Slightly later than usual to allow for the return of cricket to be in my notes, here is your April update of all things TCC.

We are now two weeks into the season. Since my last update we have had the pre-season working weekend which was well supported by our members, an intra-club warm up (friendly is perhaps not the right word!), training facilities have reopened, junior training has commenced and the bar has been able to resume outdoor hospitality. It’s been a very busy month!

The situation regarding Covid-19 restrictions has obviously lessened in severity in recent weeks, yet there are still several things we as a club have to deal with, not least track and trace, outdoor table service, sanitisation and one-way systems etc. In one of our early training sessions I updated the players and the same message goes to the rest of the membership – you might not like it, but neither do we, this is what we have to do, we are doing our best and your patience is appreciated. A reminder that our club is run and operated by volunteers, and I expect nothing but the highest respect from everyone for those people who give up their time and effort for the love of the Club.

The pre-season working weekend went well and it is credit to our ground staff that after a difficult few weeks weather wise we got the ground up and running and looking in fantastic shape for the start of the season. Massive thanks must go to Cec, Nicole, Andy Towler ,Stan Kenyon and Andy Buckley amongst others (sorry if I have missed anyone). The intra-club warm up was really useful to get back out on the grass, remember fielding skills such as backing up and walking in, and understand how the body feels after a game! Now that the season has started in earnest, the First XI have won from 1 from 2, the Seconds have a 100% record so far in two very good games of cricket, whilst the Thirds are unfortuntately yet to record a victory. Follow us on CricHQ and our website/socials for all the cricket including match reports, but more important than that – if you want to know how the Club is doing get yourself down to a home game and have a beer!

Selection continues to be a problem as always – it is one of the hardest things to do at a cricket club. With that in mind we have selection criteria that we have laid down as important for dealing with dilemmas – including but not limited to performance, payment of subs, efforts off the field, attendance at training, attitude and behaviour. This takes up a lot of Captains’ time, so if you disagree with a decision please give it some thought as to why you think such a decision may have been taken, and then if you want have a chat with the Captain of the team at training. With the numbers of people wanting to play cricket that we have seen at practice there is looking like some serious scope for a possible Fourth XI on Sundays – this would be developmental/friendly and is something we are currently looking into so we can maximise the amount of cricket for our members.

Our sponsorship opportunities have been launched and this is a fantastic way for anyone to support their local club. I urge people to take a look; there are a range of opportunities available including boards on the fence, player sponsorship and match ball sponsorship. If our bar take is anything to go by in the last few weeks you will be reaching a large number of possible customers! All the information is available through the website. We want to be a club that is at the heart of the community, benefiting everyone and this is a great way to bring us all together.

One of the main priorities for our Committee is junior cricket, and it gives me great pleasure to announce the return of actual junior league cricket this week at Thornham. Under Chris McGrath’s tutelage, we have entered an under 11’s team in the Lancashire League competition, and after a period of little to no formal structured junior cricket at TCC this is an absolute delight. I wish Chris and his team all the best and hope they enjoy themselves, find a love for the sport and continue to play up through the age groups. If any parents or other juniors are interested in our junior programme, training is 6pm on Tuesdays. Parents, any help you could offer with training, umpiring, scoring etc would be very much appreciated.

We have also re-launched ladies rounders once more on a Monday evening – I’ve not been invited because of my status as an adult male, but I have been told that attendance was really good and it was a lot of fun. Ladies, if you want to get out and find a new hobby, make some new friends, and enjoy a bit of exercise in a laid back relaxed and friendly environment, get yourselves down on Monday evenings – just for fun and fitness!

Finally, some administrative news, which I will bullet point for the sake of clarity:
• A position has become available on our main Committee for someone to be co-opted until the AGM in December. If you are interested, please get in touch with me – more info on this will come out shortly.
• Membership cards are available for collection behind the bar. Membership cards entitle you to a discount at the bar. Please collect yours once you have paid your subs.
• Membership books are also available. Physical books are behind the bar – there is also an electronic copy which will be available to download on the website.
• We are on the lookout for a 3rd XI scorer. The payment for this is £20 and it will be Sunday afternoons – please get in touch with one of us if your child wants to earn a bit of cash whilst also learning a bit about the game.

That’s pretty much all from me – as always any questions please get in touch with a Committee member. As we get closer to the 17th of May and the possible further easing of Covid-19 restrictions we will update our plans via the website and social media feeds. Hope to see a lot of you members down supporting us over the coming weeks and months if the weather holds!