End Of Season 2007
The President - A Personal View
The 2007 cricket
season will probably be over when you receive this Newsletter, but enough has happened in recent weeks from my perspective that
deserve comment.
Firstly, as a general observation, in my view, the season has been more successful than would appear. The failure to get a suitable overseas player has given 1st XI opportunities to others, especially younger members, and the experience will stand them in better stead for the future. Having said that I think the time is NOW right to follow up our ‘search’ to ensure that the club maintains (and hopefully improves) its status so that our youngsters, especially, can play at the higher level deserving of their abilities. At the same time we must maintain our reputation as a club for our friendly, social, community commitment. I was really proud of the support given to our lads at the recent Popkess Cup Final, showing we are a CLUB in unison. I think we would have been equally supportive whichever of our teams were playing in a final. The celebrations at our clubhouse afterwards weren’t too bad either!!
Like with other clubs,
the weather this summer seriously affected our fixtures but the acquisition of our second ground at Long Lane proved a godsend, in
particular by allowing almost all of our ‘colts matches’ to be played. Your committee fully supported the efforts of Nick Allcoat
and others in this venture which so far has proved a saviour, and not enough praise can be levied to Nick for his efforts in
chasing up significant Grant Aid etc. How fortunate we are in having so many dedicated non-players, whose efforts make so many
things possible at the club. I am sometimes disappointed in the attitude of some of our players in their support, of what after
all is being done mainly for their benefit, and while this is a complaint of many clubs I think we have so much more to offer than
most. So, come on lads give us ‘old ‘uns’ more support!
Whilst on this hobby
horse, why do we have so many ‘cry offs’ after teams have been selected? Surely (except in real emergencies) it is not beyond the
realms of possibility to help your captains by making your availability or otherwise
known to them BEFORE selection on a Tuesday.
In closing, I look
forward to seeing you at the Annual Presentation Dinner and the following AGM in November.
Geoff Gooch
Youth Cricket
Another enjoyable season
for the Juniors with many successes evident both on and off the field. Membership increased again this year, with up to 120
youngsters between the ages of 7 and 15 enjoying the opportunity of playing cricket in a safe and friendly environment. The
membership comprises boys and girls draw from 27 schools in the area, 12 secondary and 15 primary, which illustrates the high
regard with which the club is held in the provision of Youth Cricket in Broxtowe, and is a tribute to all those involved in
Attenborough’s Junior section. Thanks go to those who have helped both on and off the field.
Monday and Wednesday
evening training sessions were very well attended, with the players parents enjoying the chance of a drink at the bar whilst
watching the next ‘Kevin Pietersen’ hone his/her talents. Despite the rain affected season, the Juniors enjoyed many more matches
and training sessions than would otherwise have been possible by switching, on occasions, to our Long Lane pitch. With The Strand
being unfit for use due to excessive weather, the new, quick drying pitch at Long Lane proved invaluable.
Our Junior teams
collectively enjoyed varying levels of success. The Kwik cricketers won about half of their matches. Sam Barker and Albert
Gardiner were awarded players of the season for this group. The Under 11 and Under 12 have had limited success in their matches.
The player of the season awards went to Matt Sharples and Callum Taylor respectively. The club also provided several players for
the Broxtowe District team at the U11 age group. The Under 13 team developed into a good unit by the end of their season, playing
11 matches and winning 4. Several of this team played for the senior Attenborough sides by the end of the season. Scott Howkins
won the player of the season award for this team. The Under 15 side played 5, won 2 and lost 3. The team was led will by Arjun
Sandhu, with the player of the season award going to Paul Strickland. Again many of this team became regulars in the senior sides.
The club has continued to benefit from employing Tony Bettridge, Notts County Cricket Coach, in leading quality training for
various age groups. On the county scene, the club was represented by Callum Taylor at U12, Dominic Harvey at U14, Dominic
Terkowski at U16, with former Junior member Steve Allcoat playing for the Notts 2nd XI. Dominic Harvey was involved in the
Midlands squad and trains with the Nottts Academy alongside Dominic Terkowski.
All our Junior members are
very appreciative of the work carried out on the ground by the club’s volunteers over the years, led by Gay Clarke, and as a mark
of appreciation have purchased a bench, with monies raised by the youth section, to be sited on the
boundary.
On a personal note, the
2007 season was my last in charge of Attenborough Junior Section. I have thoroughly enjoyed being involved in youth cricket over
the last 12 years, the last 6 as the overall ‘Director of Youth Cricket’ at Attenborough. During this period we have seen the
Junior Section of the Club continue to develop to the benefit of young people in our community. Thank you to all those people who have contributed in making the Junior Section of Attenborough what it is
today, we are fortunate to have many willing volunteers to coach, manage and support our young cricketers. I would like to make
specific thanks to Elaine, Steve and Chris who have always given me their help, support and encouragement during my time
organizing the Youth Section. I know I leave a thriving, expanding Junior Section in good hands, being able to continue the good
practices on which we pride ourselves at Attenborough CC.
Nick
Allcoat
Director of Youth Cricket
Firework Night
Attenborough CC’s annual
Firework Display will this year take place on Saturday November 3rd. Gates open at 7pm, with the display due to
start at 8pm. As always, a barbeque and bar will be available on the night. Adult tickets are £3, children £1.50 and under
5’s are free. Do come along and support this annual event on what is sure to be an enjoyable evening for all the
family!
Christmas Prize Draw
This year’s annual
Christmas Prize Draw will take place on Thursday 20th December, starting at 8pm in the club
pavilion. Raffle tickets will be issued to all members for sale in the coming weeks. See Paul Chambers for more
details.
Senior Cricket
Despite the appalling
mid-season weather, 2007 ended on a high note for some of Attenborough Cricket Club’s senior teams. The situation looked grim at
the end of July with the ground under water, both the Saturday 1st and 2nd XI sides near or at the bottom of their respective
leagues, and virtually no cricket played for two months. However the last five weeks of the season proved a complete contrast to
the first five and all Attenborough sides played some fine cricket.
The Saturday 1st XI
finished a creditable 7th in SNCL Division 1A. After a promising start the team suffered at the hands of opposition’s overseas
stars and praise must go to Andy Simkiss and the team for turning things around without the aid of overseas help. The season
finished on a tremendous note as the team secured the club’s first senior trophy for 25 years by winning the Popkess
Cup.
Bryan Aplin’s last season
in charge of the Saturday 2nd XI proved to be a difficult one and the team never recovered from a nightmare start. After seven
weeks lost to weather they came back strongly and if were able to pull off a win in the last game would have been safe from
relegation. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, however no one should underestimate Big Bry’s contribution to the 2nd XI over many
seasons and his leadership will be sorely missed.
The 3rd XI had a mixed
season but were again ably run by Es and Garry, and have finally found a happy home at Long Lane. Some fine performances from
young lads such as Arjun Singh and Pete Bateman were encouraging for the future and the team maintained its Division 1K
status.
Martin Shoemaker’s Sunday
1st XI have again struggled due to the weather, availability of senior players, and an extended cup run which led to weakened
teams and cancellations. The upshot of this means that at the time of going to press
the team need to win their final fixture to avoid the drop. Let’s hope for better fortunes next season.
Finally, the Sunday 2nd XI. Stuart Carlisle’s white army marched through the season unbeaten. While Stuart himself opted for a more managerial role this year credit must go to some of the young players such as Cal Taylor and James Hallam for making it a tremendous season. Well done!
Coaching Courses
Details of the UKCC Level
1 and 2 coaching courses have been received.
The UKCC 1 course is being
run for the Broxtowe and Gedling District groups and takes place at Southglade Leisure Centre on Sunday 7,14, 28 October and 4 and
11 November.
The UKCC 2 course is held
at Trent Bridge and takes place on Sunday 4, 11, 18 and 25 November, with the RLSS and SPC modules on Wednesday 7
November.
Details are available from
Nick Allcoat. Anyone interested in starting a qualification or building on existing qualification should speak to Nick or Martin
Firbank, ASAP.
150 Club
The July, August and September 150 Club draws have been made. The winners are as follows:
July
1st 147 - P Shoemaker (£40)
2nd 137 - Miss P Johnson (£20)
3rd 40 - T Clarke (£10)
August
1st 66 - Mrs L Tomlinson (£40)
2nd 15 - P Chambers (£20)
3rd 148 - P & J Shoemaker (£10)
September
1st 101 - H Jackson (£40)
2nd 149 - K Shaddam (£20)
3rd 147 - P Shoemaker (£10)
Many Thanks
The charity cricket match
and fund raiser held at Attenborough CC on August 26th against Long Bennington raised £543 for the Children of Ladakh charity.
Many thanks goes to all those who contributed and helped raise funds on what was a great day for all
involved.
Club Diary
Saturday 6th October | Annual Dinner and
Presentation at Chilwell Manor Golf Club |
Saturday 3rd November | Firework display |
Friday 30th November | AGM at 7.30pm in the pavilion |
Thursday 20th December | Christmas Raffle in 8.00pm in the pavilion |