Dear Members, colleagues and friends of Fives and Heronians CC
Welcome to the 2019 season! I hope you have all enjoyed the winter and are now keen to get back into cricket, whether that is as a player, umpire, scorer, parent, supporter or casual observer. 2019 promises to be a very exciting season for Fives and Heronians CC and, believe it or not, the season starts in just two weeks with the first friendly game on April 20th, weather permitting! Let's hope for another balmy summer like we had last year.
In terms of the senior sides, it promises to be another big season and an important one for the club. The 1st XI are looking forward to pitting their wits against some much stronger opposition than last season as they embark on a new campaign back in Division 1; the 2nd XI, under the stewardship of Dean Humphrey this year, will be looking to bounce straight back up after relegation last season; the 3rd XI will hope to compete well in a higher league after their successful promotion campaign in 2018; while the 4th XI hope to have some more competitive games, and indeed get some more wins, in what will hopefully be a more appropriate division for them after punching above their weight the last couple of years. As ever, the teams really do appreciate any support they are given on a Saturday afternoon so if you are not playing then please do pop down if you can.
Sunday friendly cricket has been a real concern for a while now, and that is by no means just an issue at Fives. We want to have more games at the Paddock on Sundays, but the availability and opposition have just not been there in the last few weeks. However, we are delighted to develop a new partnership with our friends at Chigwell CC, who have agreed to play 5 of their games at the Paddock this season as well as their usual home, Old Chigwellians, where we continue to play the majority of our 3s and 4s Saturday league games. This represents an exciting development as it means that the club is being used, the bar is being opened and cricket is taking place more often on a Sunday this year. This will run alongside colts games and a few Fives friendlies. Again, please do pop over to the Paddock on a Sunday if you can and say 'hi' to the Allum brothers and their pals. This should be the start of an ongoing partnership that we hope will be mutually beneficial for both clubs and will continue to grow year on year.
Our Colts Chairman, Mark Sayers, has been in touch already via email with updates about the new colts season, including information about our new coach. But I would just like to add at this point what fantastic news it is that we have secured the services of Michael Griggs as Head Coach for this season. His cricket coaching CV and experience are absolutely outstanding and we are lucky to have him, especially at a late stage when we were informed that Mikey Thompson was unable to continue with us. We thank Mikey for his excellent work over the last few years and hope he remains a key member of the 4th XI this season. But we are excited to have Michael on board and look forward to him heading up a new colts coaching team on Friday nights. Michael's cricket CV can be found by copying and pasting the following link:
https://fivesandheronianscc.hitscricket.com/newsstory/newsid_128559/default.aspx
The coaching team on Friday nights will also include our new overseas player, Abdul Ameer. Ameer is a highly regarded and very well known 1st class cricketer from Pakistan who now lives in Ilford and works in London. He comes with a proven track record of 100 first class wickets and a wealth of experience at a very high level. He also played in the Durham league and was extremely successful as a left arm fast bowler and middle order batsman. He is 26 years old, keen to do well, is looking forward to joining us, and should provide us with some much needed pace and firepower as our other 1st team left arm seamer isn't as quick as he used to be...Ameer's cricinfo profile can be found via this link or you can look him up on social media if you wish to see more:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/323571.html
Off the field, it promises to be another busy summer, as we look to achieve reaccreditation of our Clubmark status (which is no mean feat these days), continue to find ways to improve our revenue streams, and enjoy more social events. More to come on these fronts as time goes on, but in the meantime, please do keep an eye out on our website and emails for any further information about these important aspects of the club.
As you know, we have slashed the cost of the annual subs to just £50 for all playing members and the (strictly non-playing) social sub is just £25, so please do pay these promptly if you have not already done so. Information on how to pay is on the previous email and can be found via the website or by just asking a captain or committee member how to do it. It is so vital that annual subs are paid asap and we want to be in a position where we enter the field of play on a Saturday afternoon with all players having paid their subs. At just £50 (or the gold membership of £250 which includes all match fees paid for any match during the whole season), it should be possible for us to do this, as long as players are organised and understanding and buy into what we are trying to achieve this year as a club. Let's all work together to support each other and the club as a whole by paying our subs in advance of the first game (or on the day if needs be) and ensuring all teams have a full complement of fully paid up members. Again, please do get in touch with any of the committee if you have any questions about subs and match fees.
Finally, I would like to issue a huge thank you to all the people who have helped keep things ticking over during the winter months. Whether that has been the usual Christmas Drinks, the excellent annual club dinner back in January, colts indoor matches, senior indoor net sessions, attendance at meetings, or important maintenance and preparation of the ground. All these things have been organised and driven by a core group of people, particularly those on the club committee, and I would like to thank them for all their hard work. When the season starts in earnest in a couple of weeks' time, these things should not be forgotten.
Please do get in touch with the captains to let them know your availability for the early games, or update it on the website. If anyone needs a new login sent to them, please let me know. Let's make 2019 a great season for F&HCC. COYF!
Cheers
Jonny Kay
Chairman