Newsletter - June 08
Dear Member,
The season is only six weeks old and already it has been packed with incident both on and off the field which this month’s newsletter will try to encapsulate for you.
OFF THE FIELD
Sponsorship:
We are delighted to be able to report three new sponsors have signed up to support the club in the last few weeks.
Firstly Frances Lindsay & Co - the Family Law Company in Maidenhead-have become the first ever sponsors of our new Ladies XI with their backing for the 2008 season. In fact Frances has been a supporter of the club for the last few years but this new level of involvement means backing for our Ladies throughout their season of ‘friendly’ fixtures this year. Beyond that Frances Lindsay & Co are also sponsoring a Ladies single wicket tournament to be hotly contested on 27th July at the club for the ‘Frances Lindsay Cup’.
Secondly, the Under 13s Hurricanes, who won their league last year under the coaching influence of Barrie Wykes, are delighted to have secured the support of Chris Knight and his company Floatdene Green for the 2008 season.
Thirdly the Under 13s Spitfires are thrilled to be supported for the 2008 season by Craig Gray and his company Teabag. The boys came third in their league last year under the coaching of Richard Bampfield and we have high hopes for them again this season.
The New Electronic Scoreboard:
Guests, who included the new Vicar of Bray and his lady wife, went on to enjoy an evening of spicy delights courtesy of the Vaja family with a Curry dinner in the clubhouse attended by over 100 people.
Social Affairs:
Indeed the curry evening was the first of our social affairs this season and was followed up on 18th May by an excellent BBQ lunch produced by resident expert Michael Hughes to nourish the teams playing in the first (ever) of the twice yearly Hockey versus Cricket Club Tourneys.
The Cricket proved as good as the food, and the Cricketers, led by Chris Bowler ( who is one), beat the Hockey players led by Mike Barnes ( who isn’t) with a just few runs in hand.
The magnificent trophy ( did I mention it was won by the Cricketers?) is a testament to the great spirit between the two sections of the Sports Club and I know the return fixture in October- with curly sticks and a white ball –will be a hard fought affair.
The next big social affair is our Italian Extravaganza on 20th June so please watch out for details and join us at the Clubhouse for an evening of ‘la dolce vita’.
Get the Kit:
Just to remind you that we have made a special arrangement with RAM Sports to provide all of the Club kit for all age groups, and that enquires can be made through your team captains or coaches or through Lynden Baldwin, and that order forms are available from behind the bar.
ON THE FIELD
Senior Men’s Cricket:
It is clear that the club has more talent amongst its seniors squad than has been the case for many years having retained all of its players from last year, attracted new players during the closed season and because of its policy of encouraging colts to move up to senior cricket when ready.
The consequence is of course a far greater depth in playing strength which is great and the only downside is that skippers find themselves spoiled for choice and facing more difficult selection decisions in putting together teams who look really strong on paper.
Of course its sometimes different on the pitch, and overall our results so far have been mixed and not truly representative of our ability, but its early days and am sure that we will see more consistency over the next few weeks to build on the results of first few games which are as follows.
The Thames Valley League:
The M&BCC Hamptons International 1st XI are 5th in Division 2A with a win, a draw and a loss (having been cruelly robbed by the weather of another certain win). With 48 points they are well placed to improve, whilst our 2nd XI have also won one and drawn one and are 7th in their league and again are looking to improve as does availability.
It is the 3rd XI who are really flying high at the moment and heading their division with 90 points having won all four of their games and looking to press their early season advantage, whilst the 4th XI have a win and a draw to show for their efforts so far with better undoubtedly to come.
Fuller details can of course be found on the club website under the captain’s match reports.
The Julian Cup:
As you may recall we were beaten in the final of last years tournament and having beaten Desborough School in the first round we find ourselves facing last years winners Burnham in the second round game at Bray on Tuesday 3rd June.
Colts Cricket:
With 7 different teams representing the club in five different age groups in both league and cup games there is obviously too much to report here in detail but its is encouraging to highlight the Under 9s ( sponsored by Semaphore advertising ) who have got off to an excellent start with wins in both their matches to date whilst the Under 13s Hurricanes ( sponsored by Floatdene Green ) have had a fabulous start to the season and have won all of their matches.
Ladies XI:
The anticipation is building toward the first Ladies Match as is the interest and the number of players attending nets every Thursday....putting the boys to shame actually.
The first home fixture should have been against Gerrards Cross on Bank Holiday Monday but it was not to be and now the girls at looking at an opening home encounter against Dulwich ladies on 28th June with a number of additional games in the pipeline.
There is so much more to say but that’s enough for now and as ever well done if you have got this far.If you have any comments please feel free to contact me at this email address or of course in person at the club.
Kind regards
Nick Clements
M&BCC Chairman.
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