From the President
The Good, The Bad and LBW
Sitting at my desk and watching the snow falling outside and hearing the crunch of lorries and cars on the ice, it is difficult to instantly engage with the prospect of the new cricket season.
It only seems like yesterday that we were all enjoying the fantastic summer that continued magnificently right through to the end of September, and yet, my memory won’t let go of the week of the Devon tour. How could we have been so unlucky to have been on the receiving end of so much torrential rain? At least on the Sunday we had a decent game at Holbeton, who fielded a stronger team than in the past.
To those of you unfamiliar with the Holbeton ground, it has a prodigious slope (including the wicket) clinging onto the side of a beautiful Devon valley, which is more regularly used for the grazing of sheep. Six months on, I am still trying to come to terms with being given out LBW with the ball said to have come back 6” up a slope that even Sherpa Tensing would have had difficulty in negotiating, but then in 45 years of senior cricketing, I have never received an LBW decision with which I have agreed.
Still, it could have been worse – I could have crashed my car (sorry Nigel) but there is no escaping the fact that Devon is a long way to go for one game of cricket and to return home with two runs.
However, putting the tour on one side, I had some enjoyable knocks in the league and was privileged to make a significant contribution in the magnificent 230 run chase at Berks County Sports. However, whilst remembering the good days helps the dreary days of winter go by, it’s the unsuccessful innings which bite deeper into the psyche. That’s why the memory of failure at Holbeton continues to haunt - providing the catalyst for these reflections.
Eddie Ellis
From the Chairman
I was delighted by the turn out at the AGM in November, it was great to see so many people make the effort and a pleasure to welcome friends and family to the successful quiz and supper that followed the meeting. It was also a positive sign that we managed to get all the Officers and Committee posts filled on the night.
2004 could be a very interesting year for the club. As many of you will know the committee have, over the last couple of years, been actively seeking the agreement of Theale Parish Council to grant us permission to erect some outdoor netting on the Englefield Ground. I am delighted that they have formerly written to advise that they would not object to a 2 bay facility at the end of the pavilion. Our proposal has now been submitted to the Trustees of the Englefield Estate for their approval – fingers crossed!!
Should be we given the green light by the trustees we next have to raise the funds. This is not a cheap project if we are to do it well and will take more than the annual membership, match fees and the odd social event to finance. My plea to you, the club membership and friends of Theale and Tilehurst Cricket Club is that you join in, support and help organise the fund raising and social activities we hope to be able to offer through the year.
On the playing side I believe we start the 2004 season in as strong a position player wise as we have for some time. It is crucial that we get off to a good start, therefore pre-season nets and fixtures are important.
My aim is for our cricket club is for it to be regarded as an important part of the local community, a club that makes cricket available to the youngsters of the parishes and nurtures their talent as well as being a successful playing club striving for honours.
Here’s to a great 2004.
Philip Jenkins
From the Secretary:
The AGM in November 2003 proved to be a successful evening. The decision to move the event to our sponsor’s premises at Wokefield Mansion House, and incorporate a Quiz evening to follow the meeting was intended to increase attendance. The attendance was slightly up on previous years, and the meeting provided a forum for some interesting and valuable debate about the running of the Club. I’m pleased to say that all the posts on the Committee were filled, and even though there are still a number of Committee members who have several different roles, this is clearly a step in the right direction. The elections at the AGM produced the following Officers & Committee members:
Officers:
President – Eddie Ellis
Chairman – Philip Jenkins
Club Captain – Brian Cooper
Secretary – James Codd
Treasurer – Ralph Jenkins
Committee:
Club Development Officer – Philip Jenkins
Membership Secretary – Edward Choules
Colts Manager – Bob Williams / Brian Cooper
2nd XI Captain – Nigel Halliday
3rd XI Captain – Bob Williams
Sunday Captain – James Codd
Fixtures Secretary – Brian Cooper
General Committee Members – Andy Johnson, John Morris, Mo Iqbal, Mark Mason, Pete Moore.
Update on Club Activities:
Club Development: We have been identified as one of 34 “Focus Clubs” within Berkshire, and as such we will receive additional support from the Berkshire Cricket Board, including the Berkshire Cricket Development Officer, during the next five years. We have been identified because of our commitment to providing Colts Cricket. The support will help us to meet the ECB’s guidelines on running cricket clubs, including the new Child Welfare Policy, and help us to achieve Sport England’s ClubMark accreditation. This compliance is essential if we want to attract funding assistance for projects such as the outdoor nets and any future development of the Club.
Clearly the existence of a Colts Section is a key part of the ECB’s strategy for developing grass roots cricket, so it is essential that we continue to find volunteers from within the Club to keep the section running. So any offers of assistance will be welcomed by the Committee – this could be umpiring or scoring during a match, offering to supervise / coach at a training session, acting as a team manager or coach etc. This needn’t be a long term commitment – an offer to umpire one or two matches would be an enormous help. Please contact Brian Cooper or Bob Williams if you are able to get involved in any way.
James Codd
From the Treasurer
Our closing balance for the last financial year was just over £8,000 compared with the previous year’s balance of £5,100. However an analysis of this £2,300 surplus shows that over £1,000 was due to income from this year’s awards dinner being included. In previous years it had been held over to the following year’s accounts. Another £825 came from the Raffle, funds from which are restricted in use by the organisers. A truer picture then, would show the Club keeping its head above water – but only just.
At the AGM it was decided to leave the Annual Subscription at its present level of £15 for seniors and £7.50 for juniors. Colts players will have free membership in order to encourage more youngsters to take up cricket, but they will pay an increased match fee to off-set any loss in income.
There was some discussion at the AGM regarding charging higher match fees for all players as, hopefully, we will be funding the provision of outdoor nets in the near future. There is also the possibility that money may be needed to pay for the services of an umpire. This matter was to be addressed at the first meeting of the new committee.
As a result of that meeting the new committee decided that the level of match fees for the 2004 season will be as follows: senior members £8; juniors and those still in full time education £4; colts matches £3.
It would be great if this year we could get into four figures from the Raffle. Please do all you can to support James and his helpers when the time comes. We get 100% of ticket sales with no outlay incurred. The profit is ring-fenced, mainly for colts activities.
Ralph Jenkins
1st XI Season Preview
Last season the 1st XI played in division 1 for the first time. After a difficult start to the season, we were bottom of the table at the half way point, we finished strongly as the form team of the division. Whilst we ended mid table the division was so close that if we had scored the four extra runs needed to win the final game of the season we would have finished third.
Our experience last year shows us that as a club we belong at least in division one and if the team that finished last season is largely in place for the coming season we should be thinking about promotion. Our strength at the end of last season was our batting with Andy Crofts and James Codd scoring over 400 runs apiece and Mohammed Jamil the best part of 600 runs. If James and Jamil are able to match these feats in 2004 and the likes of Phil Stephens and Micky Mehta can play to their potential again our batting should be strong, especially with the likes of Mike Toyer, Dennis Robertson, Sri Charan and Edward Choules all hopefully pushing hard for 1st XI places. The likely erratic availability of Andy Crofts will, though, be a loss.
We can again hope to have good depth to our bowling with Mo Iqbal, Neill Halliday, Chris Lemm and Osman Mahmood likely to be competing for the new ball. They will be backed up by the all-rounders such as vice skipper Andy Johnson and Jamil with Mark Mason also competing for one of these spots. Andy Crofts and Phil Stephens will also be able to provide additional slow bowling options to that offered by the captain.
A final selection dilemma could be whether Alex Moore is able to dislodge Phil Jenkins from his long term role as wicket-keeper. All these options (hopefully) plus any new players that may come on to the scene.
So, plenty to be optimistic about. Hopefully these positive thoughts at the end of winter will be matched by the exploits on the field in the summer.
Good luck to all the Theale and Tilehurst sides that take to the field this season. Let's hope the weather stays fine and we have a successful and enjoyable summer.
Brian Cooper
2nd XI Captain’s Report
To say that last season was a disappointment is an understatement. We had some good times and some bad times, often corresponding with the availability of the 1st XI. When they were strong, we were strong. Sadly the 1st XI was not able to get a stable team until midway through the year, so we too suffered. However in the meantime we were able to acquire some new players to the club in the form of Simon Annetts, Trevor Greaves, Akhtar Hussain, the ever reliable Tim Beck and most notably Sri Charan our batsman & player of the season.
This year promises to be a good year. Some of the talent we acquired last year along with some players returning this year will hopefully mean competition for places.
Having been told not to reminisce during my end of year speech, I will do so here. I will be brief as most of the match reports can be found on the website (www.thealeandtilehurst.co.uk).
It was the games at the end of the season that were most memorable and not just because I have a memory like a goldfish.
The memories start from Pinkneys Green. They scored 202 and Mike Toyer with a great innings was able to see us home with a 4 off the last ball.
The next game was against Peppard, we bowled them out for 138 and they walked off the pitch when we were 92 for 3 as it was raining. All rules on the batsmen’s decisions were ignored.
This was followed by Thatcham, who cancelled 15 minutes before the match, they forgot to book the pitch. Obviously 6 months notice is not quite enough and came as an apparent shock to them.
In the next game against Sandhurst, Sri almost single handedly got us to 186 in searing hot weather, we only just lost with them reaching 189 for 9.
Now for the two games that will stay in my memory for life. Berkshire County Sports scored 230 for 6. In reply Eddie scored a brilliant 85, along with Ed’s equally impressive 56, they put on a record 160 for the first wicket. That followed by Sri’s quick fire 54 meant we had won with the loss of just 2 wickets, still with 5 overs to go and probably only 2 minutes of light left.
Finally Crowthorne. They needed a win, we didn’t, they were up for it and load, we were calm and quiet. In total contrast to the BCS game, we were bowled out for 79, with Sri getting 36 of them. We then bowled them out for 72 with me getting 6 wickets and Mark Mason picking up 3. It was one of the sweetest victories, mainly because of their attitude.
So we look forward to a competitive season ahead, still with the goal for gaining promotion.
Nigel Halliday
Sunday XI Preview
The first thing to point out is that we are no longer part of the Millennium League. We decided to resign when it became clear that the majority of members wanted to increase the number of Clubs in the League beyond the original agreement of a maximum of ten. We felt that this expansion would tie up too many of our fixtures, leaving us with less control of our fixture list, and being committed to playing at Clubs and grounds which the players did not enjoy. Having said this, we are still playing against many of the Clubs who are still in the Millennium League – several of these are long-standing fixtures pre-dating the Millennium League, and I’m sure we will continue to have a mixture of limited overs and timed matches.
Once again, the aim of the Sunday XI will be to play friendly cricket and develop some of our younger players, but this does not mean that games are “soft” or that we don’t play to win. The real bonus of the friendly format is that it offers players the chance simply to play cricket – without worrying about League points or the end result – and it is being able to focus purely on the game in hand that in my opinion helps players to develop their skills, regain their form or confidence etc without the additional pressures affecting them. Our matches are usually very competitive, and we have a wide range of fixtures against teams who provide strong challenges. Judging from last year’s position, we need a few extra senior players to make themselves available from time to time on Sundays. We did struggle for numbers on a few occasions last year and had to rely on some of the younger colts to make up the numbers. If you are interested in playing on Sundays, whether regularly or occasionally then please do let me know.
James Codd
Devon Tour 2004
The club’s seventh annual cricket tour to Holbeton, near Plymouth, has been organised for 25th-29th July 2004. As in previous years for the full tour we will travel on the Sunday morning with games on Sunday to Wednesday afternoons before returning on Thursday (there is, however, no problem with attending only part of the tour if you so wish). As well as our regular fixtures against Holbeton, Whitchurch Wayfarers and Cornwood we have a new fixture against Ivybridge this year.
We shall, again, be staying Mildmay Colours Inn in Holbeton. The price per person per night for bed and breakfast accommodation will be approximately £25.00. If you wish to see more about the venue visit www.mildmay-colours.co.uk
If you are interested in touring with the Cricket Club this summer, for all or part of the tour, or require any further information relating to the tour please contact me on tel. 943 2385 or e-mail brian@bcooper6.freeserve.co.uk. A deposit of £50 will be payable in advance of the tour, a cheque made payable to "Theale and Tilehurst Cricket Club" forwarded to myself, with the balance paid at the start of the tour.
Just think, we can't be as unlucky with the weather as we were last year!
Brian Cooper
Kwik Cricket Festival - 29 June 2004
We will be hosting our third annual Kwik Cricket festival for local primary schools on the Englefield Road ground on 29th June from approximately 1pm onwards. Will Downsway Primary be able to hold on to the cup that they won last year? We already have ten teams entered for the competition which is more than we have had before.
Please put this date in your diary as any help in running the event is welcome and it would be good to see as many club members supporting the event as possible. Who knows, it may be the first time you see some of our players of the future.
Also, do you know of a company that may be interested in sponsoring this event?
Nets
Senior nets have been booked for 8.30-10pm on Wednesday evenings at Prospect Technology College from 10th March – 7th April (£3 per session).
Colts nets have been booked as follows:
Under 13s at 7.15-8.15pm on Monday evenings at Prospect Technology College from 23rd February to 19th April (excluding 12th April) - £1.50 per session
Under 15s at 8.15-9.15pm on Monday evenings at Prospect Technology College from 23rd February to 19th April (excluding 12th April) - £1.50 per session
Please make every effort to attend nets so that we can get the season off to a flying start. All help with providing coaching at the net sessions for colts would be gratefully received, please contact either Bob Williams or Brian Cooper if you are able to help.
Umpires
We are in need of some volunteers to act as Umpires in League matches on Saturdays. If you are willing to stand as an umpire or know of someone who might please contact one of the Committee. This could be either on a regular or occasional basis, any offers would be gratefully received.