Happy New Year!  I hope that you and your families had a relaxing and enjoyable time over the Christmas period and are looking forward to what the New Year brings.

Following on from the AGM in November and having got through my first month (and survived my first Committee meeting) as Chairman, I wanted to send a message out to you at the start of 2023.

Indoor nets and winter training are up and running for the junior, senior and Starlings teams and it’s pleasing to see so many players and coaches getting involved.

Social Events

It was great to fill the pavilion for the pre-Christmas drinks at the Strand on 20 December.  Congratulations to those of you who were successful in the 150 Club Draw.  I am sure it was a nice early Christmas present.

In addition to the Tuesday evening bar openings, we have a number of social events being held at the Club over the coming weeks.

Friday 27 January             Pie and Quiz Night

Friday 17 February           Senior Cricket Social

Saturday 25 February      Comedy Night

Friday 17 March               Senior Cricket Social

Saturday 25 March          Race Night

Thanks to those who have helped with the organisation and we look forward to seeing as many people at the Club as possible for these events.

AGM

It was a privilege to be elected as Chairman at the Club at the AGM.  I would like to express my thanks to Paul Shoemaker for all the work he has done in the role and I look forward to working with the new Committee to build on this to take the Club forward.

Following the AGM, we confirmed that Richard Henson will take the lead on Senior Cricket, working closely with the Committee, the Cricket Committee, team captains and David Barr as Club Coach to plan and prepare for this season.  Richard has really hit the ground running with a huge amount of enthusiasm.  I have been really pleased to see the organisation around the indoor nets (particularly from Sam Henson and Arjun Sandhu) and am sure players will see the benefit of this going into the new season.

We also welcome Gemma Barton onto the Committee to represent the Starlings.  We have seen this part of the Club develop at a great pace over the last few years and it’s exciting to help support the plans to push things on into the future.

Senior Cricket Socials

As well as an opportunity to get everyone together during the winter, we want to use the socials to help build on the communication links between the Committee and the players.

I am very grateful to all those players who took the time to complete the Player Survey at the end of last year and asked questions at the AGM and we want to use these events to feedback on the actions which have been taken as a result.

I know Richard, David and the captains are keen to also use this time to help to plan for the new season and ensure that everyone is clear on the objectives and expectations and how we all work together to achieve our goals.

We will also have the opportunity to bring you up to speed on other areas of the Club including the financial position, developments with the Juniors and Starlings and on the ground.  Mike Aplin is keen to talk to you around how we manage the facilities at the Strand and listen to how he and the volunteer grounds’ team can help the players get the most out of the playing and practice areas.

The Committee are just starting on their journey to build our 5-year plan for the Club and these socials will also be the opportunity for the players to give their thoughts on what the Club should focus on over the next 1, 3 and 5 years.

Contact details

I have set up an email address – attenboroughcc.chairman1@gmail.com – so that if you have any thoughts, questions or observations that you want to let me know about you can do so.

I am very grateful to all members for what they put into making this Club so special and want to ensure that you have a voice and direct link into the Committee.

I look forward to catching up with you over the coming months and hope that it is not too long before we are all enjoying another summer of cricket at the Strand.

Best wishes

Martin