1st XI Sat
1st XI Sun
2nd XI Sat
2nd XI Sun
3rd XI
4th XI
Ladies
Colts

Ashford Cricket Club is very fortunate to be associated with Ashford Sports Club and to be able to lease wonderful facilities, which are the envy of many other clubs around. The Clubhouse and other social facilities are first class while the cricket squares and outfields have still to reach maturity. These facilities will improve as time passes and with it will come much needed success.

The playing facilities at Short Lane are adequate for all levels of Surrey Championship cricket. I accept that they are not perfect but it is amazing when I listen to some of the criticisms. No one has been bowled out for a ridiculously low score at Ashford due to the pitch, no one (to my knowledge) has been hurt and there are very few complaints from our opponents. Is it perhaps a lack of application from our own members and the inability to adapt to a pitch that is slightly slower than we would like it to be? There have been many scores in excess of 200 this season so there cannot be too much wrong with the pitch!

I am convinced, and I have said it in this letter for the last few years, that practice is vital if we wish to improve our cricket. Players cannot complain about poor pitches and poor team performances when hardly any of the Club attends practice. I can speak from experience that there were probably only about half a dozen regular 1^st/2^nd XI members that attended the scheduled Tuesday evening practices. I am certain that this lack of practice and lack of teamwork has contributed an enormous amount to the team's on-the-field effort this year.

The various captains' reports are attached and I will not offer any additional thoughts other than to say that Ashford is not a Division 3 club. Every single member, playing and non-playing must sit back and reflect on the last two seasons and ask the question "what can I do now and in the future to help Ashford Cricket Club return to a higher division"?

The Sunday and non-league cricket results were slightly better than the league matches and again, reports are attached.

The Ladies cricket section has continued this season and at present the "membership" list stands at 19 names. This is considerably lower than we had hoped but if we take into account the number of girls from 2000 who have not played this year, it shows a reasonable recruitment success. Let us hope this will continue next year.

The ladies had a disappointing time on the field in that of 12 friendly fixtures arranged, only two were actually played. Many fell foul to the weather and two were fixture mix-ups. In the two matches played, we beat Normandy but lost to the same side in the return fixture. Many thanks to Bethan for doing a considerable amount of the administration work.

The Colts section had their usual ups and downs but one thing I do know is that the future of Ashford Cricket Club undoubtedly lies in the youngsters and the senior members must therefore commit more effort to help them. Proper coaching can only be provided if senior players and parents put in more help on practice and match nights. In addition, the senior players must set an example to our youngsters on match days and during matches so that they can learn the correct "etiquette" of cricket. It is disappointing to see some of the poor habits that are creeping into cricket at Ashford.

On behalf of the whole Club I should like to offer a very big word of thanks to all the Colts managers and organisers. Thanks to Peter Davies (U17), John Swain (U15), Paul Cousens(U13) and to Peter Cottrell (U9) and to everyone else who helped the Colts this year.

On the subject of voluntary help, the whole Sports Club desperately needs more volunteers. We need people to man the bar, to work on the ground, to look after the administration, etc. If you think you can help in any way, no matter how small, please let your committee know.

Ashford Cricket Club has a long and proud tradition of entertaining overseas players, mainly from Australia, and providing them with a good standard of club cricket. Unfortunately over the last couple of years, this has not worked out properly and in both cases, our overseas player left us after only a few weeks. In the 2000 season Terry Crittenden returned home for domestic reason while this season Jeremy Bayer moved on to Skegness Cricket Club after only a month at Ashford, again due to domestic influences.

The Club enjoyed its usual tour to South Devon at the beginning of June and this year was a momentous occasion. Firstly the whole week passed without any interruptions for rain (the first such tour for a few years) and secondly it was Dennis Cornwell's 50^th consecutive Devon Tour with Ashford. This milestone was celebrated both after the match at Exeter on the Wednesday (Dennis bowled 5 overs) and at the end-of-tour meal on the Thursday evening. Congratulations Dennis, may there be many more!

I am pleased to say that the social calendar is now returning to its Woodthorpe Road levels and this season there have been two successful Quiz Nights, a Bar-B-Cue, President's Day and a Race Night. All have been enjoyable events, each has made a positive contribution to club funds and all have been reasonably well attended. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those directly involved in organising these events. Thanks in particular to Adrian Chessman, Paul Frost and Kevin Lambert for their input.

The Club's finances have again been in the reliable hands of John Hartwell. It is very reassuring to know that your funds are under such careful scrutiny. The Club has a reasonable healthy balance at present but we must not sit on our laurels. The annual turnover is considerable and we only just balance our expenditure with our income.

I am well aware that there have been some membership problems this season and, on behalf of Linda Barnes our Membership Secretary, I should like to apologise. However, not all the problems are of our making and if members would pay their subs when they are due and complete the form correctly as requested, there would be far fewer problems. Please try to help yourselves a little more next year.

Adrian Chessman is again organising the Cricket Club's Annual Dinner, which this year will be held at the Thames Lodge Hotel in Staines on Friday, November 23.

Please make sure that we get a good turnout so reserve your tickets early by contacting Adrian (01784 245079 or 07958 565057). I am sure you will all enjoy a wonderful evening like last year.

The AGM is in the week immediately after the dinner. If you have any gripes or there is something you want to say about Ashford Cricket Club, then get it off your chest. Come along to the AGM on Wednesday, November 28 at the Clubhouse in Short Lane.

Ashford Sports Club is currently going through a difficult phase that could probably have been better anticipated but unfortunately, was not. After the euphoria of moving to our new premises and all the associated excitement, comes the reality that the Development has to work and the Sports Club has to be able to "make ends meet". The simple facts are that, at present, not enough people are using the social facilities during the week and the Sports Club has been unable to let the sporting facilities as much as it would like. Hence the request above for more voluntary input. Moves are also apace to ensure the Cricket and Hockey Clubs have a greater controlling influence in the operation of the Short Lane site.

I should like to thank the whole of the Committee for their support during the last year, not only to me but also to the whole Club and special thanks to Adrian for all the efforts he has made during the season.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped me in my 10 years as Chairman of Ashford Cricket Club. Ten years is a very long time and this, coupled with the unfortunate results on the field this season, has caused me to think very hard about the future. I have decided that it is time to hand on the Chairman's reigns to someone with new ideas and perhaps some novel thoughts about stemming the slide and ensuring that Ashford bounces back in the very near future.

I have enjoyed every minute of the last ten years (I know it sometimes does not show!) and I will continue to do everything I can to assist Ashford Cricket Club succeed in the future in whatever role I can. However, I may be doing this from more of a background position rather the usual foreground one.

I hope you all have a good winter and good luck to everyone for next season.