January 2008
Dear Vice President
Welcome to our 14th Newsletter to Vice Presidents and may I wish you a prosperous, happy and peaceful 2008.
Vice Presidents' Day and VP News
In 2007, Vice Presidents helped us celebrate our 120th anniversary on Vice Presidents Day. VPs and guests enjoyed a pig roast and a glass or two of wine with us. The date for 2008 is Sunday 8th June and we hope for good weather and a good turn out of Vice Presidents. You will recall that on VP Day we play a side made up of Old Boys. In 2007, after a good batting performance by the Old Boys, the Rowington Sunday side tucked into the rather friendly Old Boys' bowling to win comfortably. Please make a date in your diary. This is a good opportunity to meet other villagers and others who support the Club.
I am pleased to say that we did not lose any Vice Presidents in the year but some people with associations with the Club did not survive the year. Shirley Hirst was the wife of Mike who had died a few years back. For a long time in the late 70’s and the 80’s they were the backbone of our club. In latter years, they ran a business selling major cricket equipment and indeed our own covers were from Pluvius Ltd, their company. Shirley died during the year after a long battle with Cancer. She was well supported by her family, most of whom had a connection with Norton Lindsay Cricket Club.
Last year I omitted the death of Darwin Kite, in 2006. Apparently Darwin played for the Club well before my arrival at the Club in the 70’s. I believe he was a left hand bat. His other claim to fame was the fact that with Edith he produced two sons who were fine cricketers. Russell, who still turns out occasionally for the Old Boys, was a fine all rounder and I still remember one of the finest catches I have ever seen when he plucked a 6 bound ball out of the air one handed in front of the sight screen. Ian was a fine bowler and excellent fielder. Darwin was well known in the village as a truly gentle man liked by all.
The start of 2007 was a very bad time for the Club when we were all shocked by the untimely death of Neil Curtiss our Fixture Secretary, when his vehicle was struck by a falling tree. Neil enjoyed his time with Rowington CC as a player, committee member and watching his son Callum develop as a cricketer. When our previous Fixture Secretary resigned Neil stepped into the breach. Neil’s widow, Helen, asked for donations in lieu of flowers to be made to either Lapworth Church or Rowington Cricket Club. People demonstrated their affection for Neil by donating £2,055 to our Club. We have agreed with Helen that we will use the funds to replace the pavilion balcony floor.
Club Supper
The Club supper was held at The Ardencote Hotel in November. We changed the format to encourage more of our ladies to attend by having a disco following the formal part of the evening. This was well received and the dance floor was heaving by the end of the night. Speeches on the cricketing side of things were made by Anthony Collins, our 2nd team captain, and by our 1st team captain Scott Rogers, who recited a hilarious poem which included comment on most of his team. Cups were awarded and presented by our major sponsor, John Shepherd. Having organised the dinner for 10 years or so, I am stepping down as dinner organiser and we wait with interest to see who comes forward to organise the dinner next year and to see what form it will take.
The Playing Results
Our results were the usual mixed bag. Our first team ended up just one point behind the team that came 2nd in Division 2 of the Cotswold Hills League. As 2 teams were promoted we remain in Division 2. The team was well skippered by Scott Rogers. Unusually, when playing at home Scott always opted to bowl first. He had the confidence to know that whatever the opposition scored his batters could get them. As most teams would opt to bat first on winning the toss some sides were lulled into believing the wicket was poor which put doubt into some minds. What a tactic. As someone who helps to prepare the wickets I am happy that our wickets were generally good.
The second team was relegated in 2006 and fared little better in the lower league, finishing just above the relegation zone. Player availability was better in 2007 but we still need further strength in depth. The future does look better, however, due to the strength of our Junior section. In 2007, 65 Juniors were registered and we had 5 coaches ably led by John and Naomi Glover. On Monday nights the ground was alive with activity, with children aged from 6 to 13. We entered a team in a local under 13 league with no real expectation of success. Our expectations soon changed, when we started winning and, in the end, we were 2nd equal among 8 teams. We hope that some of these very talented lads will now progress into our second team and eventually beyond.
It would be wrong to move on without mentioning our Sunday side. This side has generally lost more matches than it has won but this year, under the captaincy of Graham Sly, we only lost 3 or 4 games. Much of this arose from being able to field a fairly settled side.
A resume of the season would not be complete without mentioning the weather, what a summer. Even with covers and our fine drainage a number of our matches had to be cancelled, frustrating the players and causing a lot of extra work for the groundsmen.
Indoor net sessions will start in April at Myton School and outdoor sessions will start at the ground from about mid April on a Wednesday.
We are still stretched on the ground staff side of the Club. Bill Sly Senior, who is in his mid seventies, still cuts the outfield and manages the straightest lines in the County. He weaves some great patterns on the ground . His understudy, Colin Sly, also helped out at times. Yours truly assisted by Richard Watson, Steve Jay and Anthony Collins have kept the square in some sort of order. We still need further help and if anyone knows of anyone who would be interested in helping please let us know. It is very satisfying work but clearly requires a fair amount of free time to devote to it. Occasional help to cover holidays would be particularly helpful.
The cups this year were won as follows:-
1st XI Batting - Graham Sly
1st XI Bowling - Scott Rogers and Dave Oldfield
1st XI Catching - Scott Rogers
2nd XI Batting - Anthony Collins
2nd XI Bowling - Mark Sly
2nd XI Catching - Steve Thorne
DFB Award - Steve Jay
Bettie Everitt Trophy - Sam Ostler
Clubman of the Year - Steve Jay.
The Ground
The ground is in reasonably good shape and the square has grassed over quite nicely after the autumn reparations. We are hoping to tidy up the area near the score box before the season starts, but we have promised that before!!!
The Rowington Web Site
Many of you may know that there is now an excellent Rowington web site and the Cricket Club is a significant contributor to it. On Monday mornings you can read the 1st XI match report from the previous Saturday. This will feature an average of 5 mentions for Steve Jay, however well or badly he has played. You will never guess who writes the reports.
Subscriptions & Other Financial Issues
As usual I would like to thank you for your continued support, without which it would be difficult to run the Club as well as we do. I hope you would like to continue to support us and, assuming you do, your Vice President’s Subscription is now due for 2008. The attached form invites you to remit your sub. Payments should be made to Rowington Cricket Club.
As I have previously reported, we are a Community Amateur Sports Club which means we can accept gift aid payments. The position is that the VP subscription is set at £5 which cannot be paid by Gift Aid. However, many of you have been happy to make further donations beyond this minimum subscription and these can be made by Gift Aid directly to the Club. The subscription form guides you through the process. The subscription form also invites you to supply an e-mail address. As more and more communication is being dealt with by e-mail we are trying to follow suit and a few of you will receive this communication by e-mail. If you have not previously advised an e-mail address and now have one please let us have it with your subscription form. This will reduce time and costs quite significantly.
On another matter, everyone likes to save tax and there is that old saying “there is nothing more certain than death and taxes”. If anyone is looking to save tax as their last act on earth, you may be aware that gifts to charity are exempt from Inheritance Tax. There are many more worthy charities than the cricket club but if you were to make a specific legacy to “The Rowington Cricket Field Trust” in your will that would save you Inheritance Tax as well as benefitting the Trust that owns the ground where funds can be used for ground improvements.
We can also advertise your business in our fixture card for a modest sum. If you are interested please contact Steve Jay.
Once again thank you for your support. If you are aware of other local people who would like to support us either by playing or becoming Vice Presidents, please let us know.
Yours sincerely
Brian Taylor - Chairman
