The birds are tweeting their dawn chorus, the nights are getting lighter, there's a faint smell of freshly cut grass, it can only mean one thing...the cricket season is getting closer!

As I come to terms with the sheer volume of work involved in being Chairman, I'm regularly looking for different support channels to ensure that we as a club are in the best possible position. What we do have amongst our committee is a tremendous amount of skill and experience in so many different areas, and to compliment that i have recently enrolled in Sport England's Club Leaders programme. This is a programme Sport England offer free of charge with the aim of providing the necessary tools, training and support to grassroots sports clubs across a range of areas. This will hopefully prove a useful avenue as we continue to develop this fine club of ours.

On the cricketing front, between Andy Roberts and Simon McGowan they have organised some superb senior and junior indoor net sessions respectively which have seen a healthy turnout and the players look as though they will hit the ground running in mid-April when they can put all that hard work to good use. Behind the scenes, Andy and Graeme Keenan have complimented the senior squad with the addition of Richie Cowderoy. A former product of the Upton Cricket Club junior system, Richie 'the cat' Cowderoy returns to us having enjoyed spells at Caldy CC and more recently at Bootle CC playing Premier League cricket in the Liverpool Competition. .

A few weeks back i took the opportunity to pop along to junior nets and it was great to see so many children enjoying their time and developing their skills. What was even more encouraging was the number of girls there, this is a great testimony to the work that has gone on developing our junior section over the years, so thanks must go out to Madeleine and Charlie Ward for this. Adding to this, the work Simon McGowan is doing as Junior Chairman is absolutely tremendous and is totally in alignment with my vision for driving the club forward. If you haven't read them yet, i would strongly urge you to read Simon's weekly blog as it's not only humorous, it does give a great insight into what's going on in relation to junior cricket and how Simon plans to take this forward.

To compliment the splendid work going on with the Juniors you'll have hopefully read the news that we have been awarded a grant via the Wirral West Community Fund scheme. I wrote in my February update about the work that Rob Chapman & Simon McGowan had put in with both the application and also the community presentation, and it's great to see their hard work paying off as this will be a real boost to help fund some additional equipment to make it easier for children to enjoy their cricket with us. Not wanting to rest on his laurels, Rob Chapman continues to scour various sources to look for other sources of grant funding and we are actively working on other opportunities to continue the development of things both on and off the pitch.

On the financial front, Club Treasurer Richie Simcox has been working tirelessly to 'balance the books' which is always a challenge during the non-cricketing months. We're actively working on ways to reduce our outgoings and increase our incomings, and looking at all aspects of the club. What this doesn't mean is that we will be compromising on the 'product' we can offer to our membership but more a case of ensuring that we are as efficient as possible to make sure our money is well spent. How can i help i hear you cry?! Very simple - at this time of year it's two fold, popping down and having a beer on a Thursday night with fellow club members, and paying your annual subscriptions.

After month's of hard work, we are now in a position to be able to off some fantastic advertising and sponsorship opportunities. There was a news article released last week (click here if you missed it) and myself and Development Officer; Graeme McGowan have held productive talks with several local businesses. What we are able to offer, is advertising in some really prominent positions around the club, visible from the very busy Upton By-Pass, and the income we receive from this will contribute massively to the ongoing development of the club. If you know of anybody who may be interested in this, please pass on the brochure via the link above.

Another area we've been exploring is linking up with a brewery. Currently we use an independent beer wholesaler, but there are certain advantages of being attached to a brewery. It is not only about the beer that is available and ensuring that it is maintained correctly so as you can enjoy it, but the presentation of the bar in general with new pumps being installed and updated glassware etc. Discussions are progressing behind the scenes and we hope to be able to get things in place ready for the start of the season.

As we continue to grow in the community, it was great to welcome Royden Rotary Club to use the clubhouse to hold a recent meeting where they presented to our local MP; Esther McVey some of the work they've been doing with a hospital in the Gambia. Whilst she was at the club, i took the opportunity to talk to her about some of the things we are doing as a club and the ways in which we are aiming to develop. Esther was very supportive of where we are going, which could prove to be a very useful link in the future. We've also held discussions with a local playgroup based out of St Mary's church who are looking for a temporary home whilst the church undergoes some redevelopment work. They will be using the tearoom for three hours a week from the end of April until mid December. Not only is this a very useful revenue stream for us, but is in keeping with our vision of extending our reach within our local community.

As we look ahead to the summer, my other focus has turned to the Annual Marquee Weekend. Now in it's 15th year, this years events prove to be the biggest and best yet. For the Sportsman's Dinner (click here for more details & poster) I've secured the services of Phil Thompson who i'm sure will prove to be a fantastic speaker. Not only does he represent football from the 70's, but his transition to working behind the scenes at Liverpool and now as a pundit on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday means he is still current. The following night, we have The Trunk Monkeys returning for the third time and will no doubt have the marquee bouncing again at the Summer Ball (click here for more info) with their energy and enthusiasm. Speaking with their front man, he tells me how this is one of the favourite gigs and all the band are really looking forward to it. The one thing i really want to emphasise is that both of these functions are for all the club to enjoy, and to that end i would love to be able to welcome as many junior parents as possible.

During the first couple of months of 2015 we've had some great success stories already, but a lot of the stuff that we are putting in place is for the longer term. With that in mind, it is sometime easy to become disillusioned if results aren't evident immediately, but a few words from Mahatma Gandhi can keep us going - “It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”

Cheers
Jez Lamb
Chairman