If somebody had said to me that we’d have four of our five senior sides challenging at the top of the respective leagues at the beginning of August I would have snapped their hand off! That’s the reality of what we face going into the final month and a half of what has been a great season to date and the real possibility that 2018 goes down as one of the most successful in the clubs 118 year history.

Looking into it in a little more detail, the 1st XI have the prospect of four out of the last seven games at home and given the phenomenal numbers who have been down supporting week in, week out, that can only be a boost. There’s some ‘tasty’ fixtures in amongst that lot as we welcome table topping Hyde and challengers Bowdon, both of whom were relegated from the Premier Division last season. The 2nd XI will be looking to string some decent results together having fallen off the pace a little recently but are still within touching distance of the second promotion spot. The 3rd XI have a 47 point cushion over second placed Neston and will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run of fifteen games, one of only two teams in the whole of the Cheshire ‘pyramid’ (14 divisions) to be unbeaten this season (Premier Division Timperley being the other). The 4th XI, whilst not challenging at the top of the table are having a great season having turned in some superb performances with loads of runs scored and are only twenty points of their total points tally for the 2017 season. The Ladies XI have had a tremendous season to date winning all of their matches and sit at the top of their division – quite a remarkable achievement in their first season of competitive cricket. As you’ll see from reading this, there’s so much we can all be proud of as this demonstrates what strength we have all the way through the club and goes to show that all the hard work put in across all the different areas really pays off.
Whilst I’ve focussed very much on the senior cricketing aspect of things in my preceding paragraph, let’s not lose sight of the juniors. Unlike quite a lot of other clubs, we continue with our junior training sessions on Friday evenings and whilst numbers are naturally lower due to holidays etc. it’s still a great opportunity for the kids to practise their cricket, and the bars open and BBQ is fired up!!!

On the social side of things, I’m extremely grateful to Ross Dixon who took the opportunity to run a charity quiz night raising money for Vital Signs Foundation. It was a great night (and not just because I was in the winning quiz team!!) and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves and what was really encouraging was to see some relatively new members coming along and getting involved in the social aspect of club life. Top that off with some VERY dodgy shirts, Chris “Kenny” Cunningham popping in from Australia and £150 raised for VSF it made for a cracking night. Thanks to Ross again for putting this on. Whilst still on the ‘social’ side of things I had one of those bizarre moments last week when I was sat in a meeting and my phone started ringing to which my colleague nudged me with a rather perplexed look on his face as the name “Ricky Tomlinson” was flashing up on the screen! Having spoken at our Annual Marquee Dinner at the end of June, Ricky clearly left with a good impression of the club as he was phoning me to ask if he could put on another function for us utilising his extensive list of contacts. No firm details as of yet but I’m due to meet Ricky for a pint in the coming weeks and will be able to share more after that.
We’re coming o that time of year when we start thinking about the annual ‘Hot Pot’ and plans are well under way. This year will be slightly different as I want it to be more inclusive for all of the senior section for the club. Much to the delight of 1st XI skipper Tom Marsland who won’t have to speak for as long, I’ve invited all of our six senior captains to give a ‘brief’ synopsis of their respective seasons. You’ll have heard me go on about the ONECLUB philosophy I see so important and at the heart of everything we do and this shift is an important step on that journey to embed it even more. The date for the dinner will be Friday 23rd November, with the guest speaker to be announced in the coming days – slightly later than usual due to a few key people being away in Sri Lanka.

During July, we learnt of the death of one our Life Members; Fay Pillifent. Whilst a little before my time, I’ve heard so many things about the great work that Fay and husband Fred did for the club during the 60’s and 70’s running the bar with distinction and being instrumental in the new clubhouse being built. Many have commented that without them both, the club would not be in the position it is today and both Fay and Fred epitomised what the club is all about, that being to give back to the club that has given you so much, and in Fay’s case not necessarily from a playing perspective. If we could all live by this mantra and just give a fraction of what Fay & Fred gave then imagine what we could achieve as a club.

Let’s hope for a fantastic August both on and off the pitch and I look forward to sharing with you more thoughts in a months time.

Cheers
Jez Lamb
Chairman