From the Chair – Wed 18^th June

Well ……. no sooner has the cricket season arrived, than it’s nearly halfway through. Summer really is far too short!

The season so far has been a bit up and down for both 1^st and 2^nd XIs, winning well one week and getting turned over the next. Consistency though is of course hard to find without consistency of selection and in April and May, the 1^st XI in particular have suffered from frequent absenteeism.

Thanks must go to Malc and to Claz for stepping admirably into the breach. The 1^st XI captain has told me that he is very grateful for this support, as well as that from Tony, who has of course had to manage the knock on effect in the 2nds.

Thankfully things seem to be sorting themselves out a bit now and both teams are seeing better results as a consequence.

Highlights so far include George making his 1^st team debut at Great Preston, Nikhil performing well having just joined the Club, Lindsey and Winny spinning webs all around first division batting line ups and Sidd’s game changing innings against Shadwell (before slipping on his arse …… again!)

City Gent copying Sidd’s running style

So, some success on the field and also good news off it, where Nessie is now out of hospital and looking forward to being back scoring. I know I speak for everyone when I say how pleased we are that you’re on the mend Nessie and the book is all yours when you’re ready. In these days of mandatory scorers Nessie has been a Godsend!

Sincere thanks also to Eileen for stepping in at short notice in the interim, and also to Mark who scored in the cup game at St Chads.

Continued thanks also to Lindsey for his work in getting pitches ready every week (and they are excellent pitches!). Contrary to what some may think, Lindsey does not have endless time to do all this and any help that can be given – mowing, painting lines, removing grass clippings etc, would be appreciated.

Further success off the field has been the all singing and dancing revamped website (on which you should be reading this). You will see from browsing that we don’t take ourselves too seriously – just as well you might say! Whilst the 1^st XI is pretty well covered (because there are contributors) we could really do with more 2^nd XI items – match reports for example – they only need to take a few minutes to write. So if you’re keen to get involved, or just keen to insult team mates, please let Sidd know and we can get some stuff on. Many thanks to Sidd for his continued efforts on the website. (I know I am always pestering him …… it IS appreciated). A good website can lead to both interest from sponsors AND potential players, so it’s up to all of us to support it and try to keep it fresh.

Finally, here’s to good weather and good fortune for the remainder of the season!