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23rd September 2015
A season of real progress
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1st XI lose out on promotion but 2nd XI go up!
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Colts section is thriving
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Club improvements have made a big difference
With the Sunday side playing their last game at the weekend another season has flown by.
On the playing side, it’s been season of mixed emotions with the 1st XI just missing out on
promotion in the last over of their last game, but the 2nd XI finished really well and will start in
the 2ndXI Division 2 next year. That’s two promotions in two years for us since joining the
Fullers Surrey County League.-something to be very proud of! There are now many things to
think about in terms of progress for both these sides and we’ll be doing that over the winter.
Behind the performances on the field we have an excellent season overall with the Colts
section being a real powerhouse, a growing amount of social events, our nets competed, a
new sponsorship agreement in place and a number of new players joining the club.
Congratulations to the 1st XI’s Sanjeeva Witetjunga who finished the season as the league’s
highest aggregate run scorer this season - 994 and 50 more than the next batsman.
Sanjeeva has also been sponsored by the club in order to qualify as a level 2 coach and has
been with us for the latter part of the season training the Junior section.
I would also like to thank Julian as our overseas player for the season and look forward to
seeing him back next year and to build on the excellent net sessions he ran for the Colts.
Our thanks to Malcolm Howard who has stood as 1st XI umpire over the whole season.
Some action and team photos should be up on the website shortly but if anyone has any
more please send them through.
Junior section
We had the now traditional Dads v lads match and the Junior Awards at the Clubhouse on
September 6th. What a fantastic day and a great turnout - over 200 people! We feel
very proud that it’s built up from one team 10 years ago to the seven we have today. It really
is a case of onwards and upwards! At the awards, President Steve Wells commented on the
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fantastic growth of the colts over recent years and then handed over to each manager U10s (Nigel Nelson), U11s (Keith Davies), U12s – (Dan Brown), U13’s (Russ Guyatt), U14’s
(Nigel Abbott) U15s (Damian Ross) as well as our developing girls team girls team – Hope
Dear. Our thanks again to all these managers who have put in an immense effort to make
the season happen, but most of all thanks to Pam who is our fulcrum of everything!
Sunday side
We’ve had a great year in terms of new members Five new players joined during the season
- all very capable players and all well within the guidelines of our youth policy! All of them
have added strength to the side and we look forward to seeing them next year.
It was however a disappointing season on the pitch with 10 defeats from 18 games (3 wins &
5 draws) but as usual the matches were against sides of vastly differing strengths. Chasing
326 in 40 overs was our most daunting prospect(!), the opener retiring on 202!.
Some special mentions from the season include..hundreds from Russ Guyatt and Luke
Webb, Crispian Lord bowling Weybridge’s Indian overseas batsman around his legs with a
super ball and Nigel Abbott opening the batting in the final game to secure an average!
Finally we wish Chris Louw and Hugh Taggart speedy recoveries from their injuries and ops
and looking forward to seeing them on the pitch in 2016 fully recovered.
On the social front...
We’ve had a number of social events during the year with darts evenings been particularly
popular. The wine tasting evening was also a great success with the clubhouse packed to
capacity and everyone enjoying themselves. Alun Cope Morgan also did a great job
arranging the Tour Reunion in Cricket Week, which was well attended. Fergie's rendition of
Rawhide entertained the crowd albeit it briefly!
Further darts evenings are planned in November and December. Unfortunately the planned
Rugby World Cup evenings won't take place due to logistical issues. We will send out
another Social Calendar later in the year so keep an eye out for updates and please contact
Craig ([email protected]) if you would like to attend any events.
Dinner Dance
The club’s annual Dinner Dance is to be held at Leatherhead Golf Club on 21st November.
Please contact Jo Harris or Alison Morse for tickets as only a few tables remain! Jo 01372
812989:[email protected] :Alison 01372 467588; [email protected]
Club Improvements
Overall we think the feel of the club in the building has improved significantly. A few physical
improvements have been carried out and all have made a difference. We’ve also have new
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operating procedures during match days with the Cafe. The biggest change was the use of
the hatch during hours of play and the Cafe tables being moved to the old clubhouse area.
This all worked well and overall has helped us improve the ‘club atmosphere’.
The CRGT are looking at the possibility of upgrading the environment around the clubhouse
(both left and right) and we are involved in that debate although this is very early days. Dave
Page has taken over as Bar Manager and I think we can all testify to the great improvements
made to the beer. Additional thanks to Suzanne and Alison for helping with Bookers runs.
After a long process, the nets have been a great addition this year and are now fully
functional for use by club members. We plan to do more to use this excellent facility next
year with the aid of our bowling machine.
We also received a grant worth over £1000 from Waitrose/Surrey Cricket Foundation for two
new items of equipment – a new flat cover for the track which is two strips wide and a ‘watersopper’ to help water removal. Both of these were put into use in the last couple of weeks of
the season. It’s another example of how Claygate is continually improving its facilities
I’d also particularly like to thank Fergie for the fantastic pitches he prepared during the
season. Without doubt one of the best tracks in the league.
Overall ,ground conditions have improved significantly due to the planning and money put
into verti-draining, seeding and fertilising over the past year. The ground now looks terrific
despite the lack of rain through June and July, but the recent weather has stimulated seed
growth. Work will continue next spring, so the ground will look even better.
The website
The Pithcero website went live at the start of the season and it has carried match report
every week. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/claygatecricketclub/ For this to work even better
everyone still needs to register and fill in your details. Those details will be used for all
information in the future. It’s been challenging task and particularly thanks to Alice Guyatt for
all her hard work. It’s always a challenge to ensure a website is as functional and as up-todate as possible. In future we would like the skippers to be responsible for looking after their
own sections and let us have any ideas to make it better. Additionally you can now buy CCC
cricket shirts, trousers, training tops etc through the website..
Finally the AGM will be held on 23 Nov and we have two committee roles to fill. Firstly after
many years excellent service Jon Law is standing down as treasurer and we need to find a
replacement for Milky as league rep We look forward seeing everyone there
Russ