government interventions. What we did not expect was the summer being a scorcher as it turned out to be with the club playing a record number of matches across all of the teams. The club was able the get all venues ready for the start of the outdoor season which started the second week in April playing friendlies in sunny/warm conditions. Hampshire C.L. started the first weekend in May with no games being lost due to the weather for the complete season. What a complete change from the norm of having warnings for the heat with precautions/advice being issued by the Government/ ECB /HCB which was all in the main common sense. (2- 3 drink breaks being common per innings, a lot of orange squash being consumed). Despite all the torment of the heat! the club has had a very good season following up on last year’s success at the junior and adult levels.

With the weather being so good each week batting pitches were the norm for the whole season. A total of 23 centuries were scored by eleven members at senior level (17 in league and cup) with many achieving the milestone for the first time. Also, there was a total of 66 innings of 50 plus scored. Having to bowl on good batting pitches each week was hard work for all bowlers, they stuck to their tasks with many notable performances across the season.

The 1st eleven playing in County Div.1 after gaining promotion from Div. 2 last season was always going to be a tough season which proved so, but with Tom leading from the front they finished in a credible 12th position even though it was not until the last game of the season playing in Div.1 was assured for next season. Congratulations to Tom Arnold for being the leading run-scorer (1152) for County Div.1 and across all the County divisions which included 5 centuries. Other notable performances were by Jack Booth and Dan Eckton making their first league centuries. Mike Kingston took 29 wickets at 21.69 from 135 overs with 25 being maidens.

The 2nd eleven played in the County Div.5 NW finishing third, only just losing to the two teams who finished above them. This should see the team playing in County Div.4 next season due to having the best points average of the Div.5 third-placed teams. The team was led by Zane when he was not called upon to play for the 1st eleven with George Gray taking the helm in his absence. There were many notable performances with George scoring 673 runs including 2 centuries along with Stuart, Zane, Ollie and Lawrence providing the bulk of the runs. Ritesh took 19 wickets at 20.47 from 95 overs.

The 3rd eleven played in the County Div.6 NW finishing mid-table, this was a very good performance again under the captaincy of Tom Mason who fielded a young team often with 5 U15s, who did credit to themselves and the club and should look forward to next season with optimism. They were always competitive with Tom Winter and Cameron Ridley getting their first 50s and James Mason achieving his first century. The bowling was always a task, particularly for the younger members with not only had to contend with the heat but got little help from the dry wickets, but in time will come to appreciate the learning experience of this dry season which may not be like it again for many seasons to come.

The midweek Border League this year did not go as planned with the ‘A’ Team withdrawing from the league due to the shortage of players. The ‘B’ Team captained by Tom Mason was used last season to bring young players into playing adult cricket which was always going to put the team under pressure which was made even harder with the revised league format bringing stronger teams into the division. With a couple of senior players playing in the second half of the season, they were more competitive. The achievement to be proud of was to make the Plate Final putting up a good performance against a Southern League Club.

The Club XI (mainly Sunday cricket) was well supported with the captaincy being shared between Ritesh and Tom M. Many young players turned out regularly even after playing in the morning for the U15 team. Nearly all friendly games were played as overs games which always gave a result. Several were close games the club winning more than they lost. Notable batting performance being Ollie Vincent scoring 2 centuries and 7- 50s.

The club again played in the VKO getting to the area final and coming up against last year’s winners Calmore, unfortunately, the home tie was abandoned due to it raining! and the game had to be replayed at Calmore the following week which we unfortunately lost. Getting to the area final is an achievement, this is only the second time the club have made it to this stage in the 50 years of playing in the competition. Calmore went on to be losing finalists.

Winter indoor cricket at Eastleigh in the ‘South Hampshire Cricket Indoor League’ started late. The 2021/22 indoor season was delayed until November due to Covid, which only made possible the playing of 5 league games.

Nets started at Landford at the beginning of April without Covid restrictions which was a great relief not having to have booked sessions, complete the ‘Daily Checklist’ etc.

Junior training started in the middle of April and continued through to the end of July. This year we were able to field under 11 and under 15 teams. There is still a shortage of younger players at under 9 level, but we had more u11 players than expected which was good to see. The coaches with the support of the parents had an even better season than last year seeing the hard work put in over the last few seasons coming to fruition.

The under-15 team had a more than satisfying season finishing winners of the ‘B’ League, winning 5 out of 6 games and making it to the knockout cup final unfortunately being runners-up to Bashley yet again.

The under-11 had a very good season finishing 3rd in their division winning 7 out of 10 games and making it to the semi-finals of the KO cup, unfortunately, they were unable to field a team due holiday commitment of players.

Tom ran the All Stars for the 5–8-year-olds which was on Monday evenings, but the attendance was not as we had hoped for.

Thanks to all the coaching staff in particular Tom Arnold, Andy Nicholls and Steve Biddlecombe who made the achievements of the teams possible.

I would like to thank the captains Tom Arnold, Tom Mason, Zane D’Monte and, Ritesh for getting the sides together particularly on Saturdays having to select three teams, finding the right balance and allowing junior players to play cricket at a higher level.
This season we were able to work on the ground preparation in the normal manner without Covid restrictions to hamper the groundsman.

The early part of the season provided good weather which enabled the grounds to be in good condition for the start of the season, but the weather changed to be dry for the whole season making it a task to prepare wickets each week which were safe to play on. The purchase of replacement mowers, last season and careful management of the use of water and rolling helped to achieve the very good playing surfaces we had all season. This we have to thank Kevin without his experience and knowledge this would not have been possible.

The grounds team: – Kevin and Ben at Bramshaw, Nomansland by John and Kevin and Landford by Ollie who joined the team this year doing a very good job of cutting the wicket but also cutting the outfield to an acceptable level to play cricket when the LPC mowing contractors only cut it every 3-4 weeks. Without their dedication, there would be no cricket. On behalf of the members THANK YOU.

The backup team were ever present again: – Theresa, Jane, John and Steve doing the competitive scoring duties. Due to Covid clubs had not provided teas for the previous two seasons. The Hampshire Cricket League stated clubs would no longer have to provide teas for league matches. It was decided that the 3rd eleven at Nomansland would not provide teas for the season. At Bramshaw when possible, teas would be provided, with Alison D’Monte and Helen Vincent stepping up to the task on many occasions, thanks very much.

John Murray (with the help of Laura) managed the bar again this year, organising the stocking and running with the help of members serving etc. John has stated that he will not have the available time to manage the bar next season due to work/family commitments. John’s commitment over the many years running the bar has contributed greatly to funding the club’s existence. Thanks very much. The bar helps with socializing after games along with barbeques being organised by Joe, Jessie and others, providing much-needed revenue for the club.

To raise money for the club and a charity, Tom M. Joe, Kaush plus others organised a Big Bash cricket tournament which was held on the last Sunday in August, with fine weather playing its part a good day was had by all. The Club accounts will show the named charity and the amount.

As with previous years, we were able to have our presentation afternoon at Bramshaw ground which was well attended with a warm fine day we were able to have a very pleasant afternoon with a few games for juniors and adults before the presentation of awards. The awards were presented by Kevin Longman the Club President. Afterwards, a barbeque took place organised by Joe, Tom A. and Jessie, with the bar open to use up the stock at the finish of the season. Thanks to all for making it an enjoyable day.

For 2022 season the club had a full complement of Officers elected at the AGM, with thanks to Emma Eckton taking on the role of Secretary, with Membership Secretary role taken on by Helen Vincent and Tom Mason adding the Fixture Secretary job to his other roles the club was able to start the year with confidence. For Emma and Helen, it has been a year of learning how the club functions with Emma having to understand all the communications of the Hampshire League, Hampshire Cricket Board, plus others which have all been dealt with the help and advice of committee members. Perhaps the dog issue was one item she did not expect to have to deal with.

‘CLUBMARK’ had to be renewed again this year which was yet another exercise getting clubs to enter required details on-line etc. Due to a breakdown in communications between the ECB and the HCB and ourselves we were told we will not have approval after August. Thanks to Andy Nicholls with a lot of hard work he was able to get the club renewed status for 2022/2023 without having to go through the complete approval process from scratch which would have taken at least 12months or more. It is worth pointing out if the Club had not had in place all the correct paperwork Andy would not have been able to achieve it, so thanks to Emma and Helen for their work in providing the appropriate minutes of meetings etc.

With the Club finances still well in the black, it was decided to keep the £3 match fee for all senior matches which would be paid by members into the club bank account. This year when teas were provided no charge was made to players, this will have decreased the amount of money from the match fees into the general running costs of the club. The issue of the Nomansland Licence has still to be finalised with Forestry England with the costs being back-dated, at present approx. £500. To keep our finances in the black we need more than just profits from the bar, barbeques etc. therefore we rely on the help of donations and sponsors to which we thank you all for your support over the last year.

The upgrading of the showers to the HCL required standards took place during the winter completing the away changing room ready for the start of the season with the home changing room being completed ready for next season, noting we do have the second shower cubicle in place. Thanks to Kevin and Ben for all the work they put in during the winter making this possible. It was not certain if the existing hot storage water heater could provide sufficient hot water for all the shower points. On completion of the extra shower, it all worked as required. The water heater decided halfway through the season it needed a new emersion element, this proved not possible due to age etc. and needed replacing very quickly. Thanks to club member Keith Ridley who was able to call on the services of the company he works for who completed the installation within the week plus all with zero cost.

To go forward to the 2023 season, we will no doubt have tasks put before us not seen before but let us hope that the likes of Covid never arise again. The secretary and committee will need all the assistance and help from members to carry out their duties. Therefore, as always, we will need help in particularly the junior section and the bar plus fundraising. If any of you know someone who can help, please come forward, it does not matter how large or small it is, it all helps. With the possible loss of players through changing commitments, we need to recruit new members to the club to fulfil all our team requirements so therefore we need to keep recruiting new members to the club. Players of all standards are welcome, so please can all members start canvasing for players before next season starts.

To keep you up to date with the club activities please follow our web / Play Cricket / Facebook sites plus hopefully we can get the club newsletter (any volunteer) up and running again.

Arthur Stickland Chairman