2020 has been a very difficult and different season to normal.
First of all the good news: We have retained the Stroud League Division 1 Champions Cup from last year as it is not relevant this year. It still sits proudly on the captain’s piano!
We arranged 3 pre season net sessions in March and April. The first one was held with social distancing in place. The other 2 were cancelled due to covid-19.
In March the square was in an awful condition. It was sodden and most of the post 2019 season seeding work had not borne fruit We had some time and when the weather improved and the square became dry enough in June so we worked on cutting, rolling, fertilising, seeding, watering when we had the dry spell and were in a position to provide pitches to play on should we be able to. We have been involved in discussions with the OHMG committee concerning the height, frequency and method of grass cutting done by the Parish Council. Sometimes, last season, the ground was not fit to play cricket on.
However, due to the OHMG not being available due to the Covid situation, we were unable to play any games at home. Our new sightscreens, funded by the Co-Op Communities fund, are still waiting for their first outing.
From mid-March until mid-July there was an almost daily barrage of emails from, amongst others, SDCA, GCB, ECB and the Government laying out the latest news, how it affected sports in general, cricket in particular. Some advice didn’t make sense, some conflicted with what had been sent before, some was just not relevant to a club of our size and standard, and some changed from day to day. Eventually, with the 1st game almost upon us and the last Covid team text ready to go out on the Thursday, we received another email from ECB with 33 things they had suddenly thought of! We picked the relevant bits out of that and we were away.
We were lucky to welcome several new players this season and we spread the captaincy amongst some of the younger players. Some older players kept well away following Government advice.
We had a pre-season friendly at Stinchcombe which we won convincingly with everyone getting a bat and all the bowlers having 4 overs or so. We were placed in the revised Stroud Premier League Group A with 5 other teams and played 7 games in total.
We will have an AGM in October; possibly the 22nd; probably over the internet, but the usual end of season dinner is most unlikely to happen.
Indoor nets will be arranged in March/April 2021 depending on the pandemic situation.
Pre season outdoor nets have been suggested. We don’t have outdoor nets at our ground so if anyone can suggest a way of accomplishing this please let us know.
Keith Dench (Chairman/Hon. Secretary) 01453-764990;
Roger Beese (Captain/Fixture Sec.) 01453 823128/07884438417.
You must be logged in to post a comment.