SALFORDS CRICKET CLUB
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2020
Wednesday 25th November 2020 – 19:45 held virtually by MS Teams
Chairperson – Sanjay Patel (Club Chairman), Minutes – Graeme Steward (Club Secretary)
Present Graeme Steward Mohammed Khalid, Venkatesh Kannan Parthasarathy, Sanjay Patel, James Dennison, Stephen Harrington, Rob Isaac, Surendra Machupalli, James Street, Luke Edmonds, Fizul Nadir, Paul Ballam, Julia Roberts, Bob Craddock, Hassan Afzal, Rob Kersey, Tom Hayball, Shail Ram, Vignesh Manikandan, Srirudhran Balasubramanian, John Musk, Ramprabhu Rajasekar, Nishanth Sankaralingam, Liz Timbrell, Aravind Kumaravel, Bruce Tissington, Neil Morris, Sal Nadir (28no. attendees)
Apologies M Wood, Scott Latham, Ben Courts
The meeting was held virtually, and a recording was taken – a record can be found here.
Minutes of The Minutes of the 2019 Annual General Meeting were reviewed and agreed as a true 2019 record of the meeting and signed by the Chairman. Meeting Proposed acceptance by James Street and seconded Stephen Harrington. Secretary Graeme Steward presented a summary of the status of actions from 2019 AGM. Actions not completed will be reviewed by the Committee and prioritised where necessary for 2021.
Welfare and The Club has two officially accredited welfare Officers – Sanjay Patel and Sarah Pooley. Health & Safety All safeguarding and DBS checks completed as required.
No welfare issues arising.
H&S Incidents reported - Injuries – 2no. senior injuries. Head of Cricket (LE) to provide a review and feedback to the Exec Committee.
Reflection on COVID – precautions taken in line with ECB guidelines
No questions or issues raised in the meeting.
Chairman’s Club Chairman – Sanjay Patel Report This is the 7th year the club has been under my Chairmanship and arguably the toughest one for the club, cricket and the world in general with the Covid-19 global pandemic. It was tough knowing what was going to happen or how to approach running the club during the pandemic; it was unchartered territory for us, cricket and sport. Throughout my Chairmanship I have instilled an attitude and spirit of determination, resilience and a drive to succeed against all odds and I believe that has helped the club to plan, adapt and deliver cricket for all. It can only be described as extremely difficult times and it would have been easy to write things off and say lets come again in 2021. I am proud to say we took the positive approach and launched cricket at the club as quickly and safely as possible. What we achieved in a very short season in my opinion is one of the most successful seasons for the club.
Firstly, I would like to thank my fellow committee members for their hard work and for continually to improve what we do and it was great to have some new roles join the committee and I would like to thank the various parents that help to make our junior sections such an amazing place. Secondly, my thanks to all the players that have played and those that have supported through umpiring, coaching, scoring and updating play cricket and getting the ground and club house ready for practice and matches (Rob I for rolling, Max for cutting the outfield and Rob B for helping to prepare wickets), albeit in a very different way to how we normally play.
I am proud that we were able to secure a 2nd ground (Netherne) its not quite in the village but close enough for our members to play matches. The village of Netherne have been really supportive of the club and long may our partnership continue.
• Cricket Teams – I am sure Luke will provide you a detail update on the season but it was great to see that we had all senior teams playing every week and into Sept and we actually playing 2 games into Oct. It was great that we have established a Saturday 3rd team who played a number of matches through the season • Project Phoenix – We have made some good progress which I will report on later on • Finances – It might have been a really difficult year but I am sure James will take us through have we have been able to keep our finance going through the Pandemic and mitigating a shortened season • Junior Section – We continue to make strives on this front, with nearly 100 juniors playing we are heading in the right direction and playing the Junior league this year, but I will give more details in the Junior Section report • President/Club Day/Social – With Covid-19 restrictions we weren’t able to prepare our usual array of social events of President/Club Day but we did hold a successful Curry and Quiz night for Project Phoenix in Feb.
I look forward to the coming season and hopefully some return to normality, but only if re-elected and we can continue to deliver for the future generations and do great things here at Salfords CC. Finally, I would like to personally thank Graeme and James for the support last year as sometimes there is a lot going on and both have stepped up at times to help and for Luke to driving forward Senior cricket which is great to see.
Sanjay Patel – Salfords CC Chairman
Minutes Thanks were for given by the Members for the effort to get cricket on this year. Shail – asked about summer camp 2021. SP explained we’d plan to do it, but will need to wait to see how 2021 pans out. We will seek volunteers to help run it if it does go ahead.
Secretary’s Graeme Steward, Club Secretary Report Through the uncertain times of 2020, I can give the Members assurance that the Club continues to be well run by both the Exec Committee and full Committee.
During 2020 the Exec Committee has met on a frequent basis, supplemented by the full Committee when appropriate. In total the Exec has met five times and the full Committee four times.
The Exec met on 18/2, 25/3, 14/5, 3/6 and 29/9 The Committee met on 26/2, 7/4, 8/7 and 13/10
The year got off to a hugely promising start with the most successful quiz and curry night in the Club’s history, for which we all owe a huge thanks to Liz for arranging and the efforts (including donations of food and time) of Sanjay’s family in providing the catering. The support of the event from our Members, families and friends demonstrated the great foundation which was set to be established for Project Phoenix fundraising.
Unfortunately, the onset of COVID-19 from March and the lockdown that followed prevented business as usual. However the Exec Committee, under the strong leadership of Sanjay, closely followed developments of government policy and took direction of both the ECB and Surrey Cricket Board. In response, a COVID-19 plan was drafted reflecting the possible scenarios relating to both cricketing and non-cricketing activity (a copy of this plan will be included in the minutes). This took account of variable start dates and summarised how the Club would adapt as necessary, with the aspiration to return to playing as much cricket as possible asap.
Throughout this initial period the Club continued to monitor developments, and ensured our grounds at both Petridge Wood Common and our new second ground at Netherne were maintained and the squares match ready. This ensured that when the government gave the green light for the return of recreational cricket in early July, we were well placed to ‘get the game on’ quickly. Our thanks to the Members who supported the Groundsman and work parties to prepare the ground and Pavilion. Also our thanks to the Members who supported rolling and cutting throughout the season.
Despite a need to adapt to COVID-19 social distancing practices, and preventing regular access to the Pavilion for non-essential purposes, the Club successfully ensured that we enjoyed a successful, enjoyable and safe return to both practice and matches.
Our thanks to Luke, in his first years as Head of Cricket for establishing well organised practice sessions, all the Captains and Junior Age-Group Managers for leading their teams and it’s important to recognise that despite the restrictions, we experienced record availabilities for both Senior and Junior Age Groups. The introduction of a regular Saturday 3XI and Sunday 2XI bodes well for a successful future, especially with plenty of youth now progressing to the senior ranks. The addition of the 2nd home ground at Netherne is a real sign of the growth of Salfords Cricket Club, and a clear sign of our efforts to meet our objective of being the ‘Cricket Club of choice for Salfords Village and the surrounding area.’
Unfortunately, all the restrictions on group gatherings meant we were unable to enjoy a social scene after the success of the curry and quiz night. We lost the opportunity to build on this with our annual President’s Day in the summer, which has traditionally been out best attended event and biggest fundraiser with the summer draw. However, the spirit amongst the players has remained strong and the banter on our Club WhatsApp feed remains a source of laughter and a sign of the strong friendships that endure whatever the impact of a global pandemic. We look forward with hope to 2021 that we will return to enjoying each other’s company in person and continuing to build on the Salfords spirit as we work towards further strengthening our Club’s foundation and fundraising for Project Phoenix.
Behind the scenes, as the Treasurer will detail, the Club remains well run and financially sustainable. Great effort has been put into securing grants to cover COVID-19 related losses and planned improvements. These remain an essential part of our strategy to provide improved facilities – I believe the cost of playing cricket at Salfords remains fair and reasonably balanced for all Members.
As 2020 comes to a close, we continue to monitor Government and ECB guidelines on recreational cricket and social gatherings. We will keep the Members informed as our plans for 2021 develop. We hope to be able to host indoor winter practice and to enjoy a full 2021 playing season, with social activity forming a basis for enjoying each other’s company. However, our priority will always be our Members health, safety and wellbeing.
We always welcome your feedback on how the Club is run and your input into what you want to see the Club do in the future. The club is reliant on volunteers and as always we seek your ongoing support for running future fundraising, social and cricketing activities such as work parties, improvement works and ground work – without your engagement and support, the Club cannot provide the fundamental service of cricket for you. The Club has supported our Groundsman Richard Pike in ensuring a good end of season work party at both grounds to help prepare improved wickets for 2021.
My thanks to Sanjay as always for his decisive leadership, James for his careful management of Club finances and our fellow Committee members for their support through this year.
We will refer to the appointment of Club Officers later in the meeting, but note now that a few Officers have stood down from the Committee at the end of this season – we give our thanks to John Musk (vice-chair), Rob Morgan (bar) and Suri (fixtures) for their service in those capacities. We seek volunteers to fill these critical roles ensuring the Club committee is operating at full capacity and allows a balance of responsibilities in doing so – please remember this is your Club and we need you involved to support the running of it in both cricketing and non-cricket capacities.
I hope the Members will recognise the effort put into ensuring Salfords Cricket Club is a well-run Club and was able to enjoy a safe and successful season.
Thank you Graeme
Copy of Salfords Cricket Club COVD-19 contingency plan
Copy of COVIT-19 Scenerio Plan 2020 v2 Update 13-10-20.xlsx
Treasurer’s The Treasurer, James Dennison, presented the audited 2020 Club Accounts. Refer to Report attached:
Salfords CC 2020 Accounts.pdf
These were ‘signed’ by The Chairman.
Treasurer’s report 2020 – James Dennison
Despite the pandemic, 2020 has been a solid financial year for the club. The club made a surplus of £5,965 (2019: £2,120) which included a Sport England Covid 19 Grant of £4,494, Project Phoenix fund raising of £1,680 and the Summer Camp £2,756.
Our cash balance has increased from £21,250 to £47,900. This increase is largely resulting from Grants awarded in the year including £10,000 from the Government Covid 19 Grant Scheme and Girls cricket grants totalling £8,435 (Gatwick Trust and the Community Foundation for Surrey). In addition, we have continued to invest in the long-term future of the club including: • £2,575 on project Phoenix • £1,463 women’s changing room
Despite the shortened season, subscriptions and match fees were up for adult cricket, whilst junior fees were slightly down (junior cricket being particularly hard hit with lockdown). This was a fantastic result given the circumstances.
Monitoring late and unpaid match fees and subscriptions continues to be a very time- consuming job and it has been decided by the committee to use Pitchero next season to collect match fees. There is a small cost associated with this, but the pay back should be immediate given the increased transparency on outstanding fees.
One significant area of increased cost was related to the Groundsman’s expenses. With Allan retiring, this was the first year of paying an external supplier for ground maintenance. However, given we were maintaining two grounds including the cost of getting Netherne up to standard, the increase was reasonable and sustainable given the level of income from cricket activities. Thanks to everyone who volunteered during the season to help keep this cost down. As a result of operating two grounds, the rent costs for the year doubled.
With the clubhouse closed, bar sales and profits were significantly down.
The level of repairs and maintenance remained steady but high, mostly coming from the maintenance of the ground equipment.
These increased costs were partly offset by a significant reduction in our insurance costs as we moved insurance provider at the beginning of the year.
The committee would like to acknowledge with thanks the following contributions/donations from the Chairman and his family; the food and time prep for the Project Phoenix curry - cost £150; Netherne and Salfords cutting and rolling time (cut and rolled over 10 pitches) total hours 30 hours (equivalent to £450); Posts and fencing for Netherne, tent pegs, cable ties, gardening gloves all purchased - £97.85
Minutes Shail - What ballpark percentage of adult match/subscription fees remain unpaid? or have we received in full ? Estimated to be approx 5% which does add up. Members were reminded of the importance of paying their dues and being honest with any debts. Sanjay – How much do we want to keep as reserves and how much to set aside for Project Phoenix?
The following was split was proposed £10k operational contingency £20k for Project Phoenix £8k for grant related projects
Club needs to demonstrate that funds are set aside for specific purposes – some grantors require evidence of funds
Motion agreed by Luke Edmonds and seconded by Shail Ram. Sanjay – Club was successful in pursuing grants in 2021 – applications were made without guarantee of successful outcome. This benefits the clubs financial position during these uncertain times – providing resilience. We’ll continue to look for new grant opportunities for both regular Club operations and Project Phoenix. Paul – Asked if Netherne comes under R&B Council. SP – Confirmed the ground is in R&B, but the ground is privately owned – the Club has an agreement with the residents association. Ground is hired on a game by game basis, with minimal contribution to the rent of the pavilion – Salfords pays for the upkeep of the ground. Residents committee has been very supportive. Shail - The profits and the cash reserves looks good but how does it stack up now that we have 2 grounds to look after? JD – with the revenue generated by matches we cover the expenses incurred – it is a sustainable model.
Subs / match fees proposal for 2020
Thanks to a solid year financially, the proposal is to keep all subs and match fees the same as last year, recognising that all fees had been increased this season.
Adult cricket Subs Match fee Adult playing member £75 £10 Adult – new member £40 £10 Adult – full-time education £40 £7 Under 18 playing adult cricket £40 £7 Non playing member £20 n/a 20/20 - £5 Annual Summer match fees Junior cricket subscription1,2
U10 and above £75 £3 U9 junior £65 £3 (or younger)
Notes 1. Junior annual subscriptions are reduced for siblings: each child after the first has a £10 discount. 2. A further discount of £10 per child is offered if a junior parent undertakes a designated role below: • Age Group Manager • Umpire for an age group • Dedicated Scorer for an age group
Shail – If we’re not providing teas, will match fees remain the same? JD – Yes, covers operational costs, future investment in ground and provides additional revenue to cover all costs. It was confirmed that 20/20 Match fees are £5 per game.
Counter proposals: None received
Proposal for keeping subs the same – Proposed by Luke and seconded by Shail
Vote for alternative proposals – N/A
Bruce – Suggestion to investigation match fee apps to ensure no fees slip through the cracks. I’d imagine the amount of lapsed fees would more likely cover the %fee from the chosen provider – e.g. slateapp.co.uk. Can include email reminders to pay and completely contactless. JS confirmed it is likely we will use the match fee facility on the Pitchero App in 2021. Liz – Does a junior player who is also playing adult team pay junior subs only or the £40 in addition to that? JD – They pay the junior rate until they stop playing junior cricket.
Club Officer Vice Chair – John Musk Reports I’d like to issue my thanks to all the paying junior and adult members and their families, for their incredible commitment to the club and to cricket in general over the past season. It’s been remarkable to see so many people so intent on making the most out of what has been a challenging season logistically.
Moving forward, my focus and attention will move away from supporting and working with the committee as Vice Chairman and onto setting up a new charity organisation to support the advancement of cricket in Salfords and the surrounding area. As such, I am resigning my position as Vice Chairman to ensure there are no conflicts of interest in relation to the charity and it’s purpose. As an aside, the latest charity application has been submitted and I expect we’ll receive a decision in the new year and I’ll share more information on the charity and it’s fund raising plans as soon as we have our application confirmed and charity established.
I look forward to continuing to play and help the club succeed and grow on and off the pitch in whatever capacity I can support.
I’d like to thank the rest of the committee for their continued hard work and in particular Sanjay for his constant drive and ambition. We’re very lucky to have him.
Have a lovely Christmas and New Year, stay safe, well and see you for what I hope is a COVID free 2021 season.
Head of Cricket – Luke Edmonds
Summary of senior results
Player PLAYED WON DRAWN LOST TIED NO TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL RESULT Salfords CC - 1st 8 6 0 1 0 1 XI Salfords CC - 2nd 10 4 0 5 0 1 XI Salfords CC - 9 3 0 6 0 0 Saturday 3rd Xl Salfords CC - 11 3 2 6 0 0 Sunday 1st XI Salfords CC - 2 0 0 1 1 0 Sunday 2nd XI Salfords CC - 6 3 0 3 0 0 Salfords Maple Leafs
Season Highlights • Leagues played as ‘Competitive Friendlies’ in shortened half season • 3rd Team managed consistent match weekly • New Maple Leafs side for T20 established, with successful uptake from players. • Maples Leafs made it to Surrey Slam Semi Final • 23 Players made their Salfords debut of which 7 have come through the Colts. • 5 Weekends where we put out 5 separate teams
I will start with thank yous, thank you to my captain’s Shail, Hassan, Sanjay, Rob K and Venkat thank you for agreeing to the role for 2020 and putting in the time and effort. Thank you also to Rob Besley for covering the 2nd team in Hassan’s absence.
Thank you to the Players, we asked for commitment this year and we got it in abundance, we managed to get 5 senior fixtures over a weekend on 5 occasions. In a year with huge adaptation our players followed protocols without complaint and were hugely supportive in getting the game on.
Thanks to the committee for their support in arranging fixtures and helping with collecting money etc.
2020 had many challenges on and off the pitch and our response to these challenges was exceptional. As a club we introduced lots of new adult and junior members to the Senior teams as well as managed 5 fixtures across a weekend on multiple weekends.
We saw consistent availability from many members leading to a very consistent 1st team selection, which in my eyes was the main reason for such an excellent performance on the pitch.
We set 4 key objectives this year: 1. Speak one language on the field – I saw huge effort from lots of people towards this goal and 2. Turn up on time – This objective was not met, time keeping continues to hold the club back and will be a key focus for improvement for 2021 3. Practice like we play – I saw some improvement in how we practice this year and saw some changes in how we play based on how we practice, pushing members to practice more often will be aim for 2021 4. Warm up before matches – COVID made this objective more difficult but we certainly made huge strides towards making this part of the club culture, thanks to all those who helped organise.
Reports from each captain are below.
Overall this season was a huge success for the club, and I am very excited about what 2021 can offer. We will continue to look at areas to improve and strive for excellence and consistency across the teams.
1st XI Report Shail Ram
I would like to start by thanking the committee members for entrusting in me and allowing me to continue with the role at the club. I have really enjoyed the role of leading Salfords First XI over the last 3 seasons and feel very well supported.
Massive thanks to the committee and especially Sanjay and Luke for getting the season underway as soon as we had the go ahead and providing us with a safe environment to play cricket. It was a huge effort by the club to ensure that we got the maximum cricket in what was looking like a difficult year for cricket and life in general.
Thanks to Luke for putting his time over weekend nets making sure we are ready to play and play well.
Coming to the short season, this has been one of the best seasons for the first team, we played 7 matches and won 6. Thanks to all the players who participated and made the season a very successful one. Such an exceptional season wouldn’t have been possible without the effort put by all of us, we had a consistent 11 for almost all the matches something we have been striving to achieve for a while.
The season started well with a fantastic bowling effort led by Waqas and a brilliant batting display put on by Rudy and Vigi against Tadworth, we followed this with again with a brilliant run chase against East Horsley – Luke and Suri smashing the chase. Some good batting by Ram and Vigi against North Holmwood securing us the 3rd win in 4 matches. Rambo and Khalid then bowled Woldingham out of the match with Ram ending up with the best bowling figure for the first team this season. We followed this with a great win against South Nuffield and Caterham in a friendly fixture. Win against East Horsley and South Nuffield was very special as there are the 2 strongest opponents in the league.
It was very encouraging to see some of the young players like James Francis and Khalid stepping up and playing for the first team.
It was a short but good season generally, but there are improvement areas that I will work with Luke and ensure it is part of our winter nets, practice, pre-game drills to improve the first XI game to the next level.
A special thanks to Richard and others involved with the grounds work who did their best over the season ensuring we get a good outfield and pitch to play on.
All in all, a very successful season for Salfords Cricket Club and once again thanks to all who played and contributed to a very successful season.
2nd XI Report Luke Edmonds
The 2020 season was a difficult one for the 2nd team for many reasons and yet proved to be very successful. This team was most affected by COVID with Hassan requiring to leave the country for the majority of the season and multiple regulars from the previous season unable to play. The success of the previous year saw Waqas and Khalid promoted often to the 1st XI which I see as a large achievement for the club. The 2nd team is producing players capable of improving the 1st XI.
On the pitch the league season was messy, some opposition teams were unable to fulfil fixtures and we had to be creative with friendlies, but we managed to get availability each week. New players such as James Francis, Bobby Thomas and Tom Mason had a real impact and regulars such as Rob Besley, Nishanth, Tom H, Rob I and Aravind provided some stability in an otherwise chaotic season.
A highlight for the year was defending 117 in the first of 2 excellent matches against Brockham, beating South Nuffield as well as and defeating Smallfield comfortably at their place.
The team also saw encouraging signs for the future with both Ben Latty Dennison and Max Hawley proving their huge potential with exceptional spells of fast bowling.
Overall the 2nd team provided multiple opportunities for many players this year and despite missing many regulars showed what phenomenal depth of ability we have across the club; I am very excited for the future of this team.
3rd XI Report Sanjay Patel
In a season which had many doubts we were able to field a 3rd team for the whole season. This is fantastic position to build on from last year.
Firstly, I would like to say thank you to all that played for the 3rd team this year and made it enjoyable and fun experience for all.
We managed to secure Netherne as the home base and even though the ground had not had cricket played on there for 4 years, we were able to get it up and running and towards the end of the season it looked and played well. I enjoyed undertaking the ground preparation up there and it was great to see the rewards and hard work start to pay off.
It was great to see so many new faces to the 3rd team with 8 new seniors playing for the club and making their debuts and with over 10 juniors playing through the season was brilliant to see.
We had 11 fixtures planned and only two cancelled due to rain. Our win record was 3 wins and 6 losses. The key thing wasn’t about the results it was about getting a new team together and developing our brand of cricket and gaining vital experience. As many of the junior I have coached since they were 7 it was pleasing to see so many of them make their debuts at senior level and show their skills and learn the game.
There notable performance by Sam Perowne (who won the batting average), Chris and Sam Roberts who all scored fifties in the team and many of the juniors getting overs under their belts and bowling nearly 200 overs between them and taking 34 wickets between them which was about 80% of the wickets. The leading bowlers were Paul Greensmith (who won the average) and Harry Roberts who took 11 wickets in the season. Many of the opposition were very complimentary of our juniors and their capabilities as bowlers which was nice to hear.
I hope that the team continues to develop and we show our potential next year, we will need to up our game on the batting side and fielding but hard work in the winter and whole season ahead of us I am sure we will show our talents.
I look forward to continuing the development of the 3rd team and progress us forward towards greater things.
Sunday XI Report – Rob Kearsey
Overall, we had a really positive season. We made progress from last season, where we kept getting beaten by teams who were stronger than us. This season we faced more teams at our level, so we were much more competitive.
I feel we made we progress in both batting and fielding (catching especially). On the batting side, I asked the team each week to make sure we batted out our overs. The players responded to this and as a consequence, we were only bowled out once. Catching was also much better, due in part to the focus we put on it in training and before the game.
Next season, I think we need to focus on not just batting out our overs but making sure we hit 200 on a regular basis. Also, we need to do better at making the right decisions in tight games. Individual mistakes probably cost us a couple of victories in 2020.
Maple Leafs Report (20/20) - Venkat Parthasaray
Salfords Maple Leafs registered their first step on Surrey Slam T20 tournament this season. Though we were a first-time entrant, Maple Leafs were given opportunity to take the strongest players from the club and many thanks to the committee and especially all players contributed on this Journey.
Maple Leafs has played 4 league games having 2 fabulous wins against Reigate Priory with phenomenal performance from Ram with the bat and excellence with the Ball by Bruce collecting 8 wickets, and losses against Slinfold and South Nutfield respectively.
However, the team had an opportunity to meet Slinfold again in Quarter Finals where Maple Leafs had levelled the winning streak and marched into Semi Finals to play against Spencer CC which is quite a stronger team for a knockout game. One bad day for the team, middle order collapsed and hence given an easy victory for Spence CC.
Lot of positives were taken into considerations from this journey and committee would take prompt actions to make the team meet all stronger opponents in upcoming tournaments.
Junior Cricket Director – Sanjay Patel
We started in Jan indoors which was well supported by the juniors with nearly 60 juniors practicing at various times. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to complete the practice sessions in March due to Covid-19 and had wait till the summer to get back out again
Like the rest of country lockdown hampered any form of sport early on and with the new Surrey Junior Championship league was cancelled for the year. Once we were able to start practice between Tom White and I we did over 70 hours of 1:1 coaching in the nets, which was well received by all that participated. Once we were able to practice in groups we held sessions almost every day of the week which again was only possible by the support of Tom White, the age group managers and keen parents. Once we were able to play matches the age group managers were able to arrange friendly matches and pretty much from mid July to end of Aug we held matches for all age groups from 8-14
All round we had a really good season and we certainly held our own in many of the games and chalking up some really good wins, across all the age groups and against some stronger teams, which only bodes well for the coming season.
It was really good to see a number of this years U13 and U14 transition into the senior teams on Saturday and Sunday total of 9 boys played various. Most of the boys I have coached since they were 7 years old so great to see them play and do well. Great moments for Harry Roberts for winning Captain Player of the Year in the 3rd Team and Tobias Davies for winning Captain Player of the Year in the Sunday Team. We have a new age group that can start to play senior cricket and again we will transition the juniors into the senior teams when we can.
For next year we are planning to run under 8, 9,10,11,12,13, 14 and 15 which is a lot of work but has to be done. But also we are going to run two teams at U11 and U12 so we can expand our offering to more juniors. We have a junior girls playing at the club and we will be setting up girls section next summer (Pandemic dependant) and grow that offering. With the new catchment of Netherne we will more than expand playing opportunities. Please start spreading the news we are looking for more juniors to join our successful and fun club!
I am are really excited that the junior section is going well and we are now moving into the next phase of our chapter of junior cricket with more juniors than ever playing.
Sanjay – Junior Cricket Director
Bar Chairman – Rob Morgan
No report submitted.
Supplementary note by Secretary (GS) - The Exec Committee note with thanks the service Rob has given to the Club, however he has advised us that he will be stepping down with immediate effect. His vision has ensured a fundamental overhaul of the bar and internal club house space, for which we are all very grateful.
The Club invites statements of interest in taking on this role. It is a critical role that supports both the embedment of the Club Spirit and provides a significant contribution to Club funds (in non-Covid times). The Bar Chairman needs to be committed to fulfilling the role and enabling the Club to meet its objectives. The Bar Chairman oversees the stocking, running and presentation of the bar, ensuring it is a welcoming space and provides something for all users – however as with all aspects of running the Club, the Bar Chairman does require support from across the senior and junior membership on carrying out the functions of the role.
Social Report – Liz Timbrell
The 2020 social calendar got off to a fantastic start with the curry and quiz night at St.John’s church in February. The evening was a huge success, with over 100 attendees including juniors, seniors and their families and friends. Thank you to everyone who helped to organise the event, especially to Sanjay’s family for the amazing curry and to Luke and John for hosting the quiz. And of course thanks to everyone who came along and helped to make it such a successful evening. Going forward I’m hoping to make this an annual event.
Sadly all social events came to an abrupt halt soon after the quiz night as the Covid - 19 pandemic sent us all into lockdown. Seeing so many people socialising together now seems like an all too distant memory. Unfortunately, Coronavirus put a stopper on the rest of the social calendar and continues to do so.
I am committed to continuing in the role of social secretary and can assure you that we will be looking to plan more events as soon as we possibly can. As always, any ideas and suggestions will be gratefully received.
In the meantime we are planning to hold a virtual quiz night early in the New Year, details to follow.
Communications Report – Julia Roberts
The area of comms was relatively quiet this season largely due to not being able to hold social events from March onwards and because cricket could not fully resume until July.
Once cricket resumed, we did however use Facebook and Twitter to good effect to help arrange some of our senior games. We also promoted our junior summer cricket camp by creating a flyer and circulating – this was a hugely successful camp with a good turnout. In early July we sent an email to Netherne residents letting them know about our ‘second ground’ and this received a positive response from a number of residents who expressed interest in playing or getting involved.
Finally, we submitted an article summarising the season for the Salfords and Sidlow Parish Council autumn newsletter and have just compiled our own end of season newsletter which is now on the website.
Looking to next year, we will hopefully be in a position to hold more social events which will be fully promoted, and we will be looking to get some new sponsorship for the club. We will also review what more can be done to recruit new players into the club and how we can maximise social media to promote awareness.
2020 Season newsletters:
Salfords Cricket Club End of Season - Newsletter Update MayNewsletter 2020 v1.1.pptx - October 2020.pdf Fixture Secretary – Suri
Below is quick summary of how we did this season: NO PLAYED WON DRAWN LOST TIED RESULT Team
11 3 2 6 0 0 Sunday 1st XI 2 0 0 1 1 0 Sunday 2nd XI
9 3 0 6 0 0 Saturday 3rd Xl
We played only half of the season due to Covid restrictions in 2020. We managed to play friendlies in October also, guess we are starting a new trend! The Sunday and Saturday 3XI Captains secured additional fixtures using new Social Media pages.
Hopefully the situation will improve, and we get a full season in 2021.
The 2021 fixtures have not yet been confirmed and will need to be finalised by a new Fixture Secretary as I would like to step down as fixture secretary.
Groundsman – Richard Pike
Salford’s CC groundsman’s report 2020
Well. What a year 2020 has been! For all clubs that I work for, it has been a year of highs and lows. Although the season was particularly short, somehow, we managed to fit in a decent amount of cricket! This as a grounds man came with its difficulties. As where normally, a club would have 2 matches a weekend and perhaps 1-2 midweek, plus colts matches from April to July fairly evenly spread through the weeks. Clubs all over (understandably) tried to somewhat “shoehorn” as much cricket as possible. Meaning the pre match preparations were at times, difficult to fit in and complete to a standard that I would be happy with. Nevertheless. To some extent I feel that SGEM accomplished this. But this wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the club members. To prepare a pitch takes a fair amount of time. But most of this time is taken up by rolling the pitch in the lead-up to the match. And by getting the members to assist with this, not only allows us as groundsmen to concentrate on the more technical aspects of pitch preparations as well as the jobs which have to be done by us because of timings and machinery etc, it also saves the club money. Something which I am always conscious of. As it is in the interests of both the clients’ and mine to save funds. So, I’d like to say a big thank you to the members for their support this season. As well as the support during a personally tough time at the end of the season when I injured my back. The support from Sanjay and the membership was hugely appreciated!
Getting to know the ground
There’s always a sense of getting to know a ground/square when you first take on a new club. Each square/ground has its on characteristics. I’m sure we all know that Salford’s CC ground is a very wet ground. And having the wettest winter we have ever seen didn’t exactly make it any easier to get on the square for the preseason work. During the off season of any club, there is a smattering of work to be done on a square. Normally consisting of aeration and the occasional feed and cut. And around early February is when I like to start “Waking” the square up and making a start with the preseason work. Giving as much time a possible to getting the square to as high a standard as possible for the early matches. But with the ground as wet as it was, I wasn’t able to start any preseason work like rolling until late March. Fortunately, if there was a silver lining to the delay to the season, it would be the extra time available in getting both the Salford’s and Netherne squares ready following the winters worth of wet weather that we all endured.
Netherne came with a whole different set of difficulties if I was to be honest. Mainly due to the fact that the square hadn’t been used for a fair few years, meaning that it hadn’t been maintained for the same period of time, and the very short time scale given to get the square ready for play gave me some cause for concern. As I couldn’t be sure that I could get a safe pitch in time for the first game. This was overcome and helped to no end by the club members who took the time and sat on a heavy roller hired at the beginning of the season to flatten the square out. The roller at the ground is ok. Very old and not all that pleasant to drive. But it does the job enough. The transporting of the pitch mower to and from Salford’s also made things tricky. But again, all should be a lot easier with the I sharp eye of Sanjay and his purchase of a very reasonably priced mower.
Part of the worry I had with cricket being played up at the Netherne this season was the standard of the pitches that would have come out of the square. One of the problems with playing on a square that hasn’t been played on in a while, is the lack of clay content in the pitch. This is because, over time, clay washes into the soil profile and reduces in the playing surface. This is one of the reasons why we replace the loam at the end of each season, to ensure that the percentage of clay in the playing surface is kept at a high level. So hopefully, having done a full renovation at the end of this season, the pitches will be a lot harder and kinder to the batsman! I must add that I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of turning Netherne square into a usable surface. I can’t wait to see what the ground has in stall for us next year!
Machinery
We did also suffer with some mechanical difficulties with various machines at the start of the season, with the roller and the outfield mower were the two main ones. These were soon rectified along with the service and regrind (sharpen) of the pitch and square mowers and we were soon in full swing with a fully functioning complement of machinery.
The machinery that belongs to SCC is perfectly fine for the needs of the club. The mowers for the pitch and square are perfectly adequate. The roller is indeed “mature” but I use this make and model of roller (Aveling-Barford) on many grounds, and SCCs is in the best condition out of all of them! The format of the rollers, being on the thinner side and the roller being heavier than some modern rollers means the pressure applied to the ground is perfectly sufficient to produce a hard, flat pitch. (as long as the time is put in to the rolling).
The outfield mower is the machine that I would say we need to look at investing in. either by looking for a replacement or by looking into giving it a good overhaul. It again is old and heading to being worn out. It smokes allot when its running. And has had to be visited by a mechanic on several occasions over the season to get it and keep it running. it is running fine now after repairing a substandard repair made in the 2019 season. But there’s no guarantee on how long it is going to keep running for.
The key to keeping all these machines running and safe, is servicing. It is good practice to have all machines serviced every year, either at the end or the beginning of the season. It gives the machines the best chance in going through the season without the risk of letting us down. That’s not to say they wont breakdown. But reduces the risk greatly.
Actioned improvements
Improvements that have been actioned already is the amount of grass and the type of grass within the square. The middle part of the square in particular was someone lacking in grass coverage along with deviations in the pitches. So as part of the post season renovations, I deep scarified the square in 4 directions to not only remove thatch and unwanted organic matter, but to also create furrows as a seed bed. I then I introduced a higher quality “dwarf ryegrass” in to pitches. Which was applied at a high rate to try and fill in the sparse areas. Along with a higher volume of Surrey loam.
One of the biggest issues that I felt we faced was damage caused to the playing surface by rabbits. Its such a shame to hear that a match had to relocate to a used pitch because of rabbits digging the playing surface up overnight. I’m afraid that from experience, there is only one real effective way at dealing with this problem, and that is to get a pest control company in several evenings over the season.
I am aware of the issues with regards to the marking of the creases across the square and not lining up with pitches. This is something that has baffled me for a while as I haven’t come across it before. Every square that I work on is marked out the same. With “T” marks to denote the edges of each pitch. Either 9 or 10 feet apart, depending on the club’s requirement. (in SCCs case, its 14 pitches at 9 foot wide). And then there’s a dot mark to denote the centre stump of each pitch. When I came to mark the square out at Salford’s. I was shown some very useful, permanent red marks. Which I used as reference points as the stump line at either side of the square. On further investigation. I found that these marks aren’t the same distance apart on either side. So, in the new year, I will be re-measuring the square and replacing the marks, which I hope will solve the problem.
Improvements/investments for the future.
The biggest thing that I feel needs improving sooner than later is the irrigation. Decent irrigation is so important to providing a good quality, safe cricket pitch. Not only to keep the square in good health in the dry seasons, but to also allow good preparations of a safe cricket pitch. At the very least, I would expect a stand-alone sprinkler to be able to cover both ends of a pitch (on a still day with no wind) without needing to be moved. This is to ensure consistent coverage across the whole length of the pitch. Whereas the current setup requires the sprinkler to be moved 3 times to cover the full 22 yards. As a contractor, I need to be able to leave an irrigation system to cover a whole pitch without the need to come back every few hours to move it. In an ideal world, it should cover the whole square in 2-3 moves. Using a sprinkler in a circling formation. I believe that SCC harvests the water from the clubhouse into an underground tank. So, getting the water pressure required isn’t out of the realms of doable with the addition of a fixed pump and pipeline run out to the square. The biggest part is already done (being the tank). This of course would need to be looked at by someone more qualified in this area than I am. I do know several irrigation companies that may be able to help.
As mentioned before, servicing and constant general maintenance is crucial to keeping machinery as reliable as possible. So, I would like to send the pitch and square mowers of for a service and sharpen as I do with all my other mowers. As well as getting a decent service of the outfield mower. And maybe at the same time getting my mechanics opinion on investing in the machine or on a replacement.
On a slightly cheaper side, SCCs line machine for the boundary line is no longer watertight/usable. I fortunately have my own line marking machine which I used for the majority of the season and I am happy to continue to use mine as long as necessary.
I fully appreciate that there is allot on the list of potential expenses. And I know it looks as though all I am asking is to spend money. I must be honest though. When I started this season, I was met with machinery that was in quite a bit of disarray. The machines hadn’t been washed off from the previous season. Meaning that the blades were all clogged and ceased with dried grass and clay from the square. The roller was put away at the end of the 2019 season with a fault and the outfield mower had a substandard repair which went wrong and caused further damage. However, all have been resolved now and all are working fine.
Future support from the club
As I mentioned before, the support from the membership was very appreciated and a great help. I also hope that it helped SCC by saving them funds. The continued help on the rolling would hopefully help both of us in time for me and funds for you. But I am very happy to do as much or as little as the club wants. I can supply a full pitch prep service, covering all aspect of preparation. Or I can merely come in and cut the pitch and the square and repair pitches and everything in between? The choice is yours.
I would like to take this time to announce that there will be an increase of £1 to the hourly rate as of 1st January 2021. This a blanket increase across all clients. To confirm, the proposed new hourly rates will be: £16 for using client’s equipment, e.g., pitch and square mowers. But the rate of £20 will remain the same for the use of my own equipment, e.g. scarifiers, spikers and other heavier equipment. and finally, the use of my large equipment e.g. tractors will remain at £30 per hour, or priced by the job, like cutting of an outfield. I have been doing some research and I seem to be falling short by quite a way of what is considered the going rate of groundsmen in the local area. I have also been at my current rate for over 3 seasons now, and with the increase of supplies and services that a grounds management company such as mine require to run, I have decided to make this small increase.
Thank you very much for as greater season as we could have hoped for. I look forward to working with you all again during the 2021 season.
Richard Pike Sportsground and Estate Management
Q&A on Club Officer reports were circulated to the Members prior to the meeting for review. Club Officer Members were given the opportunity to raise issues or ask questions following the Reports review of the reports.
Shail – Asked about the plans for age 14/15 cricket - SP It was confirmed that age 13 upwards can play senior cricket. Club will continue to develop the youths through the older age groups and into adult cricket.
Head of Head of Cricket Luke Edmonds presented his summary of how successful 2020 was Cricket despite all the constraints of Covid-19 (refer to Officer’s reports above). Report Shail – Thanks to all the Club Players who participated and made the season a very successful one. Such an exceptional season wouldn’t have been possible without the effort put in by all of us.
Update on Club Plan Club Chairman, and Project Phoenix lead Sanjay Patel presented an update on the and Project Project to the Members, including the attached project report: Phoenix
2020 Project Phoenix Status Report
Key achievements in 2020 Project Metrics Status
• Met Surrey Cricket and ECB who endorse the project and have guided a single storey building Budget A to allow for sufficient space e.g. dressing rooms Schedule G Overall Target • Delivered presentation on Project Phoenix to the Parish Council who have agreed to provide A funding to the project Risk Management A Status: £700K • Revised design to meet a larger scale single storey building has been produced Stakeholder £600K • Pre-planning advice submission completed and positive in regards to the project and some Engagement G guidance provided for planning £500K • Planning documentation being readied Project milestones Target date Expected Status completion • As the ground is on common land a section 38 form has to be filled in to apply for additional £400K land from the secretary of state Feasibility Design 2019 £300K • Held curry and quiz night to raise funds for Project Phoenix, with over £1,600 raised ✓ Planning Permission March 2021 March 2021 G • Ran the summer cricket camp which also raised funds of over £2,500 plus some fund raising £200K from the U14 teams for runs and wickets of £500 plus Detailed Design End of 2021 End of 2021 G • Charity is being set up to capture future fund raising events in 2021 and beyond £150K • Volunteers have come forward to support the charity setup and external funding Build Award* Summer 2022 Summer 2022 G Key actions planned for 2021 £100K Construction Completed* TBC G • Complete set-up of Charity £75K • Gain planning approval for the new pavilion inc. section 38 approval Stakeholder Management Engagement £50K • Contract and complete the detailed design for the project • Held meetings with ECB and Surrey Cricket who are supportive of the project • Commence grant applications to major funders • Met with the Parish Council who are supportive and will provide financial support £25K • Agree and execute fund raising activities within the club • Meeting with Reigate and Banstead Asset Owner who are supportive of the project • Members continue to be supportive of the project Key risks / issues / scope changes Budget • Covid-19 impacts the timeline of the project and funding. Action: The major funders ECB and London Marathon Trust currently are not funding projects at the moment but the Actual Forecast Total club will monitor funders and how the club can access grants as we need them for the build phase of the project. This risk will impact timelines Project Estimate £790k £790k • The club is going to self fund 10%/15% of the project ~£79k+. Action: Create plans to inc Contingency ensure the club is successful in fund raising through its club activities and donations Spend to date £8.58k £9k 1 Legend: Major issues Action needed On Track *Subject to sufficient funds/grants Budget est 2021 £25K R A G
John Musk – Update on Charity status. This will be totally independent of the Club to ensure no conflicts of interest. Application is on going following feedback on initial submissions. Need to register with HMRC to enable gift aid to be received. Refer to Vice-Chair’s Officer report above for more information. Graeme Steward – How does the target of £700k compare between single and double storey building? SP – Project is not yet fully costed. Need to allow for VAT. Change is probably £50-60k different. Also need to factor in costs of planning, design, fixtures and fittings, furniture etc. Need to aim high with regards fundraising. Shail – What fundraising activities are being planned for next year. SP – Depends on the impact of COIVD in 2021. May need to consider virtual events if we’re unable to meet in person. Consider frequent small fundraising events, rather than targeting few larger value events. The members confirmed their continued support for Project Phoenix.
Election of Three Officers have stood down from the 2020 Committee – Vice Chair John Musk, Bar Officers Chairman Rob Morgan and Fixture Secretary Suri. 2020 The Exec Committee made the following proposal for the 2020 Committee and these were accepted by the members:
2020 2020 Role Proposed Seconder Incumbent Proposed Chairman S Patel S Patel LE SR Vice Chairman J Musk J Street NM SM Secretary G Steward G Steward JS LT Treasurer J Dennison J Dennison RR SM Fixture Secretary Suri No nomination Welfare Officer S Pooley S Pooley Social Secretary L Timbrell L Timbrell JD SP Communications Officer J Roberts J Roberts LT LE Laura Bar Chairman R Morgan BT Venkat Chaksfield (BT)
By appointment by the Exec Committee Head of Cricket* L Edmonds L Edmonds Groundsman R Pike R Pike Pavilion Manager Vacant
*Head of Cricket fulfils role of Surrey Downs League Representative
The role of fixture secretary remains vacant. The role of Pavilion Manager can be appointd by the Exec Committee.
Job descriptions will be circulated for the vacancies. The Exec will make a decision on appointments. Post meeting note – Exec committee has accepted the nomination of Neil Morris for Fixture Secretary.
Election of The Members were asked to elect the Senior Team Captains for 2021 season. Captains 2020 The following proposal was put forward by the Head of Cricket.
Role 2020 2021 Proposed Seconded Saturday 1st Team Captain S Ram S Ram NM HA Saturday 2nd Team Captain H Afzal T Hayball BC JS Saturday 3rd Team Captain S Patel S Patel TH JM Sunday Team Captain R Kersey R Kersey SP BT 20/20 Maple Leafs Venkat Venkat HA SP Indoor Cricket Captain -
Proposed by Liz
Khalid has put himself forward for 2XI captain. Nobody within the meeting proposed/seconded this proposal. Khalid was encouraged to speak to LE as Head of Cricket to discuss aspirations for leadership.
Ram – Asked how vice captains are appointed. LE will discuss with each Captain to make a decision. SP advised anyone interested to approach Luke.
A.O.B James Street – Just want to place on record the thanks for Luke for his role as Head Of Cricket. Venkat – Any plans for coloured kit for Maple Leaf 20/20 side? LE happy to support the idea. Need to consider how it is funded etc. Wearing colours shows pride in who we are and aligns to other teams in the competition. Luke Edmonds – Reiterated his thanks for everyone’s efforts and appreciation for contribution to running the club this year. Luke Edmonds – Still looking into planning winter nets, subject to the restrictions with regard Covid-19 – no certainty of securing a venue at this time. Rhudran – Appreciated how the club is run and the renewed focus on competitive cricket with the appointment of a Head of Cricket. Suri – Thanked for the opportunity to act as fixture secretary. Looks forward to next year, wishes his successor well. Suri – Raised concern about the surface experience at indoor venues – a lack of bounce is an issue. LE – it is difficult to secure a venue, there are limited options. Stated we’re generally happy with the facilities at Box Hill School. Can we provide different/better balls? SP – alternative training options are available to help improve batting technique.
Closing The Chairman closed the meeting thanking attendees for their presence and for supporting a successful meeting.
Meeting closed at 22:10.