Wet Wet Wet
Since my last missive in April, it has basically rained, which for a cricket club trying to prepare for a new season wasn’t particularly helpful especially with our largest infrastructure project for decades needing to be completed.
However, those of a positive mindset will rejoice in the fact that we remained unbeaten in April. Sadly, that hasn’t proved to be the case in May.
A Call to Arms
As I write this, we are a couple of weeks into the Senior league campaigns in Divisions 1 and 6 of the KCVL. We haven’t yet registered a win although there have been some good individual performances.
It would be fair to say that it has been a struggle to get both teams out and thank you to all of those that have answered the call. Unfortunately, we have lost a few of our more reliable attendees this season which means we are reliant on the wider membership filling the gap by playing a few games more than they may have intended.
There will always be a reason not to play, but a cricket club can only survive if enough players are prepared to turn out each weekend. We have a thriving Junior section, and it is incumbent on the Senior club to continue to provide a pathway to adult cricket at Speldhurst for those that would wish to follow it. Your club needs you!
Young Guns
This is a neat segue into an update from Francis Booth Head of Junior Cricket:
Junior Cricket coaching started on Friday 12 April for U13 and U15s. The younger coaching groups started a week later with the exception of All Stars which started on 11 May. That weekend we had over 120 young cricketers, aged from 4 to 15, receiving coaching from over 20 parent/coaches.
The first competitive match of the year, billed as “Friendly” but played competitively, was an U13 match against Southborough who won a close encounter in a game played in a good spirit by both teams.
The U13s then played their first Invicta League match against TWCC on Sunday 12 May. A good performance with bat, ball and in the field resulted in a 19 run victory. A total of 122 in 20 overs was built on a strong opening partnership of 65 from 9 overs. Tight opening bowling restricted TW to 8 from the first 4 overs and steady spells from all the other bowlers, including our spin twins, kept them behind the rate throughout. Very encouraging performance played in good spirit by both teams.
The Under 11s Invicta League season started with a comprehensive win against Holmesdale B. Holmesdale scored a net 17 runs (losing a wicket costs 5 runs) while Speldhurst scored 94. There were some truly astonishing performances in the match; only 5 wides in 16 overs, no byes at all, and some aggressive running of singles which would have impressed our new President.
We’re working on getting all junior match reports on the website soon. Keep your eyes peeled.
To put some names to the Senior coaches who lead the coaching groups;
All Stars – Richard Goman
Soft Ball – Matt George
Transition Group – Simon Williams
Under 11 Match squad – Matt Bell
Under 13 – Anthony Greenway
Under 15 – Mark Utting
All guided by the Head of Coaching – Rob McAllister
And to paraphrase Napoleon, because “an army marches on its stomach” a particular mention to Laura Ellis who leads the Bacon Station team.
Shed a Little Light
Over the winter, it was clear that our existing sheds needed replacing as heavy rain had caused extensive damage to the roofs, resulting in a great deal of equipment to be damaged or needing to be relocated.
A total rebuild was unavoidable as we need shed storage for the club to function. Unfortunately, this needed to be completed immediately not only to protect our equipment but also to ensure that our members (including junior cricketers) and groundsman were safe whilst using those storage facilities.
Thanks to the heroic efforts of Francis Booth and Shaz Farid the project has been completed, and we have relocated our equipment to the new shed for the 2024 season.
Because of the need to undertake the work prior to the start of the season some of the potential routes of grant funding have not been available to us and with club finances not as healthy as they once were, due in great part to the effect of the Covid pandemic, we did not have sufficient funds to cover the cost of the works.
However, thanks to the generosity of a number of members who have provided short-term loans we were able to complete the shed before the season commenced. It is incumbent upon us as a wider club to ensure that those loans are reimbursed as soon as possible.
Speldhurst Cricket Club is community-run by a group of volunteers and receives no external funding. Therefore, we’re asking for the help of our members, players and wider Speldhurst community. If you feel able to make a donation, however small. to the cost of replacing the sheds, we’d be very grateful. To facilitate that, the Club have set up a fundraising page at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-replace-our-sheds and I would invite you to visit and also recommend it to anyone else who may be keen on supporting this community asset.
Enjoy your cricket everyone and for those intrigued by the section headings, which is the odd one out? (no Googling).
Regards
Mark
Speldhurst Cricket Club 