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The Mitcham Cricket Club

Annual Report and Accounts

2020

Annual General Meeting

Thursday 26th November 2020

www.mitchamcricketclub.org

mitchamcricketclub@gmail.com

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About Us Mitcham Cricket Club have an active membership of senior players – usually fielding three senior league sides each week during the season and our ladies’ team – the Mitcham Sapphires. It also has a significant and growing junior section including three junior league teams. Most of the Club’s playing membership is drawn from the Merton area and the Club plays a vital role in enabling young people to play cricket as few have the facilities to access cricket through their schools. We also provide an important social hub for non-playing members, many of which are former players. Our membership has an age range of seven to over eighty. Our cricket pavilion is registered as an Asset of Community Value. Further, it is locally listed and in a conservation area. The pavilion is of heritage significance and has a long communal history. It was opened in 1904. Purpose built as a cricket pavilion, it has only ever been occupied by Mitcham Cricket Club. The neighbouring cricket ground, on which we play, is registered as a Town Green. There is good evidence that it is the oldest continuously used cricket ground in the world. We can trace its use for cricket back to at least 1685. The Green is also an important recreational asset in the Wandle Valley Regional Park. The Cricket Green in Mitcham also has global importance in the history of cricket for a variety of reasons – reflected in its inclusion in Remarkable Cricket Grounds of the World (Brian Levison, Pavilion Books 2016). The Green was a place where cricket was regularly played prior to the formalisation of the rules of the game. In the 19th and 20th centuries it has played host to international matches – the Club and its Green acted as a training base for the first Australian national Test teams touring England; women’s international cricket has also been played there. Mitcham players played a key role in setting up the Surrey County Cricket Club, many Mitcham players played for Surrey. Mitcham Club members have also represented England in men’s and women’s cricket.

Maintaining the Ground

Lockdown put pay to our usual pre-season clear up of our shed, pavilion and grounds. For the first time in years we did not have the big April clear out. We are grateful to Facilities Manager Alan and Groundsman Andy for continuing to look after our ground and buildings largely unaided this season. Alan has installed paper towel dispensers in our toilets to help us keep players COVID safe. We also thank those who made sure the equipment was regularly cleaned (and dried in the sun!). And thanks to Joyce Bellamy for keeping the area round the pavilion weed free during lockdown!

Mitcham Sapphires Sadly ladies cricket was very severely impacted by COVID in 2020 – there was no organised softball activity for the Sapphires to participate in. That and additional COVID related work/family pressures on many of our regular players meant that the Sapphires were in suspension for 2020. It was a delight to see a good number of girls among the All Stars this year – some weeks we were 50/50 girls/boys. These “mini-Sapphires” made good progress with their cricket development. Here are a few of them with our Sapphires captain at the end of their final All Stars match. We are still looking to grow our membership. If you know of anyone who might want to give cricket a try, please encourage them to contact Julia via mitchamcricketclub@gmail.com.

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Agenda AGM 8pm Thursday 26th November 2020

1. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 28th November 2019 to be

received and confirmed.

2. Chairman’s Review of 2020

3. President’s Address

4. Annual Report and Statement of Accounts 2020 to be received and adopted.

5. Presentation of Awards for 2020

Memorial Awards Dhyey Patel Niven Wasala

Burn Bullock Tankard David Bell

Fred Cole Cup Selvanygan Suganthan

Pat Batty Players’ Award Sheyash Patel

Hazel Sanders Medal Anna Betteridge

6. Election of President

The Executive Committee nominates D M Smith to serve as President.

7. Election of Vice Presidents

The Executive Committee nominates the following to serve as Vice-Presidents:

C L Bashford* P D Batty* D Bell Mrs J Bellamy MBE* K Bond A Gault OBE* Mrs J Gault CBE E J Green* R M Hines*

R Humphreys K Jones* J Mansfield C A Peacock* J C Rattle D Seymour M Short P G Smart B Smith R A Stevens

J Strover* T Todd D Webb P White-Young* Mrs R Williams M J Wilson J C Wray* *Life Member

Plus new nominations for Vice President – Matt Devon and Martin Gouma

8. Election of Life Members The Executive nominates David Bell and Julia Gault CBE as new Life Members

9. Election of Officers

Office Nomination Office Nomination

Chair P White-Young Ladies Captain J Gault

Hon Secretary J Gault 1st XI Vice-Captain S Patel

Hon Treasurer A Gault 2nd XI Vice-Captain tbc

Hon Fixture Secretary tba 3rd XI Vice-Captain A Wood

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Cricket Committee Chair P White Young Ladies Vice Captain L Finnegan

1st XI Captain A Razzaq Junior Cricket Manager D Bell

2nd XI Captain H Patel Welfare Officer K Jones

3rd XI Captain M Gouma Head of Junior Coaching A Gault

10. Election of Executive Committee (all officers listed above plus J Strover and Alan

Hutchings)

11. Appointment of Examiner

The Executive Committee nominates Roshni Gocol as Examiner of the Accounts.

12. Consideration of Amendments to Club Constitution (see pages 27 & 28)

a. Amendment group 1 – to enable application for alcohol licence

b. Amendment group 2 – Club Awards

c. Amendment group 3 – Emergency Amendment powers

d. Amendment group 4 - Miscellaneous

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Minutes of Mitcham Cricket Club AGM

Held 8pm Thursday 28h November 2019

Present

1. The following full members of the Club were present

Peter White Young (Chair) David M Smith (President) David Bell Adrian Gault (Treasurer) Shaz Mahmood Fred Day Joan Day Dennis Seymour sr Dennis Seymour jr Joyce Bellamy Matt Devon

John Strover Ken Jones Juliet Day John Mansfield Barbara Mansfield Alan Hutchings Jeffrey Southgate A Kaleem Faraz Kaleem Maywon Niazi Julia Gault (Hon Secretary)

Apologies

2. Apologies were received from John Wray, Pat Batty, Lindsay Bashford, Richard Parboo,

James Gault, William Gault, Don McKinlay, Father David Pennells, Caroline Muller

Carpenter, Ahsan Khan and Martin Gouma.

Gwyn Williams 3. Peter White Young expressed the Club sorrow at the news of the recent sad passing of

Gwyn Williams. Life Member and Club Vice President Gwyn had served as Club Treasurer from 2003 – 2011 and had supported behind the scenes in a variety of other voluntary roles – including doing teas with his wife Rosemary. PWY shared details of the funeral arrangements and it was agreed that these should be posted on the Club website.

Minutes of 2018 AGM

4. Matt Devon queried why the minutes did not record the proposal made that the recipient

of the Pat Batty award should receive a year’s free membership of the Club. Julia Gault

confirmed that this was because this proposal had not been notified in advance to the

membership as required by the Club Constitution, so it was not a valid item for

discussion at the 2018 AGM. It had also not been notified to members for discussion at

the 2019 AGM so could not be considered at that meeting either. It was agreed that the

proposal should be put in the appropriate fashion to the 2020 AGM.

5. Jeff Southgate proposed and Fred Day seconded that the minutes of the Annual

General Meeting held on Thursday 29th November 2018 were received and confirmed

as a true record. This was agreed unanimously.

Chairman’s Update

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6. Peter White Young updated members on the progress with securing the Club’s tenure of

the pavilion. He confirmed that there had not been any further meetings with the

representatives of the Freeholder since March 2019. Their architects have confirmed

that they were currently considering the feasibility of a care home for the Burn Bullock

site. During 2019 the control of Phoenix Grp Investments Ltd had been purchased by

Anon Properties.

7. As in 2018, the Burn Bullock remained at risk. There were still 30 squatters in

residence. It was still the subject of a number of enforcement notices and it would take

significant sums to make the building good.

8. Frustrated by the lack of progress, the Club had recently met Councillor Martin Whelton

(the LB Merton Cabinet Lead for Regeneration, Housing and Transport) to discuss

options for the Council to help resolve the impasse. It was agreed that the Council

would:

• Uphold the joint statement of support for the continuation of cricket on the Green

• Strengthen references to continued cricket on the Green in the Local Plan

• Consider further action on enforcement relating to the Burn Bullock

• Consider initiating a compulsory purchase of the site if there was no change – on

the understanding that the Club would take responsibility for their current

footprint.

Councillor Whelton agreed to seek further advice from officers on these points and get

back in touch with the Club on next steps.

9. In response to questions PWY confirmed that compulsory purchase of the whole site

and the cricket club portion of the site had both been discussed.

Treasurer’s Report

10. Adrian Gault thanked Fred Day and Roshni Gocol for their help in preparing the

examined accounts which were presented to members present. He confirmed that the

main difference between the version of the accounts circulated before the meeting and

the examined version tabled on the night was the treatment of depreciation. This

needed to be applied to all fixed assets and when included the accounts reflected a loss

– this meant that the Club was not making provision to replace these assets.

11. Donations remained an important source of income for the Club – notably those from

Joyce Bellamy, Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage and the Mitcham

Society; and also a number obtained from local businesses by Alan Hutchings.

12. Income from junior memberships were as expected. The All Stars had brought in

income above expectations due to larger numbers and a slight increase in price. Senior

player subscriptions were broadly similar to 2018.

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13. Ground maintenance was the main area for expenditure – in response to questions it

was confirmed that around £2000 of the ground maintenance costs were for the cutting

of the outfield by Idverde. Heating and fuel costs were lower than previous years –

possibly because improved monitoring had enabled the Club to avoid the immersion

heater being left on unnecessarily.

14. Fred Day highlighted that the examiner should have signed the accounts. It was agreed

that this would be pursued after the AGM.

15. John Strover asked why there were no bad debts recorded as written off for 2019.

Adrian Gault confirmed that the 2018 accounts reflected provision made for unpaid

annual subscriptions which it was believed would be collected, but had subsequently

proved uncollectable. In the light of this experience, no such provision had been made

for further years so there was no bad debt to record as written off.

16. Alan Hutchings proposed that the accounts be accepted and Dennis Seymour jr

seconded this.

Awards

17. The President presented Club awards for 2019 as follows:

Memorial Awards Maywan Niazi Faraz Kaleem

18. David Bell summarised that Maywan had been this season’s U16 captain and was a

great leader. He was a special player - a fantastic batsman and always takes wickets.

In the 2019 fixture against Streatham and Marlborough CC Maywan had batted down

the order and played a match winning innings, which had resulted in the loss of three

balls! Faraz was a big hitting batsman who had also been with the Club for many years.

He had also captained junior teams in the past and in 2019 had made his senior team

debut.

19. Peter White Young highlighted that there had been a number of candidates considered

for the Burn Bullock Tankard and the Fred Cole Cup this year.

20. The Fred Cole Cup for 2019 was awarded by the President to Matt Devon reflecting his

contribution to the Club over a number of years in a range of roles.

21. The Burn Bullock Tankard for 2019 was awarded to Nora Khan who had been a stalwart

of cricket teas for several years – and her teas are legendary.

22. The Pat Batty Award 2019 was made to Abdur Razzaq.

Election of President

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23. The Executive Committee were pleased to nominate David Smith to serve for a further

year as the Club’s President. His election was welcomed unanimously by all members

present. David Smith agreed to serve a further year as President.

24. He commented that in 2018 he had seen the hard work that goes into running a cricket

club and drew attention to the phenomenal amount done by the Club Chair Peter White

Young.

Election of Officers

25. The following individuals were elected to serve as Club Officers for 2018:

Office Individual Elected Proposed Seconded

President David M Smith Executive Unanimously

Vice Presidents The list shown below were re-elected

Jeff Southgate Dennis Seymour sr

Chair P. White-Young David Smith Unanimously

Hon. Secretary Mrs J. Gault Peter White Young Shaz Mahmood

Hon Treasurer Adrian Gault Fred Day John Strover

Hon Fixture Secretary

No nomination

Chair of Cricket Committee

No nomination

Junior Secretary David Bell Adrian Gault Ken Jones

Head of Junior Coaching

Adrian Gault David Bell Matt Devon

1st XI Captain Shaz Mahmood David Smith Matt Devon

2nd XI Captain Richard Parboo Shaz Mahmood Matt Devon

3rd XI Captain Matt Devon Dennis Seymour sr Den Seymour jr

Ladies XI Captain Julia Gault Peter White Young Alan Hutchings

T20 Captain No nominations

1st XI Vice Captain Abdur Razzaq Shaz Mahmood Dennis Seymour sr

2nd XI Vice Captain Shreyash Patel Matt Devon Shaz Mahmood

3rd XI Vice Captain Selva Suganthan Matt Devon Shaz Mahmood

Ladies Vice Captain Leah Finnegan Julia Gault John Mansfield

Welfare Officer K. Jones Peter White Young David Bell

The following were re-elected to serve as Vice President

C L Bashford* P D Batty* D Bell Mrs J Bellamy MBE K Bond F G Day* A Gault* Mrs J Gault E J Green* R M Hines*

R Humphreys K Jones* J Mansfield C A Peacock* J C Rattle D Seymour M Short P G Smart B Smith

R A Stevens J Strover T Todd D Webb P White-Young* Mrs R Williams M J Wilson J C Wray* *Life Member

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26. There were no nominations for new Vice Presidents. The Executive proposed two new

Life Memberships should be awarded – both to long standing members who had also

served as Vice Presidents for several years. The first nomination was for John Strover

who had been the longstanding link between the Club and Mitcham Cricket Green

Community and Heritage. The second was for Joyce Bellamy who had been an

unstinting supporter of junior and ladies cricket at the Club including sponsoring the

junior awards for a number of years. Both nominations were agreed unanimously.

Executive Committee

27. Peter White Young noted that the Executive Committee proposed to continue with the

existing ex-officio members – John Strover, Alan Hutchings and Shellina Finnegan. This

was carried on bloc by the assembled membership.

Appointment of Examiner

28. Adrian Gault nominated Roshni Gocol as examiner for the accounts, this was seconded

by Alan Hutchings.

Any other Business

29. Alan Hutchings encouraged those present to attend the 17th January event run at the

Golf Club to raise funds for the Club.

30. The Chair closed the meeting at 9.25pm.

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Mitcham Cricket Club Chairman’s Report 2020

It has been an unprecedented year. At one point it didn’t look like we would get any cricket

– but in the end we had a lively if shortened season. We fielded two teams in the Surrey

Championship Challenge Cup, entered the Surrey Slam T20 competition and had more

visiting teams for Sunday friendlies than perhaps we have had in recent years. We also

managed to offer cricket to our junior section. We completed the All Stars programme for a

small group of 5-8 year olds and ran regular training for 8-14s including some friendlies and

interclub matches. It was great for all ages to be on our historic Green maintaining our 335-

year record of continuous play, even if the cricket was socially distanced and peppered with

sanitizer breaks!

The tenure of the pavilion remains unresolved and a continued frustration. We have now

not had any communication from Phoenix Grp Investments Ltd since March 2019. At that

time both their representative and their architect indicated they were in discussion with a

provider about the viability of putting a care home on the back carpark but incorporating the

Burn Bullock.

We were in 2019 quoted a price for the purchase of a reduced footprint for the Pavilion, but

excluding the Equipment Shed that was three times over the independent valuation of our

current all-inclusive footprint. Phoenix’s representative was clear that this figure was driven

by the gap in their finances rather than by the intrinsic value of our Pavilion and Shed.

During 2020 the architect has confirmed to us that they are no longer retained, but that they

have explored a range of options including a Care Home, a Hotel and Residential Provision

all involving the Burn Bullock. It was clarified that none of these are now being actively

pursued.

It would seem that Phoenix has itself been taken over by another company – Anon

Investments. Anon Investments appears to be majority owned by someone who was

previously introduced to us as a representative of Westbury Investments – the putative joint

venture partners for the hotel proposal.

I have recently written again to Phoenix’s representative asking for a market value price for

the Pavilion and Equipment Shed but have had no response.

The Burn Bullock remains on Heritage England’s at-risk register and occupied by squatters.

The Executive Committee has not currently taken this any further not least because there is

still not an agreed plan for the rest of the site. We continue to work closely with the

Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage Group and with the Mitcham Society in all

of this and remain grateful for their support.

Recognising the forthcoming change of Leadership at Merton Council I have again written

to the outgoing Leader thanking him for his previous support and asking that this level of

support should remain going forward recognising that the Council has had other priorities

throughout this year.

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In terms of cricket itself we were only able to return to training from July, but limited firstly to

pairs and then groups of six. This resulted in training being better organised with a better

turnout than previously.

Senior League Cricket, as we know it was scrapped for this season with no promotion or

relegation. A joint Surrey Championship and Fullers League Cup Competition was

introduced with small groups selected to minimise travelling. For this season we chose to

only enter two teams to both save costs (no hire cost for our third team ground) and to

recognise the difficulty of individuals availability. Additionally, we entered the midweek

Surrey Slam T20 Competition.

The pavilion remained closed with the exception of the toilets and no teas were provided.

Whilst social distancing prevailed and sanitisation breaks were required every six overs we

did have competitive cricket played in a good spirit. It was good to see a number of

spectators particularly at the T20 games on the green with a good link to Tooting and

Mitcham FC.

Junior cricket was particularly restricted with there being no junior league competitions this

year. The “All Stars” section did run with very limited numbers, as fewer coaches were

available due to shielding. Sunday training was well attended although numbers had to be

controlled to ensure social distancing rules were adhered to. Some friendlies were played

and it was good to be able to give juniors an outlet in a year where their lives have been

seriously constrained.

The Ladies Section was for this year in suspension, however the junior girls kept the

Sapphires flag flying. The senior Sapphires hope and expect to be back in 2021.

I should again thank Andy Goulding for his work on the square throughout the season and

in carrying out all the end of season work.

Given all of the issues relating to the Pandemic our fundraising opportunities this year have

been seriously curtailed. For those that remember our New Year social was as enjoyable as

ever. We are grateful to contributors to our Covid appeal, which reached nearly £1,000.

David Bell was able to sell refreshments from the score box area to our spectators and

players.

We received a grant from the Wimbledon Foundation for Junior Equipment and Coaching

plus a grant from the ECB “Return to Cricket” fund as a contribution to replacing our score

box.

Adrian Gault has completed his next Mitcham cricket related publication “James Southerton

– The Man of Three Counties”, available on Amazon – a possible Christmas gift?

As ever the club has been kept running by our volunteers. Our Executive Committee has

continued to meet virtually, with more regular attendance from players at meetings.

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Way back in January we heard the news that our Hon Treasurer and Head of Junior

Coaching Adrian Gault had received a very well-deserved OBE for services to Climate

Change and in recognition of his voluntary work with our Club. But it didn’t stop there…as

Julia Gault our Hon Secretary and Sapphires Captain has to be massively congratulated on

her receipt of a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for both her outstanding work as a

Senior Civil Servant but also for her service to the Community of Mitcham. In addition, Julia

has qualified as a level two coach, which bodes well for the future of the Sapphires and the

wider Club. Additionally one other parent is working towards this coaching qualification.

Joyce Bellamy has continued as our “Neighbourhood Watch” regularly checking the

security of the pavilion in addition to keeping the pavilion surrounds tidy.

We owe a great debt to Alan Hutchings for his work on our facilities and in particular

emergency repair work on our site screens. Alan is continuing his work towards our licence

application.

MVCS have kindly allowed us to hold over the funding for our Young Volunteers scheme to

2021.

The club is always on the search for new players of all levels of ability. We will have a new

position of Players Membership Secretary for next year that will assist us with signing up

any new players.

Additionally we are always looking for new volunteers whether as umpires or scorers

(training for these roles is available), making teas on match days, helping socials and all

forms of fundraising generally, or with ground and building maintenance.

Our big challenge remains raising sufficient funding so that if we have the opportunity to

purchase the Pavilion and Shed we can do that…and also refurbish them.

I look forward with hope for a full fixture list in 2021which will be our 336th season on the

green and to seeing as many people as possible at games - with our running three senior

league sides, a T20 side, Sunday friendlies, a full junior programme and the return of the

Sapphires.

Thank you.

Peter White Young

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Team Reports

In 2020 the normal league arrangements were suspended and a Challenge Cup

competition was put in its place. Mitcham entered two teams in the Cup. We also entered

our Mitcham Warriors team into the Surrey Slam T20 competition.

1st XI Final Cup Table Result

Played Won Lost con ab Bat Points

Bowl Points

Points

London Gymkhana CC 7 6 0 0 1 0 0 124

Old Tenisonians CC 7 6 1 0 0 1 0 121

Mitcham CC 7 4 2 0 1 1 3 88

Woodmansterne CC 7 3 3 0 1 0 3 67

Ewell CC 7 2 4 0 1 1 6 51

Merton CC 7 2 5 0 0 2 8 50

Wandgas CC 7 1 4 0 1 0 4 48

Morden CC 7 0 5 1 1 3 8 5*

*After penalty points deducted

2nd XI Report – Captain Richard Parboo

Despite C19 restricting our season the 2nd XI produced exciting cricket in their eight cup

games, winning 3 times (Woodmansterne CC away was a particular favourite with the

skipper!) with one match sadly abandoned from a winning position at Morden CC.

Valuable lessons were learnt around maintaining concentration throughout our fielding

innings, as regularly opposition teams were able to kick-on during death overs taking the

game away.

A core of senior players (Alston, Matt Devon, Uncle, Martin and Heeran) provided a nucleus

for the 2s with energetic support from our two young newcomers Niven and Dhanveer

contributing with both bat and ball. Special mentions to Mathan, Idris and Sami Abdul for

regularly performing in our middle order, consistently providing a much-needed batting

engine room. Each of these players displayed maturity helping build the innings by running

singles and building partnerships.

It was a pleasure to lead the team during these testing times and I am excited to regroup in

2021 enjoying this group succeed…and needless to say winning more games!

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2nd XI Final Cup Table Result

Played won lost con abnd Bat Points

Bowl Points

Points

Ewell CC 7 5 0 0 1 0 0 124

London Gymkhana CC

7 5 1 0 1 1 0 105

Merton CC 7 4 3 0 0 1 7 88

Woodmansterne CC 7 3 3 0 1 1 9 74

Wandgas CC 7 3 3 0 1 1 4 69

Mitcham CC 7 3 3 0 1 1 2 67

Morden CC 7 1 5 0 1 4 5 33

Old Tenisonians CC 7 0 6 1 0 0 7 7

Sunday Eleven Report – our special correspondent Matt Devon

Following the decision not to enter a 3rd XI into the Challenge Cup a refocus on the Sunday Eleven took place. Ably led by Selvanygan Suganthan (Uncle), the side included a mix of members unable to play regular league cricket, junior players coming through the ranks and those keen to get some match practice in.

Mitcham played host to several sides including Wimbledon Corinthians, Roehampton CC and local rivals Merton CC. All the matches were played in good spirits and were well contested, with Mitcham winning all but one of the games.

There were a number of standout performances throughout the season, with special mention for Divyish, Haris, Alston and Mathan with their consistency with both bat and ball. The side also saw emerging talents Dhanveer, Niven and Umar show their potential for the coming seasons ahead, which was great to see. We look forward to hosting even more Sunday sides in 2020.

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Pat Batty Award 2020

This year's winner of the Pat Batty Award for Mitcham's senior cricket player of the year, showed consistency throughout the season to finish in the top two for both total runs and wickets for the Club. In addition, he topped the most dismissals for an outfielder with 5 catches and 2 run outs. Crucial innings played were made for both the first eleven and T20 sides on a regular basis. Including a high score of 61* and best bowling of 4-27. That player was Shreyash Patel, congratulations to him! Here he is accepting his award from 3rd XI captain Matt Devon. Runners up for this year's award were: Abdur Razzaq - Last season’s Pat Batty Award winner had another fine season with both bat and ball.

Haris Qureshi - A number of solid batting displays and exceptional fielding. Mohammad Aftab - Showed consistency behind the stumps and contributed regularly at the top of the order. Well done to all the players mentioned above and congratulations again to Shreyash Patel.

Mitcham Sapphires Report

Yet again over the winter there was only sporadic interest from the senior Sapphires in attending training…which ended early due to the imposition of the lockdown in March. Once the restrictions started to ease it was difficult for the senior Sapphires to prioritise training given their work and family commitments. This was compounded by the absence of any organised women’s cricket in the county…indeed it was almost insulting that the ECB decided to designate September as women’s cricket month as if to make clear what an afterthought the women’s game still remains! As Captain I joined senior training once that commenced outside – where I was able to work on my bowling, batting and catching skills. I also put my coaching training into use including helping the 1st XI wicket keeper blow the cobwebs off his gloves! We did however have a good show of girls training regularly as part of this year’s All Stars group (5-8 year olds). These mini-Sapphires worked hard on their batting, bowling and fielding skills and made real progress. By the final session several of

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them were developing proper bowling actions and hitting the ball some distance both to leg and off. In these strange times it’s felt important to maintain as many Club traditions as possible. The Hazel Sanders Medal for Most Improved Female Player may be a comparatively new tradition, but nevertheless it sends an important signal of the value the Club places on its female section. So, after careful consideration, the 2020 Hazel Sanders Medal is awarded to Anna Betteridge from the All Stars. The mini-Sapphires are a real prospect for the future. We hope that in 2021 we will be able to offer Dynamos cricket (8-11 year olds’ scheme) and that they will continue to participate through that. It continues to be a privilege to lead the female section of the Club. Our ambitious plans for 2020 were thwarted by COVID, but we are looking forward now and hope the girls will be back in force in 2021 at senior and junior level and better than ever. If you know of anyone that would like to give cricket a go, we would welcome any new recruits.

Julia Gault Sapphires Captain

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Junior Report 2020 Our ethos for junior cricket at Mitcham is to give a safe and memorable cricket experience to children regardless of their ability. In the toughest year any of us can remember, many of our plans were put on hold. But we were pleased to be able to run around 30 sessions during the second half of the summer, giving our juniors an important outlet during the restrictions of the pandemic. This year’s winter junior indoor training, which this year moved from Rutlish School to Archbishop Lanfranc School, was well attended. But training ended early when the lockdown was introduced in March. We were eventually able to return to outdoor training from July 1st. The restrictions meant a few changes to our normal training sessions: numbers were capped, sanitizer breaks were added and social distancing rules were observed. In spite of the shorter sessions and smaller groups, enthusiasm was high and we saw some promising players emerge. As well as regular Sunday morning sessions, a new Friday night hard-ball training session - using our retractable nets - proved popular and continued into September. Sadly the introduction of the new Surrey Junior Cricket League which was planned to unify the junior cricket leagues across Surrey was postponed until next year. We hope to enter three teams in the League when we return in 2021. Only the under-12s managed any competitive cricket (see below), with the older juniors confined to practice matches and the nets. Another victim of the shorter season was the new Mitcham Young Leaders scheme which has been postponed to 2021. We would like to thank our sponsors Merton Voluntary Services Council for their understanding. With the addition of Julia (and hopefully Michael) as qualified coaches, additional parents helping out on Sunday mornings, new evening training sessions for older juniors and the integration of more of the graduates from the All Stars programme, the club is confident that junior cricket will return stronger in 2021. ALL STARS The 2020 All Stars programme, the ECB’s flagship mass participation scheme for 5 to 8 year olds, was delayed by the lockdown. The programme at Mitcham CC, which has been awarded 5-stars in a survey of parents, had continued to grow since it was introduced in 2017. But with uncertainty over whether the course would run at all, numbers were down to just 16 when we finally got underway on 28 July. In spite of the smaller numbers the kids again enjoyed a great summer of cricket, with many of the older children opting to join the Mitcham juniors at the end of season training. Again, All Stars proved popular with girls, and a group of promising junior Sapphires bodes well for the growth of girls cricket at Mitcham.

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We were indebted to James and William Gault who helped out at the training sessions, and to all the parents who came and supported the kids on Sunday mornings and encouraged them to practise their new skills through the weeks. The introduction of the new ECB Dynamos programme, aimed at 8-11 year olds, was cancelled by the ECB due to the pandemic. We look forward to participating in the programme when it finally starts in 2021.

David Bell Under 12

The under 12s managed to get three twenty-over games in, home and away to Sinjungrammarians and away at Purley. The Purley game had the most exciting finish. Our 114-7 was good, with Captain Michael Davidson’s 28 and Ayaan Abaid’s 30 (retired) the main contributions. For much of Purley’s reply it did not look like being quite enough. But tight bowling towards the end, from Rayan, Abhishek and maidens from Ahmed and Aditya, meant that 7 were still needed from the last over from Ridham. With a wicket on the penultimate ball, Purley needed 2 to win off the last ball. They scrambled a single for a tied game. Honours were shared with Sinjuns over the 2 games. In the first game, away, Sinjuns finished 106-7, with wickets shared between Rudra, Michael, Rayan, Aditya and Ahmed, and a run out by Niyamat. Mitcham reached the target, with 4 wickets down, in only 13 overs. Ayaan made 13, Dasun 19, and Ahmed 33 (retired). The home game was a different story. Chasing a big score of 180, we were never in with a shout, batting out the 20 overs but finishing with 9 wickets down on 110. There were, however, first wickets of the season for Sujal and Rishi, and Ayaan batted well again, with 44 not out. It is a shame the season was so truncated, but everyone who played made a contribution and enjoyed themselves. Congratulations to Michael, whose name will go up on the u12 captain’s shield.

Adrian Gault

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Fred Day 8th March 1938 - 2020

In June the Club was saddened to hear of the death of lifelong member Fred Day, after a recurring illness, at the age of 82. A graduate of Mitcham Grammar School, Fred first appeared in Mitcham 3rd XI in the mid-1950s, encouraged by father Fred “Nobby” Day, himself a long standing Mitcham player. After two years’ national service, the 1959 season saw Fred junior installed as a reliable and consistent no.3 batsman in the 2nd XI. 1959 was his best season for the Club - scoring 545 runs with an average around 30, including a fine 94 against Honor Oak. He remained one of the backbones of the “twos” for over 20 years, regularly aggregating over 300 runs and serving as

Captain for six seasons. The early 1980s saw Fred stepping down into the 3rd XI where he enjoyed four seasons scoring prolifically before retiring in the late 1980s. Fred had started playing Sunday cricket for Bishopsford, along with many other Mitcham players, in an era before Mitcham had a Sunday side. He remained loyal to “Bish” throughout, enjoying well over 30 seasons as a stalwart batsman in that most sociable of company. Off the field Fred availed his experience as an accountant, serving as Treasurer between 1962 and 1964, on several sub-committees and as Auditor for “more years than I care to remember”. Right up to last year, a regular feature of Club AGMs was Fred’s forensic cross-questioning of the Accounts, keeping the Treasurer of the day on his toes. Elected a Vice President in 1988 and latterly a Life Member, Fred remained very loyal and supportive of the Club for some 65 years. A laid-back character, Fred never seemed to have regrets about not progressing further into Mitcham’s 1st XI. Fielding was never Fred’s favourite pastime but on his rare appearances at 1st team level, his batting was rarely found wanting. He played superbly against Sunbury’s left arm seamer Arthur Hughes, then one of the best bowlers on the circuit, and in a rare appearance on a Sunday, he scored 62 against a Reading side full of Minor County players including seamer David Laitt, then a highly regarded regular in the combined Minor Counties XI. Another triumph came when guesting for Eaton Swaby’s XI against Mitcham – Fred coped so easily with Dennis Marriott (then at his peak) that Dennis was prompted to query why Fred had spent so much time in 2nd XI cricket. High praise indeed. A solid, dependable character, Fred is sorely missed – even by the Treasurer!

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Kingston Anthony Murray 7th October 1950 – 4th April 2020

The Club was also saddened by the passing of former 1st XI player Kingston Murray in April. Paceman, Grenada born Kingston played for Mitcham CC between 1976 and 1978. He was a member of our 1978 team that won the Surrey Championship for the 4th time (we've not won it since). Kingston played at a national level for Grenada. He is remembered as one of the greatest fast bowlers Grenada has ever produced. Vice Captain of that 1st XI team, Ewan Green recalls: Kingston was very fast by club standards. I remember a social function at East Molesey. They had a precocious 16 year old opening batsman called Duncan Pauline who had

already made an impression with Surrey 2nd XI. In conversation with Pat (then the 1st XI Captain) and myself, Duncan enquired as to how fast Kingston Murray was (his reputation had been circulating). With a straight face, Pat said "he's about as fast as Wayne Daniel (the West Indian Test player who was skittling all the counties out at the time), no-one is good enough to hook his bouncer". This was something of an exaggeration but one which the young aspirant clearly noted. When we came to play East Molesey, Pat told Kingston to bowl three balls pitched up at three quarter pace and then fire in a quick bouncer. This he did and Duncan was half way through his hook shot when it hit him on the glove and dollied up to short leg. A quite brilliant con by Pat. The other recollection I have is when he flattened the Dulwich opener with a bouncer. The man in question was a bald-headed George Murray who had played for Western Australia! So Kingston could boast some top quality scalps.

The Mitcham CC yearbook report on the 1976 season noted that the introduction of Kingston Murray would make our bowling attack more hostile and varied; and states that he was easily the fastest bowler on the circuit. But Kingston lived in Acton and his work commitments meant that he was only available on alternative weeks. Even playing only 14 matches that season he racked up 37 wickets including 6 for 37 against Dulwich and a further six-fer against Sunbury. In 1978 he took 21 wickets over the Championship winning season, including 7 for 39 against Sutton (at one point he was 6 for 19 in seven overs). After playing for Mitcham CC he became the opening bowler for Islands CC (a predominantly Grenadian club based in Perivale N London). Islands CC merged with another local Club to form Island Vale CC. Kingston remained involved with Island Vale CC until his death – becoming their club President for the last decade of his life. Kingston is sadly missed by a large family and a wide range of cricket team mates.

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Mitcham Cricket Green Community &

Heritage takes an active interest in the

future of the Cricket Green

Conservation Area and its environs.

We are the civic society for this part of

Merton and part of the wider civic

movement through membership of the

national charity Civic Voice. We have

a very close and longstanding bond

with Mitcham Cricket Club.

While a full season of cricket wasn’t possible this year, we were delighted to

see play, so that the record of continuous cricket on our historic green remains

unbroken. We continue to take a central role in discussions with the owner of

the pavilion, working towards securing its future in the hands of the club, and

its continued use as a community facility. We remain confident of a positive

outcome.

Despite the challenges, Mitcham Heritage Day took place on 12 September

and although the pavilion had to remain closed, there was the spectacle of

cricket on the Green. There is no getting away from how difficult this year has

been for all of us, but it was great to see so many local organisations get

involved on the 12 September. Thanks to the players, volunteers and

supporters for the effort they put in to Mitcham Heritage Day.

MCGC&H is active in its efforts to support and sustain the whole of the Cricket

Green Conservation Area and its environs, and working with MCC only

represents part of what we do. If in turn you would like to support us then

please do consider becoming a member. You will find a membership form at

http://mitchamcricketgreen.org.uk/join/.

John Strover

Chair

Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage

General enquiries: info@mitchamcricketgreen.org.uk

Web site: www.mitchamcricketgreen.org.uk

Twitter: @MitchamCrktGrn

Postal address: c/o MVSC, Vestry Hall, 336/338 London Road, Mitcham

Surrey, CR4 3UD

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Treasurer’s Report - Treasurer Adrian Gault

In a difficult year, the key thing to report is that we have kept afloat. This is principally a reflection of two sources - a £10,000 COVID Small Business Grant and the donations received from our supporters, including in response to our COVID-19 appeal. We have broadly broken even over the year (a loss of £102), including making provision for depreciation (compared with last year a loss of £4,932). Income totalled £22,621, as against £20,256 in 2019. If we take out the £10,000 grant, it was £12,621, which is perhaps a clearer indication of how COVID-19 impacted us. Income from socials, fundraising, subs (senior and junior), All Stars, sponsors, donations and ground hire-outs were all down. None of this is surprising. In a curtailed season, the Executive decided to adjust the payment system for senior players. Some seniors paid the usual annual subscription up-front (for which particular thanks) and then a reduced match fee for the games in which they played. Others paid an enhanced match fee, which contributed also towards the annual sub. Overall, from many fewer games, this means that match fees received this year (with no teas) was similar (£1,687) to the amount received (net of expenditure on teas) last year (£1,668). Receipts should have been higher - unfortunately too many players still failed to pay what they should. The coming year, 2021, is the last year that I will be willing for my name to go forward in the election for Treasurer unless significant progress is made in addressing the problem of non-payment by senior players. Although donations were lower this year (£3,888) than last (£5,309), some of the activities that have in previous years been a source of donations were curtailed by COVID-19. The response to our appeal for help in light of COVID-19 was generous (£953), with substantial contributions also from the Golf Day event at the start of the year, and honorary members, including in particular Joyce Bellamy. The donations also include more than £1,000 from the Day family for donations made in memory of their father Fred Day. Aside from his playing contribution over many years, Fred was a previous Club Treasurer. Many a subsequent Treasurer has faced his questions at the AGM - with the interests of the Club at heart - about the way in which a particular item may have been recorded, or checking how everything added up. I will always be grateful for his help in trying to knock things into shape over the last few years. We are also grateful to the Wimbledon Foundation for a grant of £1561 received for junior cricket. A part of this has been spent, on various items of equipment including balls, indoor stumps, flex wickets, Katchet, and training bats. This will enable us to improve our training offer to juniors. A remaining part of the grant is reserved for junior coaching spend next year. We were able to contain expenditures a little, totalling £22,723 as against £25,188 last year. But many costs continued as before. The main expenditure related to ground maintenance (£11,430 as against £10,550 last year). Within this, grass-cutting costs were reduced by the later start to the season. Insurance and utilities costs continued. Ground hire costs were reduced through not hiring the Dundonald Road Ground for a 3rd XI, which we hope to

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resume next year. With limited sessions for juniors, we did not buy-in help with Sunday coaching. League fees were reduced. Minor equipment costs include the junior equipment bought with the Wimbledon Foundation Grant. The overall balance sheet is little changed, reflecting the broad break-even on income and expenditure over the year. The valuation of fixed assets is reduced by depreciation, roughly matched by the increase in financial assets (bank and savings accounts). Monies owed (creditors), principally for ground maintenance work not billed until after the end of the period, have largely been paid. The remaining part of the Wimbledon Foundation Grant is recorded as accrued income, because it must be used for junior coaching next year. Also in accrued income is £900 of advance annual subs for 2021 received from senior players, requested by the Executive as a mark of commitment for the coming season. Debtors to the Club includes £900 outstanding from the online ticket sales for the Comedy Night in 2018. The Executive is proceeding with a small claims court claim to attempt to recover this sum. The Club also operates a fighting fund, which is detailed in Note 2 to the accounts. This fighting fund is there to support actions that may be needed to secure the future of the Club on its current site - not to cover day to day running of the Club. With the closing of the Gofundme online account, with the amount within this (£1595) transferred to the Club’s main bank current account, the amount within this fighting fund is shown less than last year. The intention is to transfer this amount back into the Club’s investment account and thereby restore the amount in the fighting fund.

Adrian Gault Hon Treasurer

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INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2020

EXPENDITURE £, 2020 £, 2019 INCOME £, 2020 £, 2019

Pavilion rent 400 400 Socials 800 1651

Ground maintenance 11430 10550 Fundraising 1728 2236

Pavilion maintenance 129 76 Junior subs 733 3031

Utilities 844 884 Senior subs 1224 2544

Insurance 1391 1274 Ladies subs 50 259

Affiliation fees 239 1048 Hon.subs 370 159

Minor equipment 1527 1167 All Stars 381 967

Awards 230 497 Donations 2935 5309

Print & stationery 318 336 Gift Aid/Grants 11366 773

Ground hire 872 2465 Match day surplus 1687 1668

Junior coaching 0 1187 Ads & sponsors 0 360

Misc. 549 511 Donations (Covid-19) 953 0

Bad debts w/o 0 0 Ground hire 275 925

Depreciation 4793 4793 Misc 0 146

Interest 118 228

__________________

22621 20256

Deficit for year -102 -4932

__________________ __________________

22723 25188 22723 25188

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Notes to the accounts overleaf

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 30TH SEPTEMBER 2020

£, 2020 £, 2019 £, 2020 £, 2019

Fixed assets (note 1) 29935 34728

General fund

Balance b/fwd 34656 39588 Current assets

Equipment addition 0 0 Bank balance 12400 5527

Transfer from fighting fund 1595 0 Savings account 310 310

___________________ Cash in hand 1130 1421

36251 39588 Debtors 1355 1470

Less deficit for year -102 -4932 Stock 480 480

36149 34656 15675 9208

Current liabilities

Accrued income 1655 0

Rent fund 4200 3800

Other creditors 2120 3718

7975 7518 45610 43936

Fighting Fund 51030 52792 Fighting fund (note 2) 49553 51030

95163 94966 95163 94966

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2020

NOTE 1 £, F&F £, M & EQUIP £, TOTAL

Cost or valuation @30/9/18 7200 33533 40733

Additions - - -

Cost or valuation @30/9/20 7200 33533 40733

Depreciation @01/10/19 1440 4565 6005

Charge for year @30/9/20 1440 3353 4793

Cumulative depreciation @30/9/20 2880 7918 10798

Net book value @30/9/20 4320 25615 29935

Net book value @ 01/10/19 5760 28968 34728

NOTE 2 The club also operates a fighting fund as detailed below

£

Balance 1/10/2019 51030

Transfer to bank account - 1595

Donations -

Interest 118

Balance 30/09/2020 49553

Comprising:

Lloyds interest account 30387

Gofundme online 0

Lloyds current account 19166

49553

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Proposed Constitution Changes

Group 1 – To support Application for Alcohol Licence

These amendments add a reference to a new Bar Subcommittee to Rule 9 which allows the

Executive to delegate functions to subcommittees. They also add a set of regulations in a

new Appendix 6 which govern the activities of the Bar Subcommittee.

9.6.3 To ensure compliance with the Licencing Act 2003, the running of the Club Bar facilities shall come under the authority of the Bar Sub-Committee which will operate in accordance with Appendix 6.

Appendix 6 – Operation of Bar Subcommittee & Compliance with Licencing Act 2003 1. The Bar Subcommittee set up by and reporting to the Executive under rule 9.6.3 shall

be responsible for supporting the Licenced Person to run the club bar facilities in accordance with the Licencing Act 2003.

2. The Bar subcommittee shall have at least 5 members. The Bar subcommittee shall be appointed by the Executive and be made up of members of the Club who are at least 18 years old.

3. For the purposes of the Club and no other, the Bar Subcommittee may purchase

alcohol for the use of the Club. 4. The Bar Subcommittee is responsible for agreeing with the Licenced Person, an

appropriate individual or individuals to act as Bar Supervisor when the bar facilities are open at the Club.

5. When a Bar Supervisor has authority for the bar facilities, he/she must ensure that the

appropriate requirements of the Licencing Act 2003 are complied with. 6. The Bar Supervisor who is in authority while the bar is open, shall ensure that the bar

is left secure, clean and tidy at closing time and that the pavilion is secured (including the toilets).

7. The Bar Supervisor (as well as the Licenced Person) shall have the right to expel any

person using the bar facilities who is deemed to be causing a nuisance to others. 8. Any member who has been expelled under regulation 7 above may be subject to the

Disciplinary procedure and powers set out in Rule 10 of the Club constitution.

9. No persons or organisations other than the Club can benefit from the profits from the bar facilities. The use of any profits is governed by the requirements of Rule 2 of the Club constitution.

Group 2 – Club Awards

These amendments make changes to Appendix 5 which governs the Club’s annual awards.

They make clear that all award winners must comply with Club rules and regulations and

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any relevant Codes of Conduct. They also add the Pat Batty Award to the list of annual

awards and provide that the award winner should be selected by the senior players and

should receive one year’s free membership.

Addition to Regulation 3. Nominees must meet the conditions of the relevant award and also be compliant with Rule 5.9 as to their wider conduct.

The Pat Batty Award

13. The award shall be presented annually by the Club to the senior playing member who in the opinion of the senior players, has been the outstanding player of the season.

14. The award will take the form of a year’s free membership following the year of selection.

Group 3 – Emergency Amendment Powers

These amendments add provisions to Rule 14 which enable essential changes to be made

to the constitution so that the Club remains compliant with the law or other requirements,

should it not be possible to hold a General Meeting. They also make changes to the

regulations in Appendix 3 which make clear that it is legitimate for a General Meeting to be

conducted digitally (instead of through a physical meeting.

14.2If for some reason it is not possible for the Club to hold a General Meeting, and there are urgent amendments required to these Rules to maintain compliance with the general law or other significant practice changes, then the Executive Committee shall have the power to change the Rules, as appropriate. Any such changes or amendments must be ratified at the earliest possible opportunity by a General Meeting and in accordance with 14.1.

New regulation in Appendix 3.

3. For the avoidance of doubt, in the event that a physical meeting of the Club members is not possible, it is acceptable for the AGM to be conducted via a digital meeting platform (e.g. Skype). The quorum requirements are unchanged by this.

Group 4 – Miscellaneous Amendments which update language

This group of amendments make small changes to update the language in the constitution to ensure that it reflects current practice and terminology

• Changes to rule 5 make clear that applications for membership may be made online

• References to the Colts Manager are changed to Junior Cricket Manager

• Various references to annual accounts make clear that they are required to be examined (rather than audited) and signed.

• Amendments to the regulations in Appendix 1 clarify that match fees are due for matches that have started even if they are subsequently abandoned.

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James Southerton – the Man of Three Counties

Freshly published with all profits going to Club funds is the new book by Club Treasurer Adrian Gault. Despite his important role in the development of international cricket, there has not been a biography written on former Mitcham player James Southerton…until now. Southerton played for England in the first two Test matches ever. He holds records that will never be broken - the first Test cricketer to die; and records that could yet be broken, but have stood so far since 1877 - the oldest man to make his Test debut (49 years and 119 days).

Born in Petworth, in 1827, his family moved to Mitcham as a child. He grew up playing cricket on Mitcham Cricket Green. A barber by trade, he played as much cricket as he could, reflecting his love of the game, but also to make money. A devoted family man, he would travel wherever he could demand a wage. Beginning as a batsman and medium-fast bowler, very late in his career he turned to slow bowling and achieved a level of success never previously achieved, taking a prodigious number of wickets season after season (100 wickets in a season ten times). In the years before qualification rules were applied, he turned out for Sussex, where he was born, Surrey, where his permanent residence was, and Hampshire, where he was employed for some years at the Antelope Ground. One year he played for all three counties in the same season. Southerton played with and against W.G. Grace on many occasions. He was a member of Grace's touring side to Australia in 1873-74. There was a heavy respect between the two, though arguments too and Southerton expressed his own view of Grace that he was "a damn bad captain". Subsequently, he joined Lillywhite's tour to Australia and New Zealand where he played in the 2 games against XIs of Australia, at Melbourne in 1877, which were subsequently labelled the first Test matches. Towards the end of his playing career, Southerton became landlord of The Cricketers pub, opposite Mitcham Green. Having formed a connection with Southerton on his tours overseas, the Australian touring side of 1878 came to Mitcham for practice and doubtless enjoyed hospitality in The Cricketers which they used as a base. Southerton saw the pub as his source of income as his playing days came to an end. However, only months after retirement, though he was still employed as superintendent of ground bowlers at the Oval, he succumbed to an attack of pleurisy. Thousands attended his funeral. "A thoroughly respectable, self-reliant, good sort was James Southerton", said Charles Alcock, Secretary of Surrey. He is buried in the graveyard at Mitcham Parish Church. Drawing on contemporary newspaper accounts and Southerton's own writing Adrian’s book tells more of this stubborn, but well respected man of cricket. You can purchase the book on Amazon for £12.95 – find it by searching “Southerton”

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Dates for your Diary 2021

1st January 2021 Subscriptions Due

January Annual dinner dance – date tbc Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage members, MCC members and friends enjoy an evening of music, dancing, socialising and more. A contribution from the proceeds of this event is donated to MCC. Enquiries to info@mitchamcricketgreen.org.uk

February [Junior and Ladies winter training]

March 2021 Fixture book available

[6th ]April Prepare the Ground day – we need all players to come down and help

get things ready for the 2020 season.

25th April 10am - start of weekly junior training on the Green

31st May All subscriptions for existing members must be paid in full or a

suitable instalment arrangement be in place by this date

September Parents v Juniors Match – date tbc

September Mitcham Heritage Day – pavilion open to the public – date tbc

September Annual Awards Night – date to be confirmed

25th November Annual General Meeting - 8pm in the Pavilion.

Keep up to date with us:

On the web at www.mitchamcricketclub.org

@MitchamCC

To subscribe to our e-newsletter contact:

mitchamcricketclub@gmail.com

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Rediscovered History Early in 2020 the Club received a donation from the widow of Ken Burgess of a collection of Mitcham CC related items including a full set of several decades of yearbooks. Among the treasures was the badge from Ken’s Club blazer – a beautiful piece of hand embroidery. The badge is of a design which predates the one we currently use (which you can find on the front cover). To preserve this part of the Club’s history we arranged to have a photograph of the badge converted into a graphic so we can reproduce it when we want to. At least one current Club member has suggested that we might want to revert to this badge design!

Fundraising 2020 Our fundraising activities were severely impacted by the pandemic this year. The New Year event took place as usual, but the Golf Day was cancelled due to the lockdown and the limits on social gatherings limited other options. We launched a COVID Appeal which raised nearly a grand. We were also saddened, but grateful to benefit from the donations made in memory of Fred Day which were collected by his family for the Club which amounted to over £1000. We secured a grant from the Wimbledon Foundation to support skills development in our junior section. This enabled the purchase of much needed equipment, there are also funds to invest in coach training.

Our Volunteers Honoured

In a year of unprecedented events, we were delighted to discover that two of our Vice Presidents have been honoured by the Queen. In January Adrian Gault received an OBE in the New Years honours for his services to addressing climate change as well as his volunteering as junior coach and Treasurer at our Club. In October we heard that Julia Gault had been awarded a CBE in the (belated) Queen’s Birthday honours for public service (in the Departments for Work and Pensions and Education as well as the Cabinet Office) and services to the community in Mitcham – the latter aspect reflecting her service in many roles for the club including Club Secretary. Julia has also this year secured her level 2 coaching qualification so joins our growing coaching team. We add our congratulations to them both.

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Fighting for Survival The fight to save our pavilion continued through 2020. We were unable to make significant progress with our landlord – although we have yet again attempted to open up a dialogue with them. We received more coverage in the media with an online item published in the South West Londoner in October highlighting our continued plight.

Raise Money for us When You Shop Online

If you plan to do your Christmas shopping online then signing up for easyfundraising could give a great Xmas gift to the club - and not cost you a penny. We've now got 24 supporters signed up helping us raise funds through Easyfundraising - who between them have raised nearly £1000 since the Club joined the scheme. While this is great, the more members and friends we get to sign up the more funds we will raise. This will be a good way to continue to help the club over the winter while you wait for the new season to start again next spring!

It is free and easy to open an easyfundraising account at www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/mitchamcc/. Each time you want to buy from your favourite online retailer you just go to their site through the easyfundraising website. For each purchase the retailer will make a donation to the Club. It costs you nothing you get your goods at the same bargain price you would otherwise pay. Loads of the most popular retailers can be accessed through easyfundraising like Amazon and eBay. Go on sign up today! If you don’t shop online, do you have family or friends who might be willing to support us this way?

Mitcham CC Christmas Gifts

Only available through the Club are our enamel badges. You cannot buy these in the shops. They are about 25mm (1 inch) long. Buy one for yourself to wear your Mitcham Cricket Club connection with pride or give as a novel gift for family and friends. You can buy one from the Club Secretary Julia Gault at the AGM for £2. Or send us £2.80 get one by post. Gift Honorary Memberships are also available for 2020 for £20 (inc P + P) and include a badge and membership certificate. Cheques should be made payable to Mitcham Cricket Club and sent to Julia Gault 4 Salisbury Ave Cheam Surrey SM1 2DQ From the same address you can also purchase copies of the two booklets about eminent Mitcham players – Outstanding and Outstanding II. You can also get our latest publication A Rare Ovation about the 1919 match and players. Find out more about what happened when the Australian Imperial Forces Team came to the Green. We also have new supplies of Club Caps at £10 each and Club ties at £15 each.