Annual Report and Yearbook 2013 125

Annual Report and Yearbook

2013

125 th Anniversary Season

3rd XI – Vivio CCCL Division 3 West Runners up

ashleycc.co.uk @bigbirdashley facebook.com/ashleycc Index

Sponsors and grant supporters Summary of annual reports Annual General Meeting Notice - 2014 Minutes – 2014 Club Constitution Office Bearers Obituaries Historic Officials Club honours Officer’s reports President Chairman Secretary Treasurer First team Second team Third team Fourth team Child Welfare Officer Under 9s Under 11s Under 13s (CCCJL) Under 13s (SMJCL) Groundsman Overseas players Records & Statistics Senior tables 2013 Junior tables 2013 Senior averages 2013 Junior averages 2013 Team & individual records Junior achievements League positions 100 years ago 50 years ago Trophies Fixtures for 2014 League games - seniors Over 40s Cup games

2 Ashley Cricket Club would like to thank the following organisations, grant-givers & initiatives for their support in ensuring vital projects were completed at the club in 2013.

Howarths Timber & Building Supplies

Mount UK

Mr Kevin Guiney

Northpoint

4 Summary of Annual Report

Annual General Meeting held at Timperley Sports Club, Stockport Road, Timperley on Thursday 23rd January 2014.

Celebration of 125 years of Ashley CC held at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys on Saturday 19 th October 2013, attended by 111 guests

The club will continue its efforts to develop girls cricket at Ashley.

Club makes a profit of £4,242 and has £5,661 in the bank at year-end.

There were 2 centuries scored by Ashley players in 2013, Rizwan Baig 113 at home to Mere 1 st XI and Harry Hatchell (130) at home to Runcorn 3rds.

Club to take part in NatWest Cricketforce initiative in 2014

Thanks to grant funding from Sport England a bowling machine was bought to aid batting practice

New teams for 2014: Under 7s playing friendlies, Under 10s (a joint team with Bowdon Vale CC) playing in the South Manchester Junior Cricket League & Under 16 team in the Salford Youth Cricket Association. This gives the club 13 teams.

Members are asked to attract new sponsors to the club and players encouraged to pay subscriptions via monthly standing order

Volunteers sought to manage and or assist with the administration of the Under 11s

New skippers for the 2014 season are Dave Alves (2nds) Mike Burgess (3rds)

The club enters the Village Cup for the second time in two seasons

2014 Beer Festival to be held on Friday 11 th July to Sunday 13 th July. It is hoped supporter’s teams from Altrincham FC and Sale Sharks will play in the Friday evening fixture.

Four Ashley players are taking coaching qualifications over the winter/autumn: Bryan Jones, Alex Wigfield, Farrukh Subhani and Declan Cavanagh

5 NOTICE is hereby given that the 123rd Annual General Meeting of Ashley Cricket Club will be held at the Timperley Sports Club, Stockport Road, Timperley on Thursday 23rd January 2014 starting at 7:45pm.

Any proposals for changes to club rules should be submitted to the secretary 14 days before the meeting

AGENDA

1. Present

2. Apologies

3. Obituaries

4. Minutes of last AGM 24 th January 2013

5. Acceptance of Officers Reports

6. Election of Officers for 2014

7. Proposals for Rule Changes

8. Any other business

All those interested in cricket at Ashley are most welcome to attend.

Address for all correspondence:

Secretary, 45 Hawthorn Ave, Timperley, Altrincham, Cheshire WA15 6TN

6 123rd Annual General Meeting of Ashley Cricket Club

At Timperley Sports Club, Stockport Road Timperley

Thursday 23rd January 2014 starting at 7:45pm.

MINUTES

8 CONSTITUTION - Ashley Cricket Club (incorporating Old Altrinchamians Cricket Club)

Name The club will be called Ashley Cricket Club, will be affiliated to the England and Wales Cricket Board and is a non-profit organisation. All surplus income or profits are re-invested in the club. No surpluses or assets will be distributed to members or third parties.

Aims and objectives The aims and objectives of the club will be to: + offer coaching and competitive opportunities in cricket + ensure a duty of care to all members of the Club by adopting and implementing the ECB ‘Safe Hands – Welfare of Young People in Cricket’ Policy and any future versions of the Policy + will adopt and implement the ECB ‘Club Inclusion and Diversity Policy’ and any future versions of the Policy + manage the pavilion and club grounds + ensure a duty of care to all members of the club + provide all its services in a way that is fair to everyone + ensure that all present and future members receive fair and equal treatment.

Membership Membership should consist of officers and members of the club. Membership of the club shall be open to all, irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, creed, colour, social status or sexual orientation and not unreasonably restricted to any person who is prepared to accept the objectives of the club. All members will be subject to the regulations of the constitution and by joining the club will be deemed to accept these regulations and codes of conduct that the club has adopted. Members will be enrolled in one of the following categories:

Senior player, Junior player, Family, Social or Vice President

Membership fees Membership fees will be set annually and agreed by the Executive/Management Committee or determined at the Annual General Meeting. Fees will be paid: annually by 1st June /as a lump sum/monthly or by weekly subscription. The committee has the right to waive or reduce annual subs and/or match fees for any member demonstrating financial hardship. In order to be selected for one of the senior teams a player must be up to date with annual subs & match fees for the then current month of that year.

Officers of the club Chairman Secretary Treasurer Senior Team Captains Child Welfare Officer

Sub Committees a) Senior/Junior Cricket & Coaching b) Bar, Pavilion & Fundraising and c) Ground. Each of the above committees will have a Chairman who is elected annually.

Committee The officers of the club and the sub-committee chairmen will form the executive committee and manage the club

Officers will be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.

All officers will retire each year but will be eligible for re-election.

Only these posts will have the right to vote at meetings of the executive Committee.

The Executive Committee meetings will be convened by the Secretary of the club and will be held monthly between March and September, at other times when appropriate.

The quorum required for business to be agreed at Management Committee meetings will be four officers.

The Management Committee will be responsible for adopting new policy, codes of conduct and rules that affect the organisation of the club.

The Management Committee will have powers to appoint sub-committees as necessary and appoint advisers to the Management Committee as necessary to fulfil its business.

9 The Management Committee will be responsible for disciplinary hearings of members who infringe the club rules/regulations/ constitution. The Management Committee will be responsible for taking any action of suspension or discipline following such hearings.

An Appeals Committee will hear appeals to any action of suspension or discipline. The Appeals Committee should not include any members of the Management Committee who made the original decision.

Finance All club monies will be banked in an account held in the name of the club.

The Club Treasurer will be responsible for the finances of the club.

An audited statement of annual accounts will be presented by the Treasurer at the Annual General Meeting.

Any cheques drawn against club funds should hold the signatures of the Treasurer plus up to two other officers.

Annual General Meetings Notice of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be given by the Club Secretary. Not less than 21 clear days’ notice to be given to all members.

The AGM will receive a report from officers of the Management Committee and a statement of the audited accounts.

Nominations for officers of the Management Committee will be sent to the Secretary prior to the AGM. Election of officers is to take place at the AGM.

All members have the right to vote at the AGM. The quorum for AGMs will be 25% of the membership.

The Management Committee has the right to call Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) outside the AGM. Procedures for EGMs will be the same as for the AGM.

Discipline and appeals All complaints regarding the behaviour of members should be submitted in writing to the Secretary. The Management Committee will meet to hear complaints within 7 days of a complaint being lodged. The committee has the power to take appropriate disciplinary action including the termination of membership. The outcome of a disciplinary hearing should be notified in writing to the person who lodged the complaint and the member against whom the complaint was made within 3 days of the hearing. There will be the right of appeal to the Appeals Committee following disciplinary action being announced. The committee should consider the appeal within 7 days of the Secretary receiving the appeal. The Appeals Committee should not include any members of the Management Committee who made the original decision.

Sale Supply and Consumption of Alcohol There shall be no sale, supply or consumption of alcohol on behalf of the club on the club premises to any person under the age of 18. Other than club members, persons entitled to purchase and consume alcohol on the club premises are visiting members of other clubs, guests of any such visiting members at the visiting members expense, official guests of the club invited to any club function.

The bar shall open from 12 noon to 11pm weekday and 12 noon to 10:30pm Sundays and Bank Holidays

Dissolution A resolution to dissolve the club can only be passed at an AGM or EGM through a majority vote of the membership. In the event of dissolution of the Club, its net assets are to be applied to the ECB for use in community related sport or to a registered charity.

Amendments to the constitution The constitution will only be changed through agreement by majority vote at an AGM or EGM.

Declaration Ashley Cricket Club adopts and accepts this constitution as a current operating guide regulating the actions of members.

In place since the 2013 Annual General Meeting

10 OFFICE BEARERS 2013

President: Geoff Garnett

Honorary Life Vice-Presidents: Shirley Longworth, Alan Booth & John Allott

Diamond Vice-Presidents: Michael Budd, Kevin Gregory, Jamie Shepherd, Graham Park CBE & Bill Walsh

Chairman: Dave Rice

Secretary: Brian Birtles

Treasurer: Brian Birtles

Bar Chairman: Nick Gray

League representatives: Brian Birtles, Ian Horn & Dave Woods

1st XI captain: Nadeem Alam

1st XI vice captain: Sabtain Baig & Rick Axon

2nd XI captain: Dave Woods

2nd XI vice captain: Bryan Jones

Academy XI captain: Brian Birtles

3rd XI captain: Oliver Griffiths

3rd XI vice captain: Mike Burgess

4th XI captain: Martin Howe

4th XI vice captain: Steve Foster

Over 40s captain: Steve Busby

Junior managers: Angela Atkin, Brian Birtles, Liam Cusack, Gill Grime & Sefton Kwasnik.

ECB Club Coaches: Rick Axon, Liam Cusack, Ian Gallagher & Dave Woods

ECB Assistant Coach: Brian Birtles

Child Welfare Officer: Simon Ferris

Assistant CWO: Dave Woods

Groundsman: Dave Twiney

Webmaster: Simon Ferris

11 OBITUARIES

The club regrets to record the passing of past players and members, with apologies for any omissions.

12 List of Officials

Patron Vice Presidents Honorary Life Vice Presidents

1904 C R Disraeli M.P 1983 Graham Park CBE 2008 A Booth 1910-11 Sir W J Crossley 2009 S Naylor 2008 A Lamont 1919-31 J C Owen 2011 C Blain 2010 J N Allott 1973-79 John Davies M.P 2013 Mrs S Longworth 1981-88 Lady Harding Davies 1989-95 P Collins

Diamond Vice President

2012 Michael Budd, Kevin Gregory, Graham Park CBE, Jamie Shepherd, & Bill Walsh

President

1888-89 No record 1946-48 J A Metcalf 1975-79 L O Milner 1890-99 Rev G Birtwell 1949-51 A J Sayers 1980-84 N K Mason 1900-01 No election 1952-54 T M Frost 1985-86 P Collins 1902-15 J C Owen 1955-57 W H Short 1987-1992 GE Worthington 1917-19 No President 1958-60 F E Hill 1993-1999 N Yates 1920-36 Col. F I Bentley 1961-63 E Mason 2000-01 A Lamont 1937-39 P T Eckersley 1964-65 H C Davies 2002 I A Horn 1940 P T Eckersley M.P. 1966-68 J R Thompson 2003-13 G Garnett 1941 C H Sayers 1969-71 G F Turton 1942-45 Vacant 1972-74 G W Sutcliffe

Chairman

1888-1985 No position 1998-2000 B Maddick 2011-13 D L Rice 1986-89 R Blain 2001-06 I A Horn 1990-97 I A Horn 2007-10 D I Jackson

Secretary

1888-90 No record 1919 S L Hall 1969-71 A Dawson 1891-95 R Hall 1920-35 AJ Sayers 1972-73 M Chance 1896-97 R Watts 1936-37 N Crook 1974-79 R J Dougall 1898 R Hall 1938-39 F Brownhill 1980-85 C Blain 1899-1900 F Davenport 1940-42 AJ Sayers 1986-89 D Chiverton 1901-07 R Hall 1943-56 J N Allott 1990-95 D I Jackson 1908 W H Short 1957-58 L O Milner 1996-98 J A Murray 1909-10 R Lambert 1959 G E Worthington 1999-2001 B D Birtles 1911-12 C H Sayers 1960-63 G F Turton 2002 D Shelston 1913-14 E Gibbon 1964 J R Davies 2003-04 D I Jackson 1915 W H Short 1965-66 W Gregson 2005-13 B D Birtles 1916-18 No election 1967-68 G E Worthington

Treasurer

1888-90 No record 1919-27 R Lambert 1987-93 R A Jackson 1891-92 G Hiles 1928-30 A Douthwaite 1994-97 M Cummins 1893-95 H Walkden 1931-45 F E Hill 1998-2000 D P Woods 1896 R Watts 1946-59 G E Worthington 2001-03 N Barber 1897-1900 G E Ridgeway 1959 G G Garner 2004-05 D P Woods 1901-02 J Cawley 1960-66 G E Worthington 2006-07 K R Tierney 1903-15 R Lambert 1967-68 A Dawson 2008-13 B D Birtles 1916-18 No Election 1969-86 G E Worthington

1st XI Captain

1888-90 No record 1928 A J Syers 1967-68 J K Stockton 1891-95 A Hamner 1929 A Douthwaite 1969-71 G Medford 1896-97 R Hall 1930 K Allen 1972-73 R Blain 1898 G E Birtwell 1931-32 T R Woolley 1974 R Bell 1899-1904 R Hall 1933-37 F E Hill 1975-79 J Blain 1905-07 F Davenport 1938-42 G W Sutcliffe 1980-82 P Mottershead 1908 R B Stephens 1943-44 V H Howe 1983-86 R Arnoll 1909-10 J F Davenport 1945-49 N H Ankers 1987-89 G Garnett 1911-13 K M Dunsmuir 1950 T D W Astorga 1990-92 R Arnoll 1914-15 R Lambert 1951 N H Ankers 1995-96 J H Griffiths 1916-18 No election 1952-55 G A Andrews 1997 D I Jackson 1919 J F Davenport 1956-59 J K Stockton 1998 S Freedman

13 1st XI Captain (continued) 1920 R Lambert 1960 A R Booth 1999-2004 J H Griffiths 1921 J F Davenport 1961 H K Smith 2005 L O'Doherty 1922 J Medcalf 1962-63 S W Naylor 2006-10 I Barber 1923 F Davenport 1964 M John 2011-12 A Wigfield 1924-25 J Medcalf 1965-66 G Medford 2013 M N Alam 1926-27 K M Dunsmuir 1993-94 C Murphy

2nd XI Captain

1888-96 No record 1938-39 R W Morton 1972-74 G Hatton 1897 Appointed by 1st XI Capt 1940 Appointed by committee 1975 A Darke 1898 Appointed by Committee 1941-45 No 2nd XI 1976 D Chiverton 1899-1903 No record 1946-47 F E Hill 1977 D Blain 1904-06 Mr Gibbon 1948 B M Wallis 1978 B Ward 1907 Elected by Committee 1949-50 J S Ashworth 1979-80 T Prestwich 1908 W Earlam 1951 V H Howe 1981-82 A Darke 1909-10 R L Bailey 1952-54 G F Turton 1983-86 N Bull 1911 W H Short 1955-56 N H Ankers 1987-89 B Johnson 1912-14 R Hall 1957-59 G E Worthington 1990 D Hewitt 1915 Left to Committee 1960 I Aldridge 1991 C Blain 1916-20 No election 1961-62 G E Worthington 1992-96 D Drury 1921 C H Syers 1963 A Dawson 1997 P G Roberts 1922-24 A Douthwaite 1964-66 L O Milner 1998-99 D L Rice 1925-26 H Mason 1967 J Hardiman 2000 P G Roberts 1927 W H Short 1968 A Lamont 2001-02 C Pendlebury 1928-34 W Skinner 1969 G E Worthington 2003-08 J A Murray 1935 D W Flower 1970 I Aldridge 2009-10 A J A Horn 1936-37 W Morrill 1971 E Dean 2011-12 N Holt 2013 D P Woods

3rd XI Captain 4th XI Captain

1988 P Mullaley 1998-2001 S Ferris 2008-11 B D Birtles 1989 R Grinter 2002-03 N Bull 2012 -13 M D Howe 1990-92 I A Horn 2004 I A Horn 1993-94 N Barber 2005-07 D Shelston Academy XI Captain 1995-96 I A Horn 2008-10 P Burgess 1997 N Barber 2011-13 O Griffiths 2012-13 B D Birtles

Under 13 Captain Under 14 Captain Under 18 Captain

2007 J Roberts 2013 B Kwasnik 2009 R Agrawal 2008 B McKie Under 15 Captain 2010 H Hatchell 2009 J Wright 2011-13 No team 2010 Several players 2008 M Wardle 2011 A Morfitt 2009 H Hatchell 2012 B Kwasnik 2010 B McKie 2013 Ed Loveland 2012-13 A Morfitt

League representatives

Cheshire Cricket League Cheshire County Cricket League South Manchester Junior League

1977-79 G E Worthington 1988 P Mullaley 2007-2013 B D Birtles 1980-81 T Prestwich 1989-98 I A Horn 1982-83 G E Worthington 1999-04 S Ferris Cheshire County Junior League 1984 R Arnoll 2005-09 A Horn 1985-86 D Chiverton 2010-13 B D Birtles 2007-2013 B D Birtles 1987-97 P Birtles 1998-2009 D Jackson Cheshire Cricket Alliance Salford Youth Cricket Association 2010 B D Birtles 2011-13 D P Woods 2012-13 B D Birtles 2013 B D Birtles

Life Members

1920 J C Owen 1948 F E Hill 1974 G E Worthington 1921 R Hall 1949 F Worral 1976 Mr & Mrs G W Sutcliffe 1928 A Walkden 1950 W H Short, Mr & Mrs Frost 1980 L O Milner 1929 R Lambert 1960 Mr & Mrs V H Howe 2007 R Arnoll G Garnett S Havery S Tyrell 1931 C Vickers 1961 C H Syers 2011 J Longworth 1937 Col F I Bentley 1972 G F Turton 2013 B D Birtles

14 HONOURS

Third XI Division 3 West Runners Up 2013 Under 9 Woodford tournament Plate winners 2011 Under 11 Sale tournament winners 2010 Second XI Twenty20 Cup Winners 2006 First XI Division Two Runners Up 2006 Second XI Division B Runners Up 2006 First XI Division Three Champions 2005 Club MBCCL Club of the Year 2005 Second XI Division B West Runners Up 2004 First XI Division Two Champions 1999 Club Division Two Aggregate Championship 1999 Second XI Division Two Runners Up 1999 Second XI Division Two Runners Up 1998 Second XI Division Two Runners Up 1997 Club Division Two Aggregate Championship 1996 Second XI Division Two Champions 1996 Second XI Knock Out Winners 1995 First XI Division Two Champions 1990 Third XI League runners up 1989 Second XI Division Two Champions 1988 Second XI Knock Out Winners 1987 Colts Knock Out Runners Up 1984 Second XI Knock Out Winners 1981* Colts Knock Out Winners 1978 Colts H S Brown’s Cheshire Colts Competition Runners up 1976 First XI Knock out Winners 1975 First XI Knock Out Runners Up 1972 First XI Pennant Knock Out Runners-up 1969 First XI Pennant Knock Out Winners 1967 First XI Pennant Knock Out Winners 1965* First XI BP Stanway Trophy 1957* First XI BP Stanway Trophy Unknown * won by Old Altrinchamians C.C.

1000 runs in a season

First XI Steve Tyrell 1037 runs in Division One 1994 This stood as the record number of runs scored in Division One until 2005

Second XI Bryn Maddick 1067 runs in Division Two 1990 This total is still the record for the number of runs scored in a season in all 2 nd XI cricket

15 Officers Reports - President – Geoff Garnett

At last a decent summer for weather gave Ashley’s cricketers and supporters the chance to enjoy their favourite sport in ever-improving facilities at our wonderful ground.

It was a great year to celebrate the club’s 125 th anniversary concluded with a terrific night at Altrincham Boys GS where a great throng of past and present players were able to reminisce and enjoy a great show and entertainment reflecting the wonderful history of a great club.

It again brings me to the point that a club such as ours depends so much on willing volunteers giving up so much time on behalf of others and we are so lucky in having a committee and helpers that most clubs would die for.

I am involved in golf and amateur football and the same scenario matters so much in these and other sports and without the volunteers they would not survive.

An end product of this has been the demise of the Manchester Cricket Association, in which I played for 20 years at a very good level, but Cheshire cricket goes from strength to strength and Ashley is a great example of the way in which it maintains and develops cricket at all levels with an outstanding junior section.

As well as the anniversary dinner and the beer festival the playing highlight for me was a wonderful hard-hitting stand between Dave Woods and Gary Tyms for the second team and I feel that they may just have recovered from this.

All I can say is ‘Keep up the good work’ and you will get your rewards and once more it was a privilege to be President of such a wonderful club.

Chairman – Dave Rice

In my report last season two key objectives were to put the club’s finances on a stable footing and to get the first team promoted. We achieved the financial aspect and narrowly missed out with the first team. Whilst Brian will supply details of our finances which make good reading please let me point out that what we have done is put in a framework of how our club should be run financially which we should aim to improve upon season by season. Cricket wise we didn’t get the rub of the green but my confidence remains unshakeable that we can achieve promotion in season 2014.

I had the pleasure of turning out for all three Senior Saturday sides and was delighted that the vast majority of players have signed onto the changes in culture where jobs are done automatically. I was also really pleased that the collection of match fees and annual subscriptions were dramatically improved a fact that contributed to our improved financial position.

The cricket side of things is covered under the captains reports but nevertheless I would like to give my sincere thanks to all our skippers: Nadeem Alam, Dave Woods, Ollie Griffiths, Martin Howe, Brian Birtles and Steve Busby for a job really well done

Matt Jackson from Melbourne Australia was our overseas for the season and he was a credit to himself and his family; we wish him well in his future both on and

16 off the field. We must also thank the Frankland family who kindly gave Matt lodging and employment.

Our Junior section continues to go from strength to strength and again my sincere thanks go to our coaches, assistants, Dave Woods, Andy Murray, Liam Cusack, Neil Banks, Phil Noble, Ian Gallagher, Tommy Smith, James Semple, John Brownhill and Rick Axon. Work commitments have stopped me donating any time on a Monday evening but if the standard of the players coming through to the Academy side is anything to go by we are working along the right lines. Again many thanks must go to the outstanding job done by our Junior managers Gill Grime, Angela Atkin, Sefton Kwasnik whose organisational skills are second to none.

I cannot finish the cricket section of my report without mentioning the outstanding work that Dave Twiney continues to do, I know Dave wants to reduce his hours in the future and this is a situation we must address.

Finally the 2013 season saw the full functional use of our excellent scorebox; again many thanks must go to Ian Gallgher for his generous donation of time and materials and to Nick Gray who put the finishing touches to the job.

Brian will supply details of our improved financial situation and without doubt this truly has been a team effort.

At a time of the year when our cash flow is weak thanks must go to Alex Wigfield for running the popular Last man Stands competition and I urge any budding pundits to risk a fiver and take part.

Our main fundraising efforts centred around the Race Night, the Beer Festival, End of Season presentation and the hugely successful 125 year anniversary dinner held at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. I feel the strategy of three or four well supported events equally spread over the season is the way forward. There are many people to thank for their massive efforts in making these events a success but Martin Howe, Nick Gray, Brian Birtles, Andy Murray, Linda & David Jones and Ian Mobley should take a bow.

In terms of our aims and targets for next season on the field we must strive to be as successful as possible with all our teams both Senior and Junior whilst maintaining a balance between competitiveness and enjoyment. Recruitment is also very important and indeed re-connection to players who have suspended their cricket activity will be key in maintaining competitive squads. Not just an Ashley CC issue but a cricket issue in general is increasing the transition of players to Senior teams from Juniors – anyone who has any thoughts in this area is welcome to put them forward.

As mentioned a the start of this report the financial situation from where we were this time last year is considerably improved, however in my opinion this should be the minimum standard and we should look to improve on this year on year. There are two areas where I think we can improve and they are Sponsorship and PR. When we are looking to attract potential sponsors we need to think what we can give back in exchange and a minimum is a match report with a link to the sponsors website. Bearing this in mind I think the appointment of a Commercial Officer and or a Press Officer with a responsibility to ensure delivery of value to sponsors and match reports reach our website and a précis of the weekly “Ashley Action” reaches the local press each week.

17 No Ashley report would be complete without giving massive thanks to Brian for his passion and commitment in driving this club forward, I shudder to think where we would be without him so I urge anyone reading this report to volunteer to help the club out in some capacity no matter how small.

To conclude I am happy to stand as Chairman for this coming year if re-elected but am conscious that I will not be able to devote the time that I have in the past, perhaps an appointment of a Vice Chairman will assist the club?

Secretary’s Report – Brian Birtles

A huge thank you to everyone involved with Ashley this season, with a terrific summer we were able to show all that is good about this club and our sport.

At the end of September we were able to renew our Clubmark accreditation for the second time. Some clubs have lost Clubmark as they cannot run junior teams as they lose players and volunteers but we are continuing to expand. Our Junior sides are gradually moving up the tables, winning a few more games each year. We don’t tell our players that they must win a league or a cup, our main aim is that they enjoy playing the game, hopefully the work put in at nets shows the players how to play the game and they work out for themselves how they can influence matches and help their team mates to make effective contributions.

We recruited another terrific overseas player this year, Matthew Jackson from the Fitzroy-Doncaster club who play in the Victorian Premier League. Matt took over 50 wickets in all cricket with his leg spin and it was a pleasure to have such a good player, great coach and terrific bloke at the club. I would like to wish him all the best as he seeks to carve out a place in his clubs’ 1 st grade side. We will be watching his progress and he is welcome back at Ashley anytime. Thanks to the Frankland family who put Matt up over the summer and offered him employment.

Fred Slater took charge of coaching nearly 40 under 9s and he was an unqualified success as all the players enjoyed his coaching sessions and we attracted new players throughout the season. We will continue to engage Fred next season. We now have over 100 players in the junior section and will have a dozen qualified coaches and volunteers in 2014. With the number of teams we will put out in 2014 we are always keen to recruit more junior team managers and other volunteers, I would encourage anyone keen to help to step forward, you won’t be handed a job and then left all alone, as there is a network of support at the club.

Groundsman Dave Twiney as always did a superb job on the square and outfield, now a grandfather his time as our curator will be limited from 2014 onwards, we need to actively seek an assistant and then a replacement.

We are grateful to all our generous sponsors this year, a vital income stream, as costs are every increasing. I would ask all members to consider how they might attract more contributions from sponsors and to support our existing ones for instance The Hale Kitchen and Bar offers ACC members a 25% discount on all food and drinks and discount cards are available from the club.

For next year we have plans to apply for grant applications to help achieve several projects: renew and relay the outfield, level the ends of the square and extend the pavilion to the back and the side to incorporate larger kitchen, changing rooms and a secure storage for our ground machinery. These projects if successful will ensure we have a high quality facility. We are also looking at installing a defibrillator at the club this will need to be grant funded too. We are hoping to secure funding to allow us to go into local schools to provide cricket

18 coaching, our long-term hope is to employ a Cricket Development Officer, we are in discussions with one or two local cricket clubs to see if we can make a joint applications for this.

On the field there are a few changes proposed for 2014, mainly to Sunday 3 rd and 4th XI cricket, they will be playing 40 over win/lose cricket, whilst most of the older players in the club prefer draw cricket as this gives players many more challenges, it will hopefully see both teams push for promotion, the 3 rd XI especially are well suited to this form of cricket and the many winning draws they had in 2013 should be converted in wins. We will continue to encourage players to make themselves available for Sundays if they cannot play on Saturdays. It will also see many new sides join the Sunday 3 rd XI set up, this will give our Sunday players a full fixtures list with hopefully no blank weekends. Oli Griffiths steps down after 3 years in charge of the 3rds and I want to thank him for his hard work in that time. He has managed to make the team competitive whilst selecting several of our youth players. Martin Howe will stand down as 4 th team skipper if a replacement can be found, his umpiring and refereeing take him away from the 4 th XI but I hope he will continue to volunteer at the club in some capacity.

Woodsy and Nad worked hard to get competitive sides out in 2013 and although the 1 st XI missed out on promotion back to Division 1 we can go into 2014 hopeful of putting up a solid challenge. Thanks to them for their efforts and good luck to Woodsy’s successor. The 2nds also selected many under 18s and they played a full part throughout the season as the team retained their place in Division A.

It has been another great year for the club and I want to thank everyone who has been involved and look forward to being part of our continued success in 2014.

OPPONENTS FOR SENIOR TEAMS - 2014

1st 2nd Academy

Barnton Ashton Barrow Bollington Bunbury Chester CO Chelford Cholmondeley Cholmondeley Hale Barns Disley Lindow Kingsley Lymm OP Langley Oakmere Lymm OP Romiley Winnington Park Runcorn Woodford Stockport Georgians

3rd 4th Over 40s

Bowdon 3 Alderley Edge 3 Alsager Dabbers Didsbury 4 Bowdon Vale 3 Bowdon Hale Barns 3 Bramhall 4 Bowdon Vale Vikings Heaton Mersey 3 Bredbury 4 Davenham Romiley 3 Cheadle Hulme Grappenhall Sale 3 Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge 3 Mobberley Stockport 3 Prestbury 3 Toft Stockport Georgians 3 Stockport Trinity 3 Timperley 3 Trafford MV 3

19 Treasurer’s Report – Brian Birtles

It was a successful year financially as we returned to profit in 2013 (£4,242) with £5.661 in the bank at the year-end of 19 th December.

The main income streams of annual subscriptions, bar, fundraising/sponsorship & grants/donations were up all on 2012, in fact nearly every income stream was up and compared to last year, our income increased by 79%

The club is grateful to all the players and members who attracted a large number of sponsors to the club, I hope we can continue to offer all sponsors a good return on their investment and I would urge all players and members to support them. Rich Brewster arranged for an innovative deal with the Hale Kitchen and Bar and I would encourage any suggestions for similar deals that could benefit the club and our supporters.

We were helped by the great summer which gave the club the opportunity to host much more cricket than last season, hardly any senior matches were lost to rain, several junior matches were called off, mainly on Sundays and this particularly affected the under 15s and Under 11s.

Close to 120 players paid an annual subscription this year, juniors and seniors. Our membership is closer to 150 though with many more juniors attending nets towards the end of the season as we continued to recruit new players.

Expenditure increased and was due in the main to the clubs efforts to develop the coaching within the club, money was spent on courses for our volunteers and paid coaching, new machinery and cricket equipment.

Our current facility now has many items that require maintenance, artificial nets, bowling machines etc. I hope we can continue to raise funds to pay for this. Our last instalment to the ECB for the artificial nets is due in late in 2015, we currently pay £318.50 per quarter.

I also hope we continue to provide interesting and enjoyable social events, the Beer Festival was another success and plans for the 4 th festival on 11 th to 13 th July 2014 are already being made.

I want to thank all the captains for ensuring match fees are promptly collected and paid into the club account and to Andy & Jac Murray for their great work in establishing the Monday night practice sessions for our juniors.

Expenditure on the ground was reduced but with Dave Twiney looking to reduce his workload we will have to set aside more money in future, this may include paying outside contractors, paying our own volunteers and paying for volunteers to attend training courses. We have had initial discussions with another club who are looking to replace their existing groundsman and we may be able to share an employee.

There are several items of income and expenditure that relate to 2013 but won’t hit the accounts until 2014, we have not paid for the meals at the 125 th dinner (£2,200) and we have not claimed Gift Aid on junior annual subscriptions yet, approximately £750.

ASHLEY CC ACCOUNTS Year end 19th December 2013

2012 INCOME 2013 +/-

4,387 Annual Subscriptions 6,260 1,873 4,429 Bar 8,405 3,976 - Equipment Sale 1,141 1,141 6,775 Fundraising 10,414 3,639 650 Grants & Donations 2,661 2,011 900 Hiring 860 - 40 1,952 Match fees 1,849 - 103 340 Miscellaneous 187 - 153 - Sponsorship 1,590 1,590 - Summer Nets 1,317 1,317 850 Winter Nets 1,546 696

20,283 TOTAL INCOME 36,230 15,947

2012 EXPENDITURE 2013 +/-

1,910 Artificial Nets 2,487 577 3,712 Bar 5,952 2,241 2,496 Beer festival 2,264 - 232 255 Coaching 2,450 2,195 1,748 Cricket Equipment 5,750 4,002 - Dinner 125th 1,752 1,752 - Equipment refund 150 150 570 Expenses 493 - 77 546 Fees & Fines 447 - 99 4,544 Ground 3,443 - 1,101 1,338 Insurance 1,598 260 - Kitchen 286 286 144 League Dinner 112 - 32 - Miscellaneous 432 432 1,080 Pavilion 529 - 551 1,134 Prizes 1,119 - 14 1,646 Rent/Rates/Lease/Utilities 1,294 - 352 420 Trophies 269 - 151 957 Winter Nets 1,164 207

22,499 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 31,988 9,489

- 2,216 Profit/(Loss) 4,242

3,636 FUNDS AT THE START OF THE YEAR 1,420

1,420 FUNDS AT END OF THE YEAR 5,661

21 1st XI Report – Nad Alam

Despite falling at the last hurdle of the 2012 season into Division 2, Ashley's 2013 journey started well in the winter, with nets being well attended.

Alex Wigfield's paternity requirements, meant a change of skipper, and the armband awarded to me. A further change was made with the prolific batting skills of Ash Bradshaw being replaced by teenaged leg spinner, Matt Jackson from Melbourne. Additionally, the Baig brothers, recruited youngster Danial Ahmed along with the experienced Sully Khan and former First Class all-rounder, Mohammad Azam returned to cricket after a short break.

The start of the season saw the club lose arguably the best keeper in the division, with Matt Freedman, moving to skipper Oulton Park with our best. This may have been a blessing in disguise for the club as we were fortunate enough to have 3 outstanding glovemen in Phil Noble, Martin Blain and Tommy Smith.

The opening game saw Ashley defeated at Langley, where the batting never showed up. However, the next game against the side of the division, Mere, saw Rizwan Baig, notch his maiden Ashley ton. The skipper had done his homework on the opposition and lead the way with the ball.

The month of May saw games versus Lymm, Chelford and Kingsley. There were glimpses of excellence, coupled with inevitable unpredictability, as Danny and Matt’s batting provided the hosts a challenging 164 target. The game was all but over inside 10 overs as Azam and Nad ended up with 8 wickets between them for their 1st maximum points of the summer. The match against Chelford ended up closely drawn, courtesy of rain. A crucial win of the coin at Kingsley, saw Sibtain Baig's pace and wise head with the bat notch another win. Barnton left the Railway Field with the points courtesy of a disciplined bowling effort to end May with 77 points in the kitty.

Under June's bright sun, Ashley headed to Lindow, who were at the right end of the table with Mere. Matt Jackson scalped his maiden 5-wicket haul this side of the globe with 5/59 on a flat track. Ashley's former skippers of Alex Wigfield and Jon Griffiths, ensured 218 was within grasp as they opened up with 138, which stunned the home team into their 1st loss. A couple of champagne moments during the game were Alex Wigfield's one handed pull for 6 and seeing one home batsman pole being knocked back some distance by a pacey Azam delivery.

The excellent weather continued the week after, as Ashley's bowling were unable to defend 205 and Woodford strolled home with some ease. Harry Horsfall scoring a polished 84*. A second consecutive defeat gave bottom of the league, Bunbury, their initial win of the season, with Ashley unable to grasp the situation, and fall foul of the skippers wrath at the end of the game.

Fielding a virtual full strength XI, Aston suffered as Matt Jackson found sharp turn and bounce in taking 5/6 and then Alex Wigfield smash 62* to end the match by 5:20pm.

This convincing effort seemed to spark off a run, as the spin twins of Rick Axon and Matt combined to take 6/38 at Cholmondeley, whose main threat was going to be the pace of their talisman, Trevor Fabien. Young Tommy Smith rose to the challenge, every time the quick dropped short and hooked and pulled several boundaries in his 37. His stand of 57 with Harry Horsfall whose 39 including some classical back foot shots, saw Ashley home. A total of 84 points from 5 games giving hope for momentum in the 2nd half of the year.

22 Langley's first visit to Ashley, saw Azam take his chance with bat and ball. With a tussle against Langley's hugely prolific overseas, Kenneady, over quickly, Azam’s 5/44 and 49 were the catalyst for a 3rd win on the trot. Ashley went to Mere, on the hottest day of the summer, with Mere's XI all fasting for Ramadan. In a game that saw Ashley collapse from 60/0 to 118/9. Mere were set 138 to win. Azam and Jackson kept the game on the edge throughout as the league leaders fell to 96/7. Ashley were unable to take 1 critical chance, and Mere scraped home.

The side showed great resolve to fight back and draw an excellent game at home to Lymm when all seemed lost. Rizwan scoring 78 with the bat, Nad bowling 18 overs for 31. Matt held his nerve running in at long off to catch a rampant Travis and then ensure 8 were defended in the last over.

The skipper played the key role in the win at Chelford, bowling through for 5/72 when others wilted in the heat. Chasing 165, we fell to 39/4. Azam played some deft shots before being deceived, as Alex and Harry cobbled a 60 stand together on a fast outfield. The last pair required 11, and it was left to myself and the other veteran Dave Woods whose consecutive boundaries gained a hard fought win.

Ashley moved into August in the top half, and one of the teams fighting it out for 2nd spot, with Mere being so far ahead.

A steady batting display aided by Matt and Azam's bowling gave us win number 8. An ebullient Barnton side were win 9, as the consistency in all disciplines continued.

The following week saw the Lindow fixture ended by inclement weather, with Lindow in the ascendancy.

With 4 games remaining, only 4 wins would give any mathematical chance of promotion. It was not to be, as a draw against fellow hopefuls Woodford ended all realistic hopes.

Ashley avenged the Bunbury defeat, then further condemned Aston as the last game of the season ended in defeat.

The table saw us end in 5th position with 11 wins and some 40 points adrift of Lindow.

All in all a season, that despite promising much saw lots of learning curves for all involved. One ingredient to the season was the lack of consistency in the batting line up. With a top 6 worthy of much more, the leading league run scorer was Sibtain Baig (423). Four other batters entered the league run tally in Azam (400), Riz (373), Harry Horsfall (371) and Alex (326). Being constructively critical, if some of the innings when set, went further, we should have won perhaps, 2 more matches and may have had 5 batters clearing 450 runs, which would have been a very commendable effort. However, everyone showed they have the ability and desire. This attitude only arbours well for the 2nd year in the division.

Plaudits on the bowling front to Mebourne based Matt Jackson. He led the way with 48 wickets (and over 50 in the season) and went back a wiser Aussie having learnt a bit on how Poms play. He was a credit on and off the field. This was also coupled with excellent coaching work with the juniors through the season. Despite the captaincy pressures, I was pleased in being able to play my part with

23 33 victims. For me, the other stand out efforts were from Azam and Sibtain. Azam's first season at Ashley, started slowly, however, when things clicked, he was possibly the quickest bowler in the league. 'Subs' carried an injury most of the year which was a real loss, however, when he was able to, he also confirmed that he could also bowl some 'heavy balls'. Rick Axon also played a part and should look to knock on the door again in 2014. I also hope that Tommy Smith continues his excellence with the gloves. His work at Aston was akin to taking Test standard catches, they were that good.

When players were needed from the 2nd XI, Farrukh, Danny, Dave Woods and others stepped up with little complaint to contribute, as well as Griff, and Woody, who was a loss at the top of the order due to work commitments, along with Phil Noble.

As I write this report, all bodes well to the same group of players remaining for the challenges that lie ahead in 2014.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank The Club for their unwavering support of the 1st XI. In no particular order, Dave Twiney, groundsman par excellence, the ever smiling Nick Gray, Brian Birtles who runs the club so seamlessly, Woodsy and Ricey on the committee and webmeister, Simon Ferris. Young scorer Suliman Baig, the supporters and sponsors, who gave their time to help and cheer us on, as well as my wife, whose debut in the tea-making arena was well appreciated.

Finally, thank you to every player in the 1st XI and through the Club for playing and giving me your best.

Looking forward to good things in 2014.

Ashley’s 2013 overseas player, Matt Jackson, receives his Ashley cap from club Honorary Life Vice- President Alan Booth

24 2nd XI Report – Dave Woods

The 2nd X1 had a mixed season with several fine victories, a handful of disappointing performances and unfortunately a rout that we were on the wrong end of. Serious injury as a result of a bad RTA to George Power, one of the club’s best bowlers for more than a decade saw him miss most of the season, and also a succession of injuries ensured Gary Tyms missed chunks of the season. Compounded by the skipper’s patchy availability, several young bowlers were given an opportunity and they didn’t disappoint playing an important role for the side, making a genuine contribution in every game. The same can be said for a couple of young batsmen who looked at home in the side and will also play a leading role for the 2XI next season.

The early season promised much with five successive victories including a fine away win over a strong Romiley side that saw match winning performances from Dave Alves with the ball, and Farrukh with the bat. In this run under 15s players Tommy Ryan and Jamie Crowhurst played an important role supporting a seam attack also featuring Josh Wardle who managed to show his prowess with the bat smashing 8 off the final over to beat Lymm OP.

The wheels fell off at Northwich after the skipper elected to bat and saw a strong Ashley line up reduced to rubble at 6-6 with the NCC skipper and opening bowler claiming 6-0. Some big hitting from Yassir Butt and the skipper saw us save some face to a degree and finish on 58. The top 7 batters adding a mere 11 runs to the scorebook. It was over fairly quickly after another disappointing Northwich tea. Not a day to remember with any fondness.

The rest of the season followed a course of mixed results with the team affected by availability and loss of form to key players, which as a consequence saw us unable to win successive games. A real high point, not least because of the scorching weather, was the home fixture to Cholmondeley, that saw the veterans Woods and Tyms add 102 for the 8th wicket and give the side something to bowl at, an opportunity that Tommy Ryan and David Alves [4-5] grasped as we romped to a convincing 100 run victory.

Other individual highlights: Dave Woods hat-trick at Woodford; John Brownhill 73 v Malpas; John Evans 50 v Woodford; Farrukh 51no v Hale Barns; John Brownhill 68 v Runcorn; Imran Sohail 60 v Romiley; Alex Morfitt 5-26 at Malpas; Matt Wardle 67; and Max Kennedy 31 v Northwich; James Semple 58 v Ashton On Mersey, and 46 v Upton. Other great memories of Gary Tyms taking one blinder after another in the slips, Almo’s great catch in the deep off Rick Axon v Romiley; and in the same T20 game at Ashton in a losing cause, a great debut from U14 George Johnston snaffling a great 3fer in a fine display of swing and seam bowling, and Tommy Smith despatching a good attack all over the Beets and falling just short of a fine half century. Yassir Butt was probably unlucky not to pick up Player of the Season after a fine season as a genuine all-rounder, with 240 runs at 23, and 22 wickets at 23, and also featuring as a fine gully fielder.

The season saw heavy scoring for the first half of the season by Imran Sohail who at times seemingly held the top order together, and some fine knocks from Yassir Butt giving several innings some great impetus with some great power hitting and on occasion even displayed some never before seen disciplined batting! Dave Alves and Yassir won several games with the ball rewarding the skipper’s faith in playing two attacking spinners every week, and Alex Morfitt showed he will also surely be a key fixture in the clubs senior sides for a long time to come. We also welcomed an experienced opening batsman and spinner in Mark Nicholas who will

25 prove to be a valuable addition next season both at the crease and in counsel. Ricky Shelmerdine also made a good impact to the side in the closing weeks.

In summary, another enjoyable season can be chalked off, full of interesting characters, plenty of highs and lows at the wicket, and enough laughs to ensure that we continue in good heart next season. I am greatly encouraged by our squad for next year especially by the quality of the young players who have already played for the 2s and of those ready to contribute next year from the Academy ranks.

Finally, I should add that I am resigning my position as 2XI Captain for 2014. I have enjoyed being Captain immensely, however, being available for only a dozen games last season and still retaining 1st team ambitions, I feel that we need a consistent style of play and a setting of standards with junior development that can only come from a more regular skipper. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Brian Jones, David Alves and Alistair Horn particularly for their support throughout the season, and to all the players who have played this season. I will continue to be available to play 1XI, 2XI as often as I am available, and of course to coach bad bowling, average fielding and slogging to our junior section.

Academy XI report - Brian Birtles

Although we finished 7 th out of 11 this year the Academy team was successful in many respects. Plenty of our junior players got the opportunity to play leading roles in the team. Tommy Ryan picked up the award for players player after another excellent season as the teams strike bowler, he also performed well for the 2 nd XI and I hope he moves permanently into that team for next year.

Alex Morfitt took 24 wickets and was named best Under 18 player in Senior cricket, he also stepped up to play 2 nd and 3 rd team cricket. Twice Alex missed out on a maiden 50, both times dismissed in the high 40s by good catches by opposing players. I am sure he will be regularly making much higher scores for the club.

Joe Busby hit his first 50 at Wilmslow Wayfarers, with 4 sixes, it was no coincidence that we were playing on the best wicket of the season that day, and our move to Timperley and the County League set up next year should see all our players get the chance to bat and bowl on truer wickets every Saturday.

Late in the season Oscar Armitage returned to Ashley, it was great to see him back at the club and in 3 games he bowled with determination and skill. Sam Corbishley returned to the game and showed a desire to compete and to improve. He bravely batted on when clearly nervous after some hostile bowling at Norbury and turned his hand at leg spin bowling, in the home game versus Offerton he would have taken a 5 for had we been able to catch. At Styal in the last game of the season he was rewarded with a 4 for with some brave bowling and much better catching and fielding by his team-mates.

Although Max Kennedy only batted twice for us he showed his great potential with a knock of 31 against league champions Knutsford, Max played for the 2 nds and 3 rds and I hope we see more of him in 2014. George Johnston played nearly half the games and was a confident and tough competitor, he would have knocked up his 50 at Wilmslow if the tail-enders had stuck around with him.

Josh Foster opened the batting and bowling and can be proud of his contributions especially an opening stand of 100 with Brewster at home against Wilmslow. His

26 improvement as an opening fast bowler was rewarded with inclusion in the Salford Youth Cricket Association Under 14 representative side, along with Tommy Ryan. Tom Oliver didn’t appear too often for the Academy, he was a classy player for the Under 15s though. His 57 for the Academy at Knutsford gave the home side a scare as we threatened to knock off their 200+ score.

Adam Atkin and Richard Bullman both had breakthrough innings’ in our home game versus Wilmslow, they added 49 for the 5 th wicket as we set 184. Richard’s batting was great to watch, he simply tried to smash everything for 4 or 6. When it came off it was hugely enjoyable, especially as experienced bowlers struggled to contain him. He threatened to win the game at Offerton too, hitting several balls into the River Goyt. Richard was also the leading catcher with 8, all taken with the minimum of fuss. Adam showed his all round skills with some tidy bowling displays too.

Dan Ridley had the kind of season that everyone has once in their career, sometimes going in at number 3 after a big opening stand and getting the best ball of the day. I hope Dan comes back stronger for his experiences as he is a determined and popular player. Oli Loveland turned to slow bowling and he was rewarded with some good spells against adult batsmen who usually had one approach when facing spinners, they slogged. He took three wickets in our tense 1 wicket win at home to Holmes Chapel. Another left arm spinner we saw too little of was Azam Ali and he developed well showing no fear when batsmen challenged him.

Ben Ashworth-Kwasnik played one of the best short innings of the season away to Offerton, he wore a few short-pitched deliveries as he batted out the last few overs for a draw, in a game we batted for 55 overs. We finished up 40 runs short of a win but it was a match that gave many of our players some valuable experience. Ben can be proud of his efforts that day.

There were many good performances from our veterans, Rice, Ferris, Brewster, Griffiths playing the bulk of the games. Rich Brewster missed out on a deserved ton at Kerridge, whilst Si Ferris had another productive season. Darren Griffiths took out the bowling prize, defying a body with more injuries than it is possible to list.

Thanks to them and all the other senior players who stepped into the side when they were needed.

In 2014 we move grounds (to Timperley) and leagues (to the Cheshire County Cricket League), I hope this presents the side more challenges and gives the junior players that play all the opportunities they need to enjoy and improve their cricket.

I hope next season we can include more under 18s in the team, as a club we do have a large number of senior players looking to play Saturday cricket and they all have to be given a game. We may have to look at a 4 th Saturday side if this continues.

Thanks to all the parents who supported the team again this year, transporting players to away games, scoring and mainly helping to tidy up at Rostherne after matches.

Simon Ferris and Rich Brewster open the batting for the Academy at Rostherne against Holmes Chapel in the 1 wicket win on Saturday 1 st June.

The Academy side before the game at Timperley versus Hartford 2nds

Back Row (left to right) Darren Griffiths, Brian Birtles, Simon Ferris, Dave Rice, Rich Brewster & Adam Atkin Front Row (left to right) Richard Bullman, Josh Foster, Sam Corbishley, Oscar Armitage & George Johnston

28 3rd XI Report – Oliver Griffiths

The 2013 season started as usual with a good beating in the 20/20 jack Gardner trophy, 3 homes ties against Toft, Bowdon and Elworth resulted in 3 defeats, 2 heavy and 1 less so, but with some good individual performances gained in what in generally considered a good warm up for the season to start next week.

Or so we thought, with the opening game taken by the weather, the 2nd conceded by Neston and the 3rd being one of 2 weekends off, the season started for Ashley 3rds on the first weekend in June.

It was worth the wait, at drinks in the Runcorn innings Runcorn were sat pretty on 110 for 1, the game changed there with spin twins Pete Burgess and Matt Lamming taking 7 wickets between them to restrict Runcorn to 180. Lamming and Griffiths knocked the runs off with a 120 partnership, Lamming ending 96 not out and a first win at Runcorn I can remember for Ashley 3XI.

The following week Ashley hammered Winnington Park with Zeeshan ripping through the top order with a 5fer leaving a target of just 65 which the openers knocked off in 13 overs.

Northwich were next HQ and would leave with full points, a feat they would manage in almost all games played in the season to comfortably win the league with 2nd to fight for seemingly half way through the season. After another conceded game and another weekend off we travelled to Nantwich looking to make amends for the previous game. After good contributions at the top of the order and a Semple 50 Ashley closed on 2 short of 200 despite honestly giving 4 LBW’s, something we wouldn’t be afforded in our attempt to bowl Nantwich out. Needing only 3 an over for the last 3 overs the Nantwich batters seemed more interested in getting their opening bat to his 100. That along with Jaan death bowling earned Ashley a Tie in one of the games of the season.

What followed was the story of season for Ashley 3XI, after posting big totals 4 winning draws in the next 4 completed games. Lamming continued to impress with the bat and Harry Hatchell scored 200 in 2 weeks including a superb 130 against Runcorn. Jaan and Semple putting genuine all rounder performances, Ashley just couldn’t get over the line in any of the games and deservedly finished 2nd in the league, an excellent effort which looks more suited to the Win/lose format set to start in 2014.

The season finished with 2 defeats, a 1 wicket win on a dog of a wicket with 119 playing 120-9 off the last ball of the match and Christleton winning at HQ thanks mostly to a good old fashioned middle order collapse.

Tellingly 2 batsmen made the league handbook, Lamming 318 @ 80 and Hatchell 267 @ 45. With Jaan averaging over 50 and 3 further batsman averaging in the 20’s. Whilst only P Burgess made the book for bowling with 18 @ 19 with only Jaan and Zeeshan making double figures too (10 wickets each)

Some very enjoyable moments and positives to take into next season: Jaan returning to Ashley and proving a quality player with both bat and ball, the mercurial Semple likewise. Max Kennedy and Tommy Ryan looking the part despite not getting their reward. Matt Lamming continuing to plunder runs and pick up awards. And having all-rounders, Talbot, Burgess M, Semple, Lamming, and Jaan in a season of win lose cricket in 2014 looks promising. Stu Wilkinson – making his debut and topping Josh Wardle in the averages! James Semple’s C&B at Northwich!!! Lamming and Jaan’s 167 run partnership at Neston. Special

29 mentions for: The Tea Ladies, aka best Teas in the league. Brian, Wes, Daz, Jac and Nick for help on match-days

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my 3 years in charge and look forward to next season under Mike Burgess.

3rd XI leading runs scorer and Player of the Year Matt Lamming (left) and Harry Hatchell winner of the Ash Bradshaw Shield for most runs scored in senior cricket

4th XI Captain – Martin Howe

You may or may not remember that my target for season 2013 was to win more than three games, guess what…..we managed to win 4! After an encouraging end to 2012, the team entered season 2013 with a completely different mentality, a new belief.

I as captain was confident that last year’s recruits Harvinder, Sunny and Jaskirat would give the side more strength in the batting department despite the loss of opener Ken Elliott, most of the lads had confidence in their own ability after attending winter nets and outdoor practice with Aussie Matt Jackson.

Despite all the preparation, it wasn’t till June that the season began for us, a hard group of opening fixtures meant that we sat bottom of the table going into the local derby with Bowdon Vale 3s.

The return of Ricky Shelmerdine, George Aspden and a six wicket victory re- galvanized the troops and this inspired an encouraging run of three wins in five weeks.

The batting of Sunny, Harvinder, Dec Cavanagh and Steven Foster regularly set defendable totals and tight bowling from the likes of Ricky, Steve and Dan Eadie meant that we were either beating teams or running them very close.

I had the difficult but nice task of calming my players down this season as their expectations grew with every victory, those who had not played league cricket did not understand that sometimes you have to be satisfied with a draw, something that may change in the coming years as more and more teams demand win/lose cricket.

I always mention memorable moments in my end of season report, these include the nonchalant catches from Tom Kelly and John Cheetham, the five wicket hauls for Ricky Shelmerdine and Dan Eadie and finally on a personal note, two direct run outs in the same game.

Finally I personally would like to thank Brian Birtles for his tireless work and support, Steve Foster for stepping into my shoes when I was away refereeing or umpiring and finally the players for their hard work and determination throughout the season.

At this year’s AGM I will be giving others the opportunity to become fourth team captain, however if no one comes forward I am quite happy to resume my duties next season, I feel it is only right to give others the opportunity because of the amount of games I missed this season and the fact I have a little lad at home who demands a lot of my time.

Over 40s – Steve Busby

The Over 40’s managed to get in 9 games during an enjoyable season. The team’s large squad was utilised to the full with no fewer than 24 players representing the side at some point. We needed the numbers as so many were lame ducks and others like Buckers seemed to spend the whole summer drinking!.

The team were never annihilated although games against some of the top teams were one sided. The morale of the team was chirpy with Ricky Brewster forever belligerent behind the sticks although he does have a penchant for taking on guys about a foot bigger than him!! Some of the running between the wickets between Andy H and Imran was worth the admission money alone- Andy H must be the first man in Over 40’s history to be run out 3 consecutive weeks. Either very unlucky or the legs are telling you something Andy? Imran’s repertoire of stroke play was something to behold and our Bangladeshi waiter’s much-heralded debut was something else- literally!

There were good innings throughout the season with 5 batsmen: Brewster, Busby, Hughes, Sohail and Lloyd managing 30+ but perhaps the most memorable innings came from Bob Bass. Resplendently bronzed after a number of months sunning himself in Spain he was thrust into the fray at Mobberley with 5 overs remaining and asked to wrestle a game we had in the bag from the jaws of defeat. One splendid straight six and a never to be repeated two which saw Bob diving full length to make his ground brought off the final ball about our only win of the season. Magnificent it was too.

The regulars bowled consistently well so much so that Eadie’s flight and guile earned him the player of the season award. With lots of new recruits last year pulling up lame after only a game or two there may need to be a fitness regime put in place next year when I hope we will benefit from one or two additions. We hope Anthony Gardiner who was fleeced for £150’s worth of gear by Dick Turpin Horne will return and get some value for money and that Phil Bartley’s dodgy calf will hold up as he looked a good bat.

Special thanks to Joe Busby and Aaron Leaff for scoring so consistently and to David and Linda Jones for their fantastic teas, also to Dave Twiney for the excellent pitches; to Nick for running the bar and to Brian as ever for his organisation and support. Onwards and upwards

31 Child Welfare Officer – Simon Ferris

2013 proved to be another fantastic year in the development of our club.

Because of the high levels of conduct set by the vast majority of people associated with the club, the CWO role is an easy one. However, we must remain aware of the responsibility that comes with running a junior sports club; I urge all members to maintain standards of conduct on and off the field which we would expect from others; also that we remain vigilant of behaviour that falls short of these expectations. Should anyone have a concern, particularly relating to the welfare of others, the simple rule is that they should report it to a team manager, me or any other officer of the club. A particular concern has been relating to comments made on social media sites; members should be aware that their posts are viewed by people outside the club and that any comments should show the club in a positive light.

The junior section has continued to develop and is now the heartbeat of the club. Most pleasing to note is that our young players play the game in a way that is a credit to the club. The Ashley way is to always give our best, be supportive of our team mates, be respectful to opponents and officials and most importantly to enjoy the game; I’m sure that some of our senior players could well learn from the standards these boys have set. Credit goes to the team organisers, coaches and parents who have been excellent role models.

A number of youngsters have made the transition from the academy team into to a higher level of senior cricket with the second team. Alex Morfitt, Tommy Ryan and Max Kennedy, in particular, have been successful at this level and should be looking to challenge for places on the first team soon. We should now look to continue this trend by bringing more talented players through the Academy.

I’m proud to be associated with such a fantastic club and want to thank everyone who has contributed to another amazing year.

Junior Section

By the end of the season our junior section had a record number of players (100+) attend Monday night coaching; in 2014 we will have new teams at Under 10s and Under 16, whilst the Under 14s will move up to the 15s to give us 7 different age groups. As always we need more help to run these teams effectively. We have volunteers who will help run the Under 9s and Under 10s, but would welcome any more helpers and the Under 11s do need someone who can take over the selection of the team. We hope next years overseas player will take an active role in running the Under 13s, he will coach them and umpire their matches on Friday nights.

We have produced a document full of information and instructions for all new and existing junior parents and I would encourage everyone to pass this onto parents who are looking for their first or a new club - it will be emailed out to all parents in time for the new season.

One aspect of the play of all teams was the excellent fielding and catching and this was after many of the players worked hard on these skills at nets. Our bowlers also bowled less wides and this allowed us to restrict opposing teams scoring. If this progress continues we should be winning many more games than we lose.

32 As the 2014 season gets nearer we have put out 2 teams in winter indoor leagues at Sale Grammar School. This was organised by the Cheshire Cricket Board and proved very popular, it is scheduled to finish at the end of March 2014 and I hope it will continue in future off seasons.

We had 2 players play representative cricket, Tommy Ryan and Josh Foster. We also had players take part in CCB coaching courses and 3 of them were invited onto advanced level, Joe Tomlinson, Louis Kennedy and Thomas Lloyd. We intend to encourage more of our players onto the Cheshire players’ pathway as we have many players capable of competing at this level. As the number of junior players continues to grow we are seeking an active Junior Chairman/Woman who can oversee the many challenges this presents.

Finally we are constantly looking to improve the way we coach our players and arranged a meeting between players, parents and coaches so that we could find out exactly what players wanted from their training sessions. We held the first meeting of parents, players and coaches in early January and this meeting proved to be very constructive, we will continue with this dialogue to ensure all players get the most out of their cricket. We will continue to encourage feedback from everyone involved so that we can evolve further.

Action from the Dads v Lads match held during the club’s beer festival, Neil Banks ready for an edge with Joe Noble hitting into the covers

33 Groundsman’s Report – Dave Twiney

Jan – spiked ends with hollow tines and square with pencil tines early in the month but then weather went v cold. Warmed at end of month so put on 1 bag winter feed. Feb – spread second bag fertiliser. Drilled out a hollow tine that was stuck in the spiker. Mar – cut outfield. Scarified square. Seeded bare areas. Spread 1 bag Renovator over square. Then weather turned cold. Should have been rolling – but as weather too cold to evaporate any water brought to the surface this was not done. April – managed just 4 hours rolling. Weather warmed and some signs of grass growth. First game played 13 th (friendly). The club had promised to take over outfield work – but this was not being done so I've been mowing outfield once per week. May - 11 th – first rain for sometime – grass now active. Fibre-glassed the older Bowdry. June – I had 2 weeks off. Club seems to have managed OK July – hot until end of month then thunderous rains Aug – grass is now growing strongly – outfield looks a mess because it's not cut frequently enough. Picked up ATCO 23” mower bought off ebay – serviced it and adjusted cutting height – looks OK. Sept – had the SISIS scarifier serviced for use over the winter. Paul Agar came with his tractor-mounted scarifier to clean up the square. Didn't spike as the square too hard. Sprayed anti-worm chemical on square. Filled holes and ends with loam and old seed. 28/9 did autumn renovation – spread 3 bins of seed, 40 bags Mendip and 50 bags Boughton loam. 14 bags remaining for next season renovation. Put the light- weight germination sheets over ends. Oct – it rained so we had good grass cover after 3 weeks. Reseeded some of the ends where grass hadn't taken. Cut square with rotary. Cut outfield. Nov – spiking square with wide tines. Grass still growing so cut again with rotary. Sold the Dennis mower + scarifier. Cut outfield.

NOTES – (1) the drain I dug last year seems to have been effective – but we didn't have prolonged periods of rain so it wasn't really tested. For information the cost of materials for this work was £300 and cost of hired dumper truck £140 so without any labour the cost per metre of the drain was £12. (2) As I warned last year I now have grandchild care duties so have less time available for groundcare – hence not wanting to do the outfield. This situation will continue next year. (3) I have to also point out that I've already booked 3 weeks summer holiday next year …. and may want to take another. This may stretch the club's volunteer labour so you may want to think about engaging professional support. (4) I'll have the SAXON mower serviced after Xmas – this will be my main pitch mower next season with the Atco used on the square.

34 Overseas player 2013

Overseas Player's Statistics, League Games Only

Season Name Matches Innings Not out Runs HS Average Catches 2005 Adam Andrews 14 13 3 459 106 45.9 5