February 2011 

Dear Vice President

Welcome to our 17th Newsletter to Vice Presidents and may I belatedly wish you a happy and peaceful 2011.

Vice Presidents' Day and VP News

On 6th June 2010, VPs and guests enjoyed a pig roast and a glass or two of wine with us at our Vice Presidents' day. Sadly the day was rain affected and VP numbers were down but for those hardy souls who stayed to watch we had an exciting match won by the Old Boys, although this was partly down to the generosity of the Rowington side who coerced the Old Boys into completing a shortened match.

You will recall that on VP Day we play a side made up of Old Boys for the Bill Sly Memorial trophy. The date for VP Day in 2011 is Sunday 12 June and we hope for good weather and a good turn out of Vice Presidents. This is a good opportunity to meet other villagers and others who support the Club.

After many years as your President, Ray Morton stood down in 2010. Ray had been a very supportive President and, as well as presiding over VP day and the AGM, he has been a regular at the ground watching and encouraging the teams. We will miss his input. A long serving member of the Club has now been appointed as President being Kemble Everitt. Kemble has held nearly every position in the Club and has had an involvement going back to shortly after the 2nd world war. We are grateful to him for accepting the position and look forward to him presiding over VP Day.

Sadly I have to report the death of a long standing Vice President, Major General George Lewis. George lived at The Croft opposite the ground on the corner of Rowington Green and Queens Drive. Whilst I am not aware that George ever played or held a position within the club he had been a Vice President for many years and was kind enough not to complain when the odd ball found its way into his garden. He leaves a widow, Daye, who has indicated that she would like to take over George’s position as a Vice President.

We also lost Gordon Trinder. Gordon was a very good cricketer and played most of his cricket for Solihull CC. He was a very good leg spinner. He was also noted for not being shy on a cricket ground and his skill at advising the opposition batsmen what he thought of their attempts to hit his bowling. He knew his cricket inside out. He became a supporter of Rowington when his son Chris was persuaded to play for us some years ago and was a regular at Vice Presidents' day. We saw him on VP day in 2010 when Chris captained the Old Boys side and his son in law, Andrew, also played for the Old Boys. Gordon died later in the summer.

Club Supper

The Club supper was held at The Ardencote Hotel in early October and was organised and compered by Steve Jay. We had over 80 attendees and speeches on the cricketing side of things were made by John Glover, Stewart Jordan, Graham Stuart and Scott Rogers. As usual Scott Rogers stole the show with his poetic report on the year where over 100 film titles were used to assist.

Cups were awarded and presented by Lee Gregory, a representative of our major sponsor John Shepherd, and thanks were given to all our sponsors, advertisers and Vice Presidents. This year's dinner is already fixed for Friday 30 September 2011 and we are to have a change of scenery by reverting to Rowington Village Hall. We hope to find an external cricketing speaker.

The Playing Results

Our first team played in Division 1 of the Cotswolds Hills League (the 2nd division as there is a premier division). We never really established ourselves in the top half of the table and as a result the season became a relegation battle and I am pleased to say we survived finishing 7th out of 10.

The second team was promoted at the end of 2009 and so we started in a higher division for 2010. Being in a higher division proved difficult and again we had a relegation battle on our hands but again the team survived in that division, also finishing 7th out of 10 teams. The side has been skippered for the last couple of years by Graham Stuart who has asked to stand down and we thank him for his efforts in encouraging the younger members of the side.

Player availability was good in 2010 except on the odd occasion when even your Chairman had to find some whites and play. However, with an ageing 1st team (their words not mine) we could still do with one or two really good club players. The future does look reasonably good, however, due to the strength of our Junior section. In 2010, 60 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 7 to 13. We entered teams in leagues for under 16s, under 13s and under 10s. The under 16 side won their league often winning against sides from clubs a lot bigger than ours. John Glover has brought this bunch of players right through the junior section of the Club and has produced some really good cricketers. Not only did they win the league but for the second year running they won the good sportsmanship award for their league. From that side, Dale Glover progressed into the 1st team and Sam Ostler played regularly in the Berkswell 2nd XI. Many of the others played 2nd team and Sunday cricket for us. Our 2 other junior sides had some success and had a very enjoyable year.

Our Sunday side continued to do well under the leadership of Stewart Jordan. He captained most of the games in the true spirit of Rowington Sunday cricket which is to win but by trying to give everyone in the side a game. We were very pleased to win the Orcutt Cup against Lapworth at Rowington in a good natured game, following a number of years where we came 2nd. The weather was kinder to us until August when a few games had to be cancelled.

Indoor nets are scheduled at Myton School in April and so if you are aware of anyone who wants to join the club and who would want to come along please put them in touch with Steve Jay.

We are still stretched on the ground staff side of the Club. Jack Reedy has done a sterling job with the outfield mowing and remained reliable and enthusiastic despite the weather. Yours truly was joined by a Vice President, David Morcom, in preparing pitches and was also assisted by Richard Watson and Steve Jay. Steve and myself have health problems that will limit our ability to carry out much of the work this year. As a result, we 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.

We were lucky that Jacky Rogers and Toni Timmins came forward to do most of the 1st team  and 2nd team teas respectively and we are very grateful to them.

The cups this year were won as follows:-

1st XI Batting - Simon Cross

1st XI Bowling - Eike Gilbert

1st XI Catching - Scott Rogers

2nd XI Batting - Andrew Wade

2nd XI Bowling - Jason Pickering

2nd XI Catching - John Lange

Sunday Batting - Simon Cross

Sunday Bowling - Ned Clarke

DFB Award - Tom Jefferson

Bettie Everitt Trophy - Sam Turrell

Clubman of the Year - Scott and Jacky Rogers

The Chairman’s Trophy - Graham Stuart

1st Team Players Player of the Year - Leon Clark

2nd Team Players Player of the Year - Jason Pickering

The Ground

The ground was in reasonably good shape before it disappeared under the snow and the square has grassed over quite nicely after the autumn reparations and the snow has disappeared. We now need a warm spring to get the ground back to its best after the winter. We have levelled off the area behind the score box where we have placed the new net and that looks good.

NatWest Cricketforce 2011

We have again registered for the NatWest Cricketforce week end. All cricket clubs are encouraged to sign up to complete major projects at their clubs. For some this is building new pavilions or building new grounds. Our requirements are not that ambitious and still involve making improvements to the toilet block, finishing the new nets, and undertaking some external decorating and generally tidying the ground and getting it ready for the season ahead. Everyone is encouraged to get involved be they players, VP’s, Juniors or other local people. If you would like to get involved or believe you can offer materials please let me know on 01564 782961. The event week end is 9 and 10 April 2011.

More Help

We have been lucky over the years that a small number of people have been dedicated to helping run the Club and we have not done a bad job. Recent health issues have demonstrated, however, how much we rely on them. This has made us look at ourselves and see how others run their clubs. It is clear that there is greater involvement from the players and supporters in other clubs. There must be a fund of untapped help available if only we knew what skills our supporters have. The toilet refurbishment is a case in point where we can fund the material costs but it would be great if we could find volunteers who have skills as a project manager, a plumber, an electrician, a plasterer, a carpenter etc. It would also be good if we had a club photographer, someone to help on the website, someone to work on communications and liaison with Vice Presidents. The form asks you to say if you have a skill that could be useful to us and whether you are prepared to help. The time involved is likely to be small but invaluable. Also you may be aware of a youngster (say between 18 and 24) who does not have a job but who needs a way to build confidence and to try out skills and to have things to put on their CV. Other clubs have found jobs for such volunteers. Again please let us know if you are aware of anyone that might fit the bill.

The Rowington Web Site

Many of you may know that there is now an excellent Rowington Village website 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 as well as other contributions about the Club. The web address is www.rowingtoncc.co.uk.

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 2011. The attached form invites you to remit your sub and indicates what you paid last year (or for e-mail recipients it is in the covering e-mail). 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 £10, as last year, 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 attached form guides you through the process. The subscription form also invites you to supply an e-mail address. 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.

Last year I asked for pledges towards the new net and many of you kindly made offers. We were not able to afford the Rolls Royce of nets and so we arranged for a more modest Ford Fiesta type which is almost complete. We have no need to call in the pledges but for those that offered we are very grateful.

We can also advertise your business in our fixture card for a modest sum. If you are interested please let Steve Jay know.

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