St Albans Cricket Club Notice is hereby given that the 104th Annual General Meeting of the St Albans Cricket Club Inc. will be held at Trevinos Restaurant and Bar, cnr Riccarton Road and Mona Vale Avenue (in the upstairs conference room, access at rear) on Monday, 4 August 2008 at 7:30pm Business: 1. To receive the Minutes of the 2007 Annual General Meeting; 2. To consider and adopt the 2007/08 Annual Report and Accounts; 3. Election of Officers and Management Committee for the 2008/09 season; 4. Notice of Motion That the club levy the following levels of subscriptions (GST inclusive) for the 2008/09 season, namely: a) Adult Men and Women: $240 to be paid by 30 November 2008; b) Full-time University, Polytechnic, Training College Students, Men and Women Under 18: $180 to be paid by 30 November 2008; 3 c) Secondary School Pupils: $120 to be paid by 30 November 2008; d) Primary/Intermediate School Pupils: $50 for first member of family, and $25 for any subsequent members of the same family, to be paid by 30 November 2008; e) Social: $60 per year. Please note: there have been no increases in these subscription levels from last season. 5. General Business: Members are reminded to resign (in writing) before the date of the AGM, to ensure that no subscription payment is due for the 2008/09 season, in the event of any member deciding not to play or transferring to another club, or moving out of the city. Honorary Secretary PO Box 1919 CHRISTCHURCH Pavilion: Hagley Oval, South Hagley Park, Riccarton Ave, Christchurch, New Zealand. Phone: (03) 366 4905. Secretary: PO Box 1919, Christchurch 1, New Zealand. E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.stalbanscricket.co.nz 4 2007/08 Officers Patron: Mr J Z Harris Life Members: Messrs C F Collins, R R A McLauchlan, I D Dempsey, R D J Mather, A G Jamieson, S J D Cox, L N Serra, G J Curgenven, Mrs A J Mitchell and Mrs E W Horne Honorary Auditor: Grant Thornton, Chartered Accountants President: Chairman: Mr A G Jamieson Mr A G Jamieson Men’s Club Captain: Women’s Club Captain: Mr D E Pettet Mrs N Wilson Honorary Secretary: Honorary Treasurer: Mrs K L Cunis Mr L N Serra Bar Manager: Mr M J Sutherland Management Committee: Messrs G J Curgenven, M R Griffin, A F Johnstone, S A Mason, E P West, Ms C D O’Brien-Smith 5 Obituary Noel McGregor It was with deep regret and sadness that members of the club learnt of the death of Noel McGregor who died peacefully in hospital after a short illness on November 21, aged 75. Noel played his entire domestic first-class career, spanning 22 years, for Otago before moving north to Christchurch to join St Albans. As a right-handed batsman and occasional wicket-keeper he debuted at the tender age of 16 in 1948 and during his 90 matches for Otago he scored 4259 runs at an average of 27.65, including three centuries and 27 50s. He earned his Test debut in 1955, but struggled against a fearsome England team and was part of the ignominious side to be dismissed for a world-record low of 26 in just his second Test a fortnight later. He scored his only Test century, 111 in nearly six hours, against Pakistan at Lahore just two matches later. The following year Noel was part of the historic New Zealand side to record its first Test victory, alongside fellow St Albans man Sam Guillen, against the West Indies at Auckland. Having only scored two and five with the bat, his biggest contribution in the match came during the West Indian chase when he caught master batsman Everton Weekes on the square leg boundary for 31 - a vital snare given Weekes had scored centuries in each of the preceding three Tests. He again was part of New Zealand cricket history, scoring 68 and 20 as a member of the first New Zealand team to win a Test away from home, alongside another St Albans man in the form of Zin Harris (who scored 101 and 30) against South Africa in Cape Town in 1962. Noel played the last match of his 25-Test career in 1965, amassing 892 runs at an average of 19.82. He was named the New Zealand Cricket Almanack’s player of the year in 1968. Noel transferred to Christchurch from Dunedin with footwear makers Suckling Bros, a move that ended his first-class career in 1969. He 6 joined the St Albans Cricket Club, playing a couple of seasons in the senior XI before becoming a prolific member of the President’s grade side and was part of competition-winning teams in 1970/71 and 1975/76. In the latter season he scored 567 runs at 63.00 and took 20 wickets at 19.25. He ended his club career in 1990, playing well into his late 50s. In his last 15 seasons of club cricket he scored 7371 runs at 43.62, including no fewer than six centuries and took 113 wickets at 19.11 - remarkable figures given they were achieved between the ages of 43 and 58. Noel won both the Frank O’Brien and Cyril Crawford Memorial Cups in 1985/86 for the most runs in one/any grade with 734. He won the Frank O’Brien Memorial Cup twice more, two and four seasons later, with respective tallies of 891 and 583. Upon retiring his main passion switched to the sport of lawn bowls and it was to play a big part in his later years, both as a player and administrator. As president of Bowls Canterbury it was his brain-child to combine the men’s and women’s national tournaments for the first time into a super-event, which was held at various clubs across Christchurch in 2003. Together with Alan Bailey he also organised the bowls event at the Fendalton Bowling Club, held as part of the St Albans Centennial celebrations in 2005. Just a weekend prior to his death he emceed the centenary dinner for Bowls Canterbury. Affectionately known as “Snippet”, due to his love for playing the cut shot, Noel was a cheeky and cheerful team-mate and opponent with a wicked sense of humour who made any game or social setting he was in all the more enjoyable for his presence. His funeral was held on November 26 at the Burnside Bowling Club on Avonhead Road. A large turnout of current and former St Albans members, many who played along side Noel attended. Noel is survived by his son Nigel. 7 President’s Report On behalf of the Executive and Committee, I have much pleasure in presenting, the Annual Report and Accounts covering the 2007/08 season, the 103rd in the club’s history. When one looks back over the last 12 months and tries to review what has transpired, the highs and the lows and the challenges overcome, one must start with the dramatic events on the morning of April 26. On this day the club, for the first time in its history, was the victim of a mindless and inane act of arson that left the pavilion in a significantly burnt-out state. What wasn’t reduced to embers was so severely water and smoke-damaged that, in the main, objects and possessions were only fit for the dump. Thankfully the four walls and roof remained structurally sound, averting a complete write-off of the building. I was woken at 6am by a phone call from our groundsman Tom O’Carroll to tell me that smoke was coming out of the pavilion, that he had called the fire brigade and for me to get down to Hagley Oval as quickly a I could. Arriving within minutes, after a very quick trip from the suburb of Burnside, I was met by flames and smoke - a sight that would have brought a tear to the eye of even the most unemotional club member, before an increasing sense of anger kicked in as the fire took hold. I texted the committee the news and they gradually arrived at the scene. We all just stood out on the Oval watching 103 years of history, blood, sweat and tears, memories and possessions go up in flames, all being numbed and unable to do anything about it. Let me go on record right now and thank the fire service for the magnificent job they did in getting it quickly under control and saving the building from total destruction. Thank you also to Tom and the female early-morning jogger (who we don’t know the name of) who originally spotted the fire and woke Tom. We owe you both a debt of gratitude for your swift response. Since the fire a 43-year-old male has been apprehended and charged for allegedly setting fires in four different areas of the pavilion as well as setting two nasty and potentially life-threatening man-traps inside the pavilion. We await the outcome of this arrest and trial with interest. We would sincerely thank the members of the police for the speed in which they achieved an early result. Throughout the weeks following the fire they have been very good at staying in touch and keeping us informed of developments. 8 Since the fire, a sub-committee has been set up, with Graham Curgenven as our project manager, to drive the restoration and rebuilding. State Insurance, the club’s insurers, have accepted the claim in full and the appointed assessor has engaged an architect.