The Mitcham Cricket Club Annual Report and Accounts 2017

Annual General Meeting Thursday 30th November 2017 www.pitchero.com/clubs/mitchamcricketclub [email protected]

About Us Mitcham Cricket Club have an active membership of senior players – fielding three senior sides each week during the season. In 2018 we will be running a ladies team too. It also has a significant and growing junior section including three junior league teams. Most of the Club’s playing membership is drawn from the Merton area and the Club plays a vital role in offering the opportunity for young people to play cricket as few have the facilities to access cricket through their state schools. We also provide an important social hub for non- playing members, many of which are former players. Our membership has an age range of seven to over eighty. Our cricket pavilion is registered as an Asset of Community Value. Further, it is locally listed and in a conservation area. The pavilion is of heritage significance and has a long communal history. Mitcham Cricket Pavilion was opened in 1904. It was purpose built as a cricket pavilion and has only ever been occupied by Mitcham Cricket Club. The neighbouring cricket ground, which we use during the playing season, is registered as a Town Green. There is good evidence that it is the oldest continuously used cricket ground in the world. We can trace its use for cricket back to at least 1685. The Green is also an important recreational asset in the Wandle Valley Regional Park. The Cricket Green in Mitcham also has global importance in the history of cricket for a variety of reasons – reflected in its inclusion in the recently published Remarkable Cricket Grounds of the World (Brian Levison, Pavilion Books 2016). The Green was a place where cricket was regularly played prior to the formalisation of the rules of the game. In the 19th and 20th centuries it has played host to international matches – the Club and its Green acted as a training base for the first Australian national Test teams touring England; women’s international cricket teams have also played there. Mitcham players played a key role in setting up the Surrey County Cricket Club, many Mitcham players played for Surrey. Mitcham Club members have also represented England in men’s and women’s cricket.

Prepare the Ground Day

Thanks to those players, colts and parents who came down to help at the beginning of April to prepare the club for the 2017 season. Local company SITA UK yet again kindly donated a skip to the Club to remove the junk that had accumulated...where does it all come from?

In addition to emptying the shed and then putting everything back in again tidily, there was a work party painting new slats for the sightscreens. These have yet to be attached, but hopefully we can get these sorted before the 2018 season!

We also gave a thorough clean up to the pavilion including the windows, the oven and the BBQ.

New Ladies Squad

A group of us have decided to set up the first Mitcham CC Ladies team. We hope to play a number of friendly matches in 2018 and have been training hard since the summer. The squad will be taking part in winter nets in February and March and are very grateful for the support of our coach Hugo…who is very patient!

The squad is very friendly and reflects a wide range of backgrounds and ages (from teens upwards). We welcome further recruits, experience is not necessary, but a willingness to have a go and practice regularly is vital. It can be a great way to get some exercise and make new friends.

Agenda AGM 8pm Thursday 30th November 2017

1. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 24th November 2016 to be received and confirmed.

2. Annual Report and Statement of Accounts 2017 to be received and adopted. a. Approval of constitution amendment (see page 4)

3. Presentation of Awards for 2017

Memorial Awards Bilal Mohammed Sami Abdul Burn Bullock Tankard Martin Gouma Fred Cole Cup Shellina Finnegan

4. Election of President The Executive Committee nominates D M Smith to serve as President.

5. Vote of thanks to former President P D Batty.

6. Election of Vice Presidents The Executive Committee nominates the following to serve as Vice-Presidents:

C L Bashford* R Humphreys J Strover D Bell K Jones* T Todd Mrs J Bellamy MB C A Peacock* D Webb K Bond J C Rattle P White-Young* K C Burgess D Seymour G Williams* F G Day* M Short Mrs R Williams A Gault P G Smart M J Wilson Mrs J Gault B Smith J C Wray* E J Green* R A Stevens R M Hines* *Life Member

7. Election of Life Members The Executive Committee nominates Adrian Gault for Life Membership.

8. Election of Officers Office Current Holder Office Current Holder Chair P White-Young Ladies Captain - Hon Secretary J Gault 1st XI Vice-Captain D Seymour Hon Treasurer A Gault 2nd XI Vice-Captain J Jones Hon Fixture Secretary S Kumar 3rd XI Vice-Captain A Wood Cricket Committee Chair D Seymour sr Ladies Vice Captain - 1st XI Captain A Khan Colts Secretary David Bell 2nd XI Captain S Patel Welfare Officer K Jones 3rd XI Captain M Gouma Head of Colts Coaching A Gault

9. Election of Executive Committee (all officers listed above plus J Strover)

10. Appointment of Examiner The Executive Committee nominates Roshni Gocol as Examiner of the Accounts.

Proposed Amendment to the Club Constitution

We have been trialling the twelve-point Team Captain’s Role Description with our senior teams over the last few seasons. The current draft appeared in the 2017 yearbook which was available to all members. We propose to use the role description for all teams in 2018 - including the colts and Ladies teams – and to reference it in the Club constitution as follows:

Additional text shown in italics

5.9 All members will be subject to these Rules and by joining the Club will be deemed to accept these Rules, any Club Regulations and any Codes of Conduct that the Club has adopted – this includes supporting team Captains to act in accordance with the Role Description for Captains. A Code of Conduct for Members and Guests must be displayed prominently to ensure that all Club guests and non-member volunteers are aware of the code and the requirement to abide by it.

The Executive seeks the agreement of members to this amendment.

In addition, to address an issue which arose in the colts this season, we have also made an amendment to the role description to make clear that while we celebrate the diversity in our membership, we expect all Mitcham teams to use the common language of English during games and practice, to ensure that individuals do not feel excluded. The revised text is as follows:

Additional text in italics

As a Mitcham Cricket Club Team Captain it is your responsibility to: 1. Generate Team Spirit by motivating players on and off the field; promote involvement of all team members, including by ensuring that English is the language used on the field of play and in the dressing room; train regularly yourself and encourage your team members to do the same.

Minutes of Mitcham Cricket Club AGM

Held 8pm Thursday 24th November 2016

Present

1. The following full members of the Club were present

Peter White Young (Chair) A Razzaq Pat Batty (President) John Wray David Bell John Mansfield Adrian Gault (Acting Treasurer) Ahsan Khan Fred Day Shreyash Patel Joan Day Alan Hutchings Ewan Green Ken Jones Dennis Seymour sr S Udaya Kumar Derek Webb Trevor Todd Mick Short Shaz Mahmood Joyce Bellamy John Strover Ron Taylor Julia Gault (Hon Secretary)

Apologies 2. Apologies were received from James Gault, William Gault, Matt Devon and Martin Gouma

President’s Address 3. Pat Batty welcomed those present, especially Peter White Young who had experienced a health set back during the season. He also noted that Club Treasurer Tim Campbell was recovering since his serious accident earlier in the year. The President thanked the members of the Club Executive who had covered for these absences including Adrian Gault who had acted as Treasurer since May. He also thanked Club Vice President Joyce Bellamy for sponsoring the Colts Awards Evening.

4. Pat Batty thanked those who had travelled long distances to attend the AGM and Club Secretary Julia Gault for the production of the Annual Report. He expressed his appreciation to Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage and the Mitcham Society for their continued support including running events and fundraising. They had helped secure a £10K grant to help move forward on the pavilion and the Burn Bullock.

5. Turning to performances on the field, Pat congratulated 2nd XI captain Matt Devon on securing promotion this season. He had been supported by a great team, in particular Razzaq who had been great with bat and ball and Barbar who was also a good all- rounder.

6. The 1st XI looked competitive at the start of the season, but faded as the season progressed. Parth Vyas and Dharam Vyas had put in good batting performances. Ahsan Khan had taken 28 wickets and Kumar had taken 38. The 3rd XI’s batting had

been unreliable, but their bowling had been penetrating. He thanked Jane and Nora for their magnificent teas.

7. The Colts had been supported by a great team – Adrian Gault, David Bell, Ken Jones, Richard Crompton and Julia Gault. There had been plenty of junior cricket from the 6-a- side festival to the three league sides.

8. Pat expressed the Clubs sadness at the passing of former players and Vice Presidents Dick Harman, Cliff Leonard, Ken Bolitho and MR “Jimmy” James.

Minutes of 2016 AGM 9. John Wray proposed and Ken Jones seconded that the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 25th November 2015 were received and confirmed as a true record. This was agreed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report 10. Adrian Gault presented his financial report and the Statement of Accounts for 2016. He noted that the out turn for the year was a loss of £4,000. Expenditure had been in line with expectations, but unpaid membership subscriptions and match fees had contributed to the loss. Social receipts were also down on previous years. Due to difficulties getting HMRC to authorise Adrian to act for the Club, he had been unable to finalise the Gift Aid claim, but provision for the claim had been made in the accounts.

11. Ewan Green asked whether the loss on winter nets was a justified investment by the Club. It was agreed that senior nets should at least break even. Fred Day agreed to examine the accounts and on that basis Ewan Green proposed that they should be accepted and this was seconded by John Mansfield.

12. The meeting agreed the proposed amendment to the constitution to allow membership subscriptions to be paid by instalments. It was also agreed that as a trial for the 2017 season senior players who paid their subs in full by the end of April would be entitled to pay a reduced early bird rate of £100.

Awards 13. The President presented Club awards for 2016 as follows: Memorial Awards Idris Sayed and Shantosh Suganthan Burn Bullock Tankard Matt Devon Fred Cole Cup Shaz Mahmood

Members of the 2nd XI were presented with medals to commemorate winning their league and securing promotion.

Chairman’s Report 14. Peter White Young explained that the Club had been contacted by Architect Marcus Beale who had been asked by the Burn Bullock’s freeholder to develop a scheme for the Burn Bullock and its environs. Some documents had been published following a consultation event earlier in November 2016. An archaeological survey of the Burn Bullock had indicated that it was older than had previously been thought.

15. The proposal was to reopen the Burn Bullock as a restaurant with flats over it. There would be 21 further flats over the car park area. The cricket pavilion would be enhanced by a modest extension and the shed replaced with a garage under a new flat next door to the pavilion. He reported that the Executive had written to the Directors of our freeholding company in early November with our observations on the proposal. Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage had written in similar terms. Neither letter had received a response.

16. The Chairman reported that the same company was reported to be involved with the White Hart. The Club had heard that it wouldn’t be reopening as a pub due to a rent price hike.

17. He observed that the Subcommittee of the Executive working on this was concerned to secure the best outcome for the Club. There were particular concerns about the prospect of a new lease from the existing freeholder. He agreed to keep members in touch with further developments.

Election of Officers 18. The following individuals were elected to serve as Club Officers for 2017:

Office Individual Elected Proposed Seconded President P. D Batty Peter White David Bell Young Vice Presidents The list shown below were Pat Batty All Members re-elected present Chair P. White-Young Pat Batty John Wray Hon. Secretary Mrs J. Gault Peter White John Strover Young Hon Treasurer Adrian Gault Peter White Fred Day Young Hon Fixture S Udaya Kumar Shaz Mahmood Ahsan Khan Secretary Chair of Cricket Dennis Seymour Peter White Ron Taylor Committee Young Colts Secretary David Bell Adrian Gault Ewan Green Head of Colts Adrian Gault David Bell Ken Jones Coaching 1st XI Captain Ahsan Khan Shaz Mahmood Shreyash Patel 2nd XI Captain Shreyash Patel A Razzaq Ahsan Khan 3rd XI Captain Martin Gouma Shaz Mahmood Kumar

1st XI Vice Captain Dennis Seymour Ahsan Khan Kumar 2nd XI Vice Captain Jay Jones Shreyash Patel Ahsan Khan 3rd XI Vice Captain Alston Wood Shaz Mahmood Kumar Welfare Officer K. Jones John Mansfield David Bell

The following were re-elected to serve as Vice President C L Bashford* C A Peacock* D Webb Mrs J Bellamy MBE J C Rattle P White-Young K Bond M Short G Williams* K C Burgess P G Smart Mrs R Williams F G Day* B Smith M J Wilson E J Green* R A Stevens J C Wray* R M Hines* J Strover R Humphreys T Todd *Life Member K Jones* 19. It was agreed that David Bell, Adrian Gault, Julia Gault and Dennis Seymour (snr) should also be elected to serve as Vice President.

Life Membership 20. Pat Batty nominated Peter White Young for life membership in view of his many years of service as a great worker and negotiator for the Club. This was agreed unanimously by those present.

Executive Committee 21. All of the officers listed above were elected to serve as the Executive Committee plus J Strover as an ex-officio member. This was carried on bloc by the assembled membership.

Appointment of Examiner 22. The Executive Committee nominated Fred Day as examiner for the accounts.

Any other Business 23. John Strover encouraged those present to attend the 6th January event run at the Golf Club to raise funds for the Club.

24. The Chair closed the meeting at 10.25pm.

Mitcham Cricket Club Chairman’s Report 2017 Another season over and if I am informed correctly the 332nd year of cricket played on the Green. Everyone involved should take great satisfaction in this, and it is with an enormous sense of pride that we inform visiting teams and other guests each week throughout the year.

Much has gone on in the last year that deserves comment, some excellent and sadly some not.

On the field the 1st XI batting was simply not good enough leading to relegation. No matter how well we bowled our collapses with the bat became expected and other sides saw us coming. We have to learn to bat if we are ever to progress at this level.

The 2nd XI, however, were a complete contrast, destroying attacks and bowling sides out week after week. They deservedly won their division and now return us to the Surrey Championship after a considerable time away. The whole squad should be congratulated.

Our 3rd XI went about their business in their own quiet way and finished the season in a very creditable third place. Well done all who played for them.

Certainly as the season went on, training became much more structured, mainly due to the work done by our third team skipper Martin Gouma. He overhauled our sessions, getting players to think much more about their game which is definitely a step in the right direction.

Our Colts also had a good season with a total of eleven wins across the age groups, seeing our Under 16 side finishing runners up in their league.

Off the field the “saga” of the freehold goes on. The freeholders still refuse to engage with us and prevent us developing the site.

We have created a development plan setting out clear Aims and Goals for the club moving forward over the next five years. This remains constantly under review to ensure we do not lose our way in seeking to take the club forward. We achieved many of the things we set out to in 2017, including the results achieved on the field by 2nd, 3rd and colts XIs.

We have developed a fighting fund, strengthened our links with the Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage Group, the Mitcham Society and the London Borough of Merton. The English Cricket Board and Surrey are aware of our vulnerable position and a subgroup of the executive is acting as a working party to seek to address the tenure issue.

We cannot just sit and wait for this to resolve itself so we are working hard to keep the club growing. It is clear that the spirit of the club is rejuvenating. More people are involved than before and there is a positive list of our successes.

For the first time in our history we will have a women’s team. The ladies have organised themselves, found a coach who leads regular training sessions and they are planning winter nets towards playing their first fixtures next year.

The nationally organised “All Stars” initiative has been much more popular than anticipated with 43 youngsters participating. This was recognised with our being the guard of honour for the England v West Indies ODI at the Oval.

We have now also had our first two Under 9 fixtures.

The Heritage Day was very successful, all the more so when a group of our parents stepped in at short notice and ran the refreshments. It was one of our busiest and most attended such days.

We held a very successful curry night, an international evening and an enhanced awards night all of which were very enjoyable nights and again well attended.

As is noted elsewhere Pat Batty is retiring as club president at this AGM after 28 loyal hardworking and successful years in the post. Others have written about his immense input to the club at every level so it just remains for me to say “thank you” both personally and on behalf of the whole club for his great loyalty and hard work.

I am extremely pleased that one of our former colts who went on to play for Surrey, Worcestershire, Sussex and England David M. Smith has agreed to take on the role of president, and it is a pleasure to welcome him back to the club.

I must thank all of the officials for their efforts over the last year especially our hon sec Julia Gault who has kept us all to task and so much more, Adrian Gault for his efforts as treasurer, colts coach and club historian, David Bell for his work as organiser of colts and Saturday evenings.

All the captains worked hard to ensure we put out three sides each week. The tea ladies were immense and our teas the envy of many other clubs.

Again I must thank Andy Goulding for his work in maintaining the square throughout the season with often four matches a week on the green plus nets on every other day.

We are continuously looking for new volunteers. There is always more to be done, so anyone who would like to be involved would be most welcome.

We need more players, umpires and scorers. People to become involved in fundraising, helping with socials and assisting with maintaining the building and grounds. We have for example, ambitions to restore the artificial net surfaces, provided we can raise sufficient funding.

Thank you.

Peter White Young

2017 Season Team Reports

1st XI Final Results Table played Abandoned Total Total Pts Winning Wins Draws Newdigate CC 18 3 0 11 256

Shepperton CC 18 2 2 10 246

Chaldon CMO CC 18 1 1 10 233

Southern Railway, Kenley & Selsdon CC 18 1 0 10 218

Thames Ditton CC 18 2 0 8 198

Claygate CC 18 2 0 8 198

Ripley CC 18 2 0 7 196

Effingham CC 18 2 1 5 170

Mitcham CC 18 2 0 5 159

Roehampton CC 18 1 1 1 90

2nd XI Final Results Table played abandoned Total Total Wins Pts Winnin g Draws

Mitcham CC 18 1 1 13 262

Thames Ditton CC 18 1 0 12 262

Old Pauline CC 18 0 0 10 235

Byfleet CC 18 1 1 9 222

Horsley & Send CC 18 1 1 8 197

Whiteley Village CC 18 2 0 7 184

Merton CC 18 2 0 7 172

Woodmansterne CC 18 2 0 4 138

Godalming CC 18 1 3 2 116

Warlingham CC 18 1 0 3 109

3rd XI – Team Report

The loss of a number of senior players from our club at the end of the 2016 season meant that the 2017 season got off to a difficult start for the 3rds. We unfortunately lost our first 3 games to Chipstead, Addiscombe and Cheam (despite fifties from Shanthosh and De Vos), leaving us very near to the bottom of the table.

We then played a solid Woodmansterne team away, posting a slightly below par 184/9 in our 45 overs. A combination of good death bowling and a little luck saw us snatch an unlikely victory as we managed to win by 4 runs, defending 6 off the last over. Things brightened somewhat after that. We took a vastly weakened team to Sinjuns – expecting to be hammered, only to discover that they were having similar problems as us! Our main strike bowler Hosseini took a magnificent 8-1-6-15 and set up a 6 wicket win. We played away again next match, against Old Emmanuel, and managed to win by 3 wickets.

After that, at home, we fought bitterly and just managed to hang on for a losing draw against an excellent Merstham batting unit who’d racked up 272! Our next 2 matches were both away and we managed a 3 wicket win at Addiscombe and a 128 run win at Wallington (De Vos 93*). Trinity arrived the following week and racked up 285! Again we hung on bitterly, executing a belligerent rear-guard action to grab a losing draw. The next week we managed a win against Woodmansterne before rain came in and disrupted the season somewhat. Our only century of the season (by Matt Carstens – a brilliant 117*) was achieved in the next match against Sinjuns, but we then went on to lose 2 more games, before gaining a concession in the last game. We finished 3rd overall and this can be seen as a positive in view of our early season struggles.

Martin Gouma 3rd XI Captain

Team played Total Total abandoned Pts Wins Winning Draws

Cheam CC 18 13 0 2 284

Trinity Mid-Whitgiftian CC 18 10 2 1 240

Mitcham CC 18 7 0 1 220

Chipstead Coulsdon and Walcountians CC 18 8 2 1 217

Addiscombe CC 18 7 1 2 209

SinjunGrammarians CC 18 8 1 1 198

Merstham CC 18 6 4 1 194

Woodmansterne CC 18 3 0 0 144

Wallington CC 18 2 1 1 104

Old Emanuel CC 18 3 0 0 101

A Memorable Journey – By Pat Batty

It has certainly been a long and memorable journey since I joined our great club, in 1950 and made my debut for the 3rd Xi that same year, aged 13, complete with some six stitches over one eye, gained the night before in a knock about on Cranmer Green.

I was very aware of the Club’s standing in the history of the game from a very early age. The fact that we had produced many County and International players, was well known to most local people, particularly as the town had many families of long standing connected with the club who had lived in the town for generations.

The Cricket Green was very much a focal point on the summer months. My memories of understanding our great game and the perception of it took hold immediately after the war in 1946. My father an ex-North Yorkshire and South Durham league cricketer as well as being an ardent Yorkshire supporter, took great care to explain the finer points of the game to me, which held me in good stead over the years, taking me to see Mitcham play as well as to County games at the Oval and Lords.

After the war period, vast crowds attended the matches which remained consistently so until the late 1970s, tapering off gradually over the next two decades. The June-August 1st XI matches were particularly well attended with crowds in the 1000 to 1500 region as well as many casual spectators, stopping to look over the fence for an hour or so. We regularly sold around 800 deckchairs, I know because I helped collect them!

Special fixtures such as Bank Holidays, the visit of the County side, Surrey 2nd XI and the Surrey Women’s team, could attract twice that number.

When we gained permission to play Sunday matches on the Green in 1963, this also brought further large crowds to see matches against some of the best sides from neighbouring counties such as Kent, Sussex and Middlesex, plus a couple of sides from Hampshire and Essex. We turned out with generally nine of our 1st XI against sides usually at full strength. These were very competitive games and highly entertaining.

To play on the famous Green was every Mitcham school boy’s ambition. I was lucky enough to achieve this goal in 1952, but was very nervous when I played for the 2nd XI in front of a fairly large number of spectators. Luckily with the experience of more games, this became less of an ordeal as my confidence grew.

I was in admiration of the great players who represented our 1st XI in the 1946-1950s period. These guys were legends to me and were players to emulate. To think that I was to actually play occasionally in the same side as these fantastic players was a dream come true.

Arthur Cole initially was the captain and then that superb opening batsman Eric Ide took over for ten years. The nucleus of the team consisted of classic and stylish batsmen such as Johnny Miell, Arthur Stainforth, Jimmy Linley, the free-scoring Bob Parker, that powerful hitter, all-rounder Fred Smith, plus a County class quick bowler Bill Culmer. During the

1950s the likes of David Halfyard (later Kent and Notts) and Mike Willett (Surrey) graced our colours.

My debut in the 1st XI was in 1953 in a Bank Holiday fixture and later that year I was lucky enough to play every day in our September Cricket Week. Our cricket week sides usually had a guest County professional such as Laurie Fishlock and Arthur McIntyre both Surrey and England, Eddie Watts, John McMahon of Surrey and Arthur Phebey of Kent. Although my part in the proceedings was a minor role, it was a great honour to be part of a side which contained such players of repute.

Although I did well enough to help us win the three matches when I had an innings and scoring between 20 and 40 in tight finishes, being not out with coincidentally only 2 wickets left on each occasion, I had to wait until 1955 to make my 1st XI debut on a Saturday. Such was the strength of the Club it was difficult for some of us regarded as promising youngsters, to gain a regular place but a few of my contemporaries, the brilliantly talented Colin Morgan, Brian Ward, Denis Catlin and wicketkeeper Roy Harford, once they got in the 1st XI, they never looked back.

Indeed we had a lot of players including a good number with experience who played regularly in our 2nd XI who would have graced many other 1st XIs, but Mitcham was their club, especially as many were born locally or local residents, most remained loyal to the cause. This was the case for many years with our overall strength being at a very high level up until early 2000.

My apprenticeship lasted for a number of years as I was in an out of the 1st XI, but always striving to be a regular of the side. My fielding which is always such an important aspect of the game, gave me an edge but obtaining a batting position was difficult. Often I would be selected to bat at 7 or 8 and bowl a few overs as and when the game dictated. Occasionally I would get a “one off” chance to open if one of the established players was away.

When given the opportunity I was always pleased to fulfil whatever utility role was required even though when I played for the seconds I was a regular opening bat. Playing in the 1st XI as a middle order batsman, especially on the Green, meant not getting an innings, such was our strength. One always played where selected which was the policy of the Club and in my opinion, the only way for a club to run.

In 1960 I had the honour of being selected as 1st XI captain, at the age of 23 which was in those days, relatively young. I had fairly recently completed my National Service during which time I had the good fortune to be posted close to home in the Aldershot-Farnborough area and with the cooperation of a cricketing Adjutant, I was able to get home each weekend and keep up a continuous playing involvement with the Club which was to last 52 years. During this time I believe I only missed six Saturday matches from 1953 until 2000 arranging later life family holidays on the Isle of Wight, Cornwall, Devon and the South Coast, travelling on a Saturday after a match, coming back mid-holiday for the next game and returning to the holiday before travelling back to Mitcham for the following Saturday

14 match. Prior to this all my holidays were taken for cricket matches, cricket tours, midweek games and in our Cricket Week.

Becoming Club Captain was my proudest moment in cricket and this remained so even marginally beating the distinct honour of leading the 1st XI to four Surrey Championships and two Surrey K.O. (Decca Cup) successes between 1969 and 1978 – yes even playing at Lords which I did during my National Service.

Being elected to serve as Club Chairman and later as President, a position I held for 28 years, were very high accolades and much privileged honours. It is not generally known that when I became Chairman in 1981 I had also received an invitation to become Chairman of the Surrey Championship, as well as separately being offered the Chairmanship of the Surrey Cricket Association – the latter included a place on the Surrey Cricket Committee.

Both would have been great honours, but I decided that I could only do justice to one position, that being at Mitcham, where I endeavoured to give total commitment rather than spread myself too thinly by attempting to incorporate one of these other positions as well. Mitcham was my priority.

On the field of play, comparison between the decades is not easy but the 1960 side was slightly the better batting team with perhaps more flair than the sides representing us in the 1970s. The fielding in both decades was good but overall the 1960 XI was more athletic with an average age of 25. The side in the 1970s had the better bowling attack with usually five to six high calibre bowlers as opposed to three (with useful back-ups) in 1960.

In the 1960 season, we used mainly 13 players in what was a very successful campaign, winning 16 matches and losing one. We went on to repeat similar seasons and results during the next decade.

Our squad comprised of myself, Colin Morgan, Jimmy James, Brian Ward, Vic Hucknall, Denis Catlin, Ken Bond, Clive Peacock, Roy Harford, Kenny Moore, Eric Clark, Cliff Davis and Eaton Swaby.

During the 1970 decade our Championship winning elevens involved the following players who regularly represented us. Myself, Ward, Catlin, Peacock and Swaby from the 1960 side were joined by various players who had made their debuts with us later that decade, namely Dennis Marriott, Ron Gibbons, Peter Johnson, Winston Stafford, Tony Collins, Mike Bailey and Colin Perry. Into the 1970s the side was augmented by Brian Ray, Eddie Gobin, Vinny Brewster, Percy Plunkett, Jeff Cullip, briefly by Kingston Murray, Malcolm Lawford and occasionally by David Smith when his Surrey commitments permitted. The various combinations were equally strong. Also during this time, some very talented younger cricketers were forcing their way into the side, these included future skippers Peter Smart and Ewan Green also Dave Lawrence and Ray Parker.

For the record in a table compiled for the first ten years of the Surrey Championship, the 1st XI were top and the 2nd XI third, in their section which included one title won under the

15 astute leadership of Clive Peacock. All this was a worthy reflection of our strength during this period and onward.

During my many years with the Club, initially serving on the committee in 1955 and including 27 years of captaincy, 15 of which at 1st XI level, I have worked with many and conscientious members who have devoted countless hours to serving our needs. Compiling such a list would be endless ranging from many former officers of the Club to those members who were tradesmen who kept the pavilion and our machinery in a reasonable state of repair.

A condensed list would include former President Fred Cole who held office for 27 years and with over 60 years’ service, would be at the head, followed by our very capable secretaries Ewan Green, Lindsay Bashford and now the very efficient Julia Gault. Alan Wallace did a marvellous job initially as Chairman, but more particularly as Treasurer, as did Fred Day when he looked after our finances and later, audited our accounts for some twenty-six years. Charlie Higginson, Cliff Leonard and Ken Bond, performed miracles spending many hours carrying out repairs to the pavilion with great skill. I must mention our superb groundsman Fred Bowpitt who looked after the Green for 25 years and ensured that it was arguably one of the best surfaces in the London and Home Counties area. Later on and for a similar period of time in two separate spells, Andy Goulding has done an excellent job, especially bearing in mind the limited number of hours scheduled.

The shop window of a club and the standard by which it is measured is the 1st XI and the success it may achieve. Sadly our standard of play has slipped gradually since around 2005 and as we have gone further down the divisions, it has declined more rapidly. This has been very evident over the past few years, although we have had some good players and some promising players in our ranks, particularly the Vyas cousins and the Rogerson brothers and have gained much welcomed success at 2nd and 3rd XI level with superb keenness and enthusiasm, we are very short of players of calibre.

Since I stopped playing in 2001, I have watched the club play regularly most Saturdays home or away, so I believe I have been in a good position to judge. Our current attack is adequate for the level in which the 1st XI play, but the batting is weak and literally it is very much hit and miss with not very much technique or slot selection. We have certainly lost many matches which were set up for us to win, but lack of application and ability to read the situation, has been our downfall.

On a brighter note, the colts section continues to thrive with over 70 young members. Former Chairman and Captain Alf Turnbull played a prominent part setting up the scheme, followed by various people over the ensuing years. Eddie Cole and Ken Jones, who was our administrator for well over 20 years and is still coaching our very youngest members, did a marvellous job and currently David Bell, Adrian Gault and Chairman Peter White Young, plus helpers, continue to run things with enterprise and zest.

I must pay tribute to my former team mates from different eras who are excellent technical coaches and have great knowledge of all aspects of our great game, namely Clive Peacock and more currently, Richard Crompton.

The great satisfaction to coaching is to see the results a few years down the line. Many times we have had as many as nine former colts in our 1st XI, especially in the period 1980 to 2010.

From the 1990s onwards, the now maturing colts with their varying talents formed the backbone of some good elevens, youngsters such as David Moxon, Henderson Clarke, Robert Milne, David Day, Shaun McMurray and John Langham among others, coming to the fore, augmented by various overseas players, in particular the outstanding Paul Roshier, Andrew McClement, David Morling, Gary Outram and Lindsay Crocker. Added to this array of quality was a class batsman, John Fry, a player comparable with many of the best in the past with a proven record and a consistent pace bowler Mark Wilson.

This made us worthy contenders for a number of years for main honours, initially under the enthusiastic leadership of Stuart Nowell and later on John Rattle, when the Premier Division was formed in 2000, we narrowly missed the cut when the division was reduced to ten clubs.

We were a considerable side at 1st and 2nd XI levels for a few seasons, but for various reasons some of the leading players moved on and our ability to attract players of proven quality and experience, proved difficult.

With cricket there are always areas to improve upon, but it is essential that the game should be enjoyed, played competitively, but in the right spirit of sportsmanship – often missing these days. Winning adds to the enjoyment, but should be achieved in good grace, respect and if possible, in style.

Whether the Club and in particular the 1st XI will ever find its way back to the highest level associated with out glorious past, remains to be seen. It would certainly take a long time as we are now nine divisions down from the Surrey Championship Premier Division, but it is something we much attempt to achieve or at least improve on our current position, hopefully on a season by season basis.

My own family, like so many others connected with the club, played their part making teas with mums, wives, daughters and girlfriends working on a rota organised over the years by Lil Cole, Alice Higginson, Wendy Stevens, Win and Eddie Cole, followed by Rosemary and Gwynn Williams and latterly Jane Bell and Nora Khan.

Fundraising has always been an essential requirement in the Club’s existence. Robin Stevens played a major part in this, as did Ken Burgess and also currently we are indebted to the many fine events organised by Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage and the Mitcham Society; and also for their support in many other areas.

We have had many helpers over the years doing odd jobs, but none have made a bigger contribution than Peter Fossett whose input was invaluable. I must also pay a tribute to Ken Bolitho, a former Chairman and Secretary and to Ron Hines for their splendid work on our Year Book over many years. This was the envy of many clubs.

Scorers have also played a prominent role in the efficient running of match days, in this capacity Jim Dawes Sn, Trevor Todd, Susan Bashford and Claire Smith, would deserve special praise for their excellent work. My youngest daughter Sarah served in this way as did my son Phil who gradually worked his way up the playing ladder and finally represented the 1st XI under Stuart Nowell and John Rattle. I was, of course, proud to see him progress in this way, from starting in our colts.

My active innings has more or less come to a close, but I feel very privileged to have played and worked with so many excellent people. The memory of these people, the excellent players, the loyal club members and the keen and sometimes vocal supporters who sat around the ground, are much “alive” in my mind. I often visualise them at the height of their powers.

To have been associated with Mitcham Cricket Club has been a marvellous experience and has been a major part of my life – something to be much cherished.

P D Batty Sold in Aid of Mitcham CC

Exclusively Available only £3.95 each Buy the original Outstanding & Outstanding II for only £7.00

Colts Report 2017

2017 saw another growth year in Colts membership, a new Under 9 team, a new initiative for 5 to 8 year olds and success on the pitch for our exciting Under 16s team.

For the first time for as long as anyone can remember we had no rained off Sundays this summer and managed to deliver 20 training sessions. At £40 a season, Mitcham CC continues to provide fantastic value for money for local children to enjoy cricket. We were indebted to parents such as Simon Levine who got trained and joins a growing band of parent-coaches supporting Richard Crompton, Adrian Gault and our other coaches to develop player’s skills. In addition to Sunday training, the coaches ran several evening training sessions too.

In Spring we signed up to a new ECB initiative called All Stars which aims to get 5 to 8 year olds playing cricket for the first time. The initiative has been a massive success nationally with over 50,000 youngsters signing up. At Mitcham we were pleased that 43 new players, a quarter of whom are girls, picked Mitcham for their All Stars experience, and we welcomed them and their parents to the Mitcham CC family. Many of the children subsequently joined the main Colts programme and are helping to build a new generation of Mitcham players. We look forward to being part of the scheme next year too.

Mitcham’s All Stars programme received recognition from the ECB. They chose our youngsters to provide the Guard of Honour for England’s ODI against the West Indies at the Oval in September.

Thanks to the growth in the youngest ages at Mitcham, we managed to play games against other clubs at Under 9 for the first time. Mitcham played well in two close games against Purley and Old Whits. We hope to put on more games for Under 9s next season.

Again we entered three teams in the North, East and Central Surrey Colts League, with our Under 16 team being the most successful – finishing runners up after being robbed by the weather of the opportunity to compete for the title in their final game of the season. Running three teams is a major undertaking to get 11 or 12 children to 24 evening matches in May, June and July. I would like to thank all the parents and helpers who umpire, score and transport players to games.

The 6-a-side Colts festival is an annual opportunity to celebrate our junior sections. In front of a good crowd, and supported by lots of parents who provided food and raffle prizes, it was appropriate that our most gifted Colt, Under 16 captain Bilal Mohammad, should captain the winning side. The event has become a major fixture in our summer calendar and we look forward to it growing further in the years ahead.

The Parents v Colts game was a fun, if chaotic, season finale. The parents had been in weeks of training to counter the growing ability of the kids(!) and won by 30 runs. More work for the Colts for next season!

We were pleased that more than ten of the players who have been Colts in the past two years are now playing regularly in the senior sides. And with numbers growing and new teams being established, we hope to produce more players for the senior sides while also providing a safe and fun learning environment for our younger players.

The club will need ever more support with coaching, transport and fund raising if we are to keep the Colts engaged and developing. You don’t need to be a parent to get involved. Anyone who can spare a Sunday morning or an evening would be most welcome.

Under 14s

A new look under 14 side had an excellent season that saw them finish a creditable 4th in the league. The highlight of the season was undoubtedly an eight-wicket win at Spencer, the night after our under 16s had also won there, where the boys chased down 134.

The season started slowly with a heavy defeat at Alleyn, being followed by a defeat at eventual champions Sutton in the cup. But their first home game against Beddington set the tone for a stronger second half of the season. Batting first the Browncaps raced to 72-2 from 14 overs. Tight bowling eventually restricted Mitcham to 92-6 which gave our attack something to bowl at. Brilliant bowling from Shamali, the Bowler of the Year in his first season at the club, who finished with figures of 4-3-2-2 and from Maywon and Hammad who conceded just 10 runs in their 7 overs saw the first win secured by 10 runs.

In spite of the heroics of Player of the Year Azeem – 33 runs & 2 for 19 - against the excellent Cheam a week later, we fell short and lost at home for the first time. But then came a fortnight in June where Mitcham and skipper Faraz came alive. First he scored his maiden half-century (52*) as he carried his bat in defeat to Roehampton. And then the fateful night in Wandsworth as he again carried his bat for a brilliant 72* as Spencer were beaten for the first time by a Mitcham under 14 side.

A weakened side put up a brave performance the following week against Champions Sutton, with Azeem (43*) and Zubair (23) leading an unsuccessful run chase against a side that included a number of district and county players. The final away match saw Beddington beaten in a thriller with Mitcham’s batsman chasing 118 in 18 overs. Mitcham’s Shamali (34), Faraz (21) and Farzeen (17) came to the fore in that game. A conceded victory on the final day of the season meant that Mitcham finished the season above Spencer for the first time, and only narrowly behind Dulwich.

At the end of season awards Maywon picked up the Batting prize for his consistent performances. Zubair was Most Improved player as he took wickets and scored runs regularly. The batsmen were well supported by Hassan, Faris and Omar who all contributed. The bowlers were helped by Hammad (8-140), Sam and Armaan.

Under 16s

After a brilliant season, the Under 16s team were left to rue the weather as their charge to the title ended on a wet August evening. With new captain Bilal leading from the front, the U16s blasted their way to 7 wins out of 8, knowing that a win at Old Ruts in the final week of the season would see the title come to CR4. But with the pitch unplayable after a storm, the Browncaps were forced to share the points and miss out on the title by just two points.

The season started with a win over Roehampton and a thrilling win away at Spencer where Mitcham chased down 135 to win by 5 wickets with an over to spare. Beddington were next up, and in the most one-sided match of the season they were beaten by 9 wickets with eight overs to spare after they had succumbed to excellent bowling of Raess (3-12) and Sami (2- 9).

In what turned out to be the decisive match of the season, we sent a depleted side to Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians at the beginning of July. Although our young side were playing the eventual champions they were only narrowly beaten by three wickets. From that point Mitcham cruised through July with big wins against Alleyn (9 wickets), Banstead (7 wickets) and Cheam (7 wickets). In those three run chases we required just 41 of our 60 overs, as tight bowling and fluent batting saw us home. But the title was lost as Trinity, who never won another match on the pitch after beating Mitcham, pipped us by virtue of the points they gained from conceded matches.

The end result was cruel on a new, young Mitcham side that had played with such promise all season. The team, which often included up to six 13 and 14 year olds, had some stand out performers. Batsman of the Year was opener Sufiyaan who scored over 200 runs with excellent shot selection and patient scoring. Sami, Mahad and Azizullah led the pace attack. Sami’s 5-12 against Alleyn was a season’s best for our Colts and included 5 wickets in 16 balls. He deservedly picked up the end of year Bowling award. As always Mitcham could turn to spin when the conditions allowed. Dhruv, who returned to the club in 2017 as an all-round talent and picked up the Most Improved award, Raess, Vaksalan and, from the under 14s, Hammad, all turning the ball to great effect. Newcomers Farukh, Shafan and Rizwan all came in and played a role too. And the under 16s were indebted to younger players such as Faraz, Shamali and Azeem who all scored runs in key games when they stepped up from the under 14s. But the Player of the Year was captain Bilal. His athletic keeping, attacking fields and swashbuckling batting were a major reason for the side’s success. He deservedly stepped up to the top of the batting line up for the senior 2s as well.

David Bell

Under 12s

The under 12s had a tough season. The opening game came against Beddington in May. Only 4 of the team had previous experience of hard ball cricket, so it was bound to be a rude awakening. All out for 32 was about right. However, we came up against the same team later in the season and made 102 for 1 off the 20 overs. That is a mark of the improvement that was made. Ayaan Ali, the captain, made his top score in that second match, 22 not out.

Highlight of the season was undoubtedly the second game in a week against Bank of England at Roehampton. Having lost the first game fairly comfortably, the team succeeded in chasing down Bank's 137-5 to make 138 with only 1 wicket down. Man of the match was Sahat Shah, retired on 35. He also shared a first wicket partnership of 66 with Yosef Levine. Muhammad (27 not out) and Madyn Patel saw the team across the line.

A total of 17 players turned out in competitive games. Honourable mentions to Reuven Levine (another all-rounder), Armaan (a real bowling prospect), Rahil, Kaarthic, Abiram, Ahmed and Ayaan Abaid (both great technique for their age), Ismail (hard to get out) and Ayush (hardly a miss-field), for their enthusiasm and improvement. It is a young side and many should be back next year in the same age group.

The end of season bowling award was shared by Madyn and Muhammad, whose records across all matches were almost identical. Madyn also captained the 2 games played by the under 9s and will continue to improve. The all-rounder of the season was Yosef - a wicketkeeper who bowls and bats! Most improved player was Connor Forsyth. The accuracy and speed of his bowling at the end of the season was incomparable to the start (thank you David for getting him to practice!) Club Player of the season was Leah Finnegan, for her perseverance, positive attitude and help behind the scenes. Opposing batsmen found her bowling extremely hard to get away and she never bowled an expensive over. She was also the Mitcham component on the Capel and Mitcham girls team that got through to the final of the Beddington festival.

The player of the year was undoubtedly Sahat. He headed the bowling averages (6 wickets for 121 runs) and batting averages (121 runs for 5 times out, including scores of 35 not out, 30 not out, 21 and 26). If he applies himself and remembers he is not a one-man team he has a bright future.

Thanks to all who helped with lifts, scoring and coaching - especially Simon Levine, Shellina Finnegan and Madyn's grand-dad. Adrian Gault

Yvonne Green

The Club was sad to hear of the recent passing of Yvonne Green, mother of former Club Captain and Club Secretary Ewan Green, on 28th September at the age of 89. She died peacefully at a nursing home in Gloucestershire.

Yvonne gave much support to Ewan during his years of service to the Club, being very adept at taking comprehensive messages from all sections of our membership, whether during the day or evening and always in a very charming manner.

Our deepest sympathy is offered to Ewan and his brother Kevin, a former Mitcham colt, and their extended family.

Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage takes an active interest in the future of the Cricket Green Conservation Area (designated in 1969) and its environs. We are the civic society for this part of Merton and part of the wider civic movement through membership of the national charity Civic Voice. We have a very close and longstanding bond with Mitcham Cricket Club.

Throughout the year we have worked on a range of initiatives directly with and indirectly benefitting Mitcham Cricket Club.

We continue to work very closely with the club to help secure a strong legal footing for the pavilion. Following on from making good use of the £10,000 Community Ownership and Management of Assets grant we obtained last year, we have done further solid work on this front.

However, despite our best efforts, there has been little progress with the owner of the Burn Bullock. Architects plans for the pub, car parks and pavilion, which were presented to a public exhibition in November 2016 failed to materialise into a planning application, and sadly, the Burn remains on the Heritage at Risk register maintained by Historic England. We continue to push for a positive outcome.

On a brighter note, Mitcham Heritage Day goes from strength to strength. We allied with Heritage Open Days this year, and as one of eight participating organisations MCC supported more than 500 visits to the local area. In what is quite probably a first in the club’s 333 year history, a ‘flash choir’ entertained players from the balcony, including singing music especially composed to celebrate Mitcham and its cricketing heritage. Our thanks to all in MCC who played their part in the success of Mitcham Heritage Day.

We are delighted to report a successful Lottery bid that will see a cash injection of £4.7million to The Canons. We have worked hard for the last few years on this bid, in a consortium called The Canons Partnership, which comprises MCGC&H, Friends of the Canons, Mitcham Society and Merton Council. One aspect of this grant is to celebrate our area’s rich sporting heritage. While MCC is outside the physical area covered by the grant, we

23 hope there will be plenty of scope for the club to participate in and benefit from the work.

Our annual Pirelli Golf Cup tournament held at Mitcham Golf Course in May and our new year social held in January (both organised in conjunction with Mitcham Society) jointly raised £1658.50 for MCC. We were once again proud to be able to support the club directly with funds just as we do in so many other ways.

MCGC&H is steadfast in its support of Mitcham Cricket Club. If in turn you would like to support us then please do consider becoming a member. You will find a membership form at http://mitchamcricketgreen.org.uk/join/.

John Strover

Chair Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage

General enquiries: [email protected] Web site: www.mitchamcricketgreen.org.uk Twitter: @MitchamCrktGrn Postal address: c/o MVSC, Vestry Hall, 336/338 London Road, Mitcham Surrey, CR4 3UD

Our Retiring President – Pat Batty - 67 YEARS OF SERVICE

The 2018 season will be the first since 1950 in which retiring President Pat Batty has not been directly involved in some capacity with Mitcham Cricket Club. An astonishing – and surely unique - 67 years of loyal service will come to an end, at least from an active point of view. No doubt he will appear at the Green from time to time to cast a reflective eye over proceedings but it is truly the end of an era.

Pat has been a friend, adviser, guardian of standards and never-say-die team mate to generations of Mitcham cricketers. It’s almost impossible to envisage the Club without him. He first appeared as a keen 12 year old, making up the number in the 3rd XI around 1950. Two years later, he was a recipient of the Memorial Award and he progressed to play for Surrey Schools and the Evening News Colts XI, a breeding ground for many future professionals. Then, during his National Service, Pat played some high-class cricket against County 2nd XIs. However, opportunities to break into Mitcham 1st XI top order were few and far between in an era in which the likes of Eric Ide and Bob Parker were in their pomp and the talents of Brian Ward, Colin Morgan and Jimmy James were emerging. The mid to late 1950s therefore saw Pat alternate between 2nd XI opener and 1st XI middle order batsman.

A big breakthrough came in 1960 when Pat’s leadership potential was spotted and he was elected as the youngest 1st XI Captain on record, a position which he held – in spells – for no fewer than 16 seasons. The highlight, in competitive terms, came in the early 1970s when he skippered Mitcham to three Surrey Championship titles between 1970 and 1973. “Retirement” thereafter proved to be no more than a brief rest, for he soon appeared as 2nd XI Captain and was even brow beaten into four further seasons as 1st XI skipper. This latter spell included the 1978 Championship winning season and the 1985 Tercentenary year. For a further 8 years Pat skippered the 2nd XI, as well as spending yet more seasons guiding the 3rd XI and the Sunday 2nd XI.

Throughout his captaincy career, Pat always put the team’s interests ahead of his own ambitions, usually batting down the order and only bowling his shrewdly flighted off breaks to “dangle the carrot” or when partnerships needed breaking. As a batsman, he came into his own on difficult wickets and against top quality bowling when technique, concentration and guts were needed. As a Captain, he was innovative, precise and pro-active, always keeping his fielders on their toes and rarely allowing the batsman to settle. Sometimes this involved an outrageous bluff but behind it sat an

25 encyclopaedic knowledge of our individual opponents and a keen eye for a batsman’s strengths and weaknesses.

Pat was also an exemplary man manager, knowing exactly which players needed chivvying up and which needed praise, sympathy or encouragement. At the same time, he never ducked the difficult conversation and his bluntness and honesty inspired loyalty and respect – if not immediately, certainly after sober reflection.

As an administrator, Pat Batty also has a record few – if any – can challenge. He was first elected on to the Committee in 1955 and he ran the Colts scheme for six years in the late 50s/early 60s. He was Match Secretary for many years, establishing a first-class Sunday fixture list which included many of the leading Clubs in the Home Counties. He was also one of the main architects of the Surrey Championship in the late 1960s.

It was inevitable that this amazing record of service would culminate in elevation to Chairman – and this happened in 1981 – and then to President in 1991. Throughout the intervening 26 years, Pat has brought to the table considerable energy as well as skills of diplomacy and negotiation. He has nurtured and supported all aspects of Club life and has been a first-class servant to and ambassador for Mitcham Cricket Club.

It is hard to imagine that anyone in the Club’s 300+ year history has come near to matching Pat Batty’s record of all round service and dedication. We wish him well in his well-deserved retirement. Ewan Green

Treasurer’s Report – Treasurer Adrian Gault

The net loss sustained in the year to 30 September 2017 was £2860. Around £670 of this represents write off of monies owing from the previous year (largely unpaid annual subs), so the underlying loss was closer to £2200. This is a little better than the £4000 loss sustained in the year to 30 September 2016.

The reduction in annual loss reflects that significant attempts were made to improve collection of annual subs from senior players and greater fundraising efforts: • The number of senior players paying annual subs increased to around 23, compared with 11 the previous year. • Fundraising raised £1729 net, as against £427 the previous year. Particular thanks go to Shellina Finnegan and Nora Khan who mobilised colts parents to run various events including the Curry Fest and International Food evening.

Income from socials/refreshments (thanks to David Bell) and match day fees also increased. Income from the colts section has been sustained. Advertising by ProCom raised £360, but we were unable to attract other new advertisers. Food World sponsored shirts for the senior XIs and it was hoped that players would pay for the shirts and thus raise more income for the club. The shirt design did not prove popular so sales were minimal. Our successful first year of All Stars brought in new income, but only at £5 per participant – we understand that the ECB is reviewing the payment model and is likely to allow more income to flow to clubs from the All Stars in 2018.

Overall income in the year was up around £3,500

Expenditure was, however, also up – mainly because the costs of maintaining the ground were up by £2,400 and this was mainly a reflection of grass cutting costs (not charged in 2016).

Despite an improved position, there is, however, still too much non-payment of annual subs and match fees by senior players, most particularly among the 1st XI.

It is striking to observe that if 15 seniors who played more than 5 times for the Club in 2017 had paid their annual subs, then the deficit for the year would almost have been wiped out. Captains were better in enforcing the rules this year, but there remains a need to hold a firmer line on the rule that players who have not paid should not be selected.

Despite the annual loss, the balance sheet position looks relatively healthy. It has been updated this years to reflect inclusion of funds in the Club’s savings account (not reported last year because in the handover of treasurer responsibilities we had no access to records to show how much was in the account); and to reflect the setting up of a “fighting fund”. This fighting fund is reserved for efforts to secure the future of the Club, should there be an opportunity to secure our entitlement to the pavilion or should we need to fight any proposals which put our position at risk. This fund has been established through the legacy left to the Club by Tony Smith – longstanding friend and supporter. Major fundraising efforts to supplement this source are likely to be needed.

It is essential that this fund is not used to pay day to day running costs or fund the non-payment of amounts due from senior players. It remains the case that without player commitments and fundraising efforts the financial position of the Club is not sustainable.

Looking forward to 2018, the establishment of a Ladies team will bring in some welcome additional income and it is vital that the pitch is used for activities which generate income on Sundays.

Adrian Gault

Dates for your Diary 2018

1st January 2018 Subscriptions Due

6th January Annual dinner dance Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage members, MCC members and friends enjoy an evening of music, dancing, socialising and more. A contribution from the proceeds of this event is donated to MCC. Enquiries to [email protected]

4th February Colts winter nets start – £2 a session. Ladies winter nets start £5 a session – both at Rutlish School, Watery Lane, Merton Park SW20 9AD

24th March Easter Egg Hunt on the Green – more details to follow.

March 2018 Fixture book available

7th April Prepare the Ground day – we need all players to come down and help get things ready for the 2018 season.

29th April 10am - start of weekly colts training on the Green

31st May All subscriptions for existing members must be paid in full or a suitable instalment arrangement be in place by this date

24th June Colts 6-a-side festival

14th July Cricket Curry Night

1st September International Evening

9th September Parents v Colts Match

September Annual Awards Night – date to be confirmed

27th October Kids Halloween Party

29th November Annual General Meeting - 8pm in the Pavilion. Keep up to date with us: On the web at www.pitchero.com/clubs/mitchamcricketclub

@MitchamCC To subscribe to our e-newsletter contact: [email protected]

Fundraising in 2017

This season we’ve been grateful for the ongoing support of Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage and The Mitcham Society. They have continued to raise funds through the annual Golf Day and other events.

The Club has also run a number of new social events this season to raise vital funds. Shellina Finnegan (pictured here at the Curry Night in July) has been a driving force behind these events bringing together a group of colts’ parents to organise them. There was a also an International Evening in September and a children’s Halloween event in October.

There are already plans for further events in 2018. We hope to see plenty of members and friends joining in the fun.

Colts 6-a-side Festival

In 2017 our annual Colts 6-a-side Festival took place on the late May Bank Holiday. We had seven teams competing for the trophy this year.

This year we introduced the awards of caps for best batsman and best bowler of the tournament - Muhammed Umar secured the Bowler’s Green Cap and Batsman’s Maroon Cap went to powerful and attractive stroke-maker Bilal Mohammed.

The final was contested between the Humphrey Knight Riders and Sandham Challengers, with Bilal Mohammed’s Sandham Challengers (pictured left) eventually victorious.

Heritage Day at Mitcham CC

Our Pavilion was again open to the public as part of the Mitcham Heritage day on 9th September. There was an exhibition in the pavilion celebrating cricket in the mid 1800s, including a special display on James Southerton commemorating 140 years since he played in the first Test match.

This event was hosted jointly by the Club and the Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage organisation. As well as participating in a guided walk of the area or a cricket history walk, visitors were able to see a colts’ match on the Green. This year’s novelty was this flash-mob choir performing cricket themed songs written for the day.

Beddington Festival

We sent a number of colts teams to the August Beddington festivals this year, but most notable was the new girls’ Festival. We were proud that Mitcham CC were able to participate.

Here you can see Leah Finnegan (back right) who was the sole Mitcham member of the Capel/Mitcham team which made it through to the final. We hope that some of these Capel girls will be in their team that is due to play our new Ladies team in 2018.

It’s great to see grass roots cricket for girls flourishing in the year that the England Ladies took the World Cup.

Raise Money for us When You Shop Online

If you plan to do your Christmas shopping online then signing up for easyfundraising could give a great Xmas gift to the club - and not cost you a penny.

We've now got 21 supporters signed up helping us raise funds through Easyfundraising - who between them have raised over £800 since the Club joined the scheme. While this is great, the more members and friends we get to sign up the more funds we will raise. This will be a good way to continue to help the club over the winter while you wait for the new season to start again next spring! It is free and easy to open an easyfundraising account at www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/mitchamcc/. Each time you want to buy from your favourite online retailer you just go to their site through the easyfundraising website. For each purchase the retailer will make a donation to the Club. It costs you nothing you get your goods at the same bargain price you would otherwise pay. Loads of the most popular retailers can be accessed through easyfundraising like Amazon and eBay. Go on sign up today! If you don’t shop online, do you have family or friends who might be willing to support us this way?

Mitcham CC Christmas Gifts

Only available through the Club are our enamel badges. You cannot buy these in the shops. They are about 25mm (1 inch) long. Buy one for yourself to wear your Mitcham Cricket Club connection with pride or give as a novel gift for family and friends. You can buy one from the Club Secretary Julia Gault at the AGM for £2. Or send us £2.80 get one by post. Gift Honorary Memberships are also available for 2018 for £20 (inc P + P) and include a badge and membership certificate.

Cheques should be made payable to Mitcham Cricket Club and sent to Julia Gault 4 Salisbury Ave Cheam Surrey SM1 2DQ

You can also purchase copies of the two booklets about eminent Mitcham players – Outstanding and Outstanding II – from the same address – see advert on page 19 inside