G’day everyone. This time 3 years ago I was in Melbourne, watching the Australian Open. My current life is a bit different, sat on my couch turning the heating up whilst researching a new car battery because mine is flat. Ah well. Remember, in these cold and dark times if you have any problems with your plumbing or heating, Ged Walsh at Southern Cross Plumbing & Heating is your man. Right - on to cricket business!

February is traditionally a relatively quiet month when it comes to the administrative side of the Club. Sub-committees have all met since January and reported back on their plans at the February meeting. We have clearly defined remits for sub-committees and the feedback received at the main meeting was really positive – everyone knows what their responsibilities are and will be working to make those things happen whilst main committee can hold sub-committees to account for their areas of responsibility.

There are lots of things in the pipeline and I am really pleased with the way in which our sub-committee chairs and members have all approached their respective areas. I think we will wait until we know a little bit more about how and when society is going to reopen before we update our members on everything social, but in the meantime you can keep your eyes peeled for some good news coming out in the next week or so with regard to sponsors, playing kit and subscription fees, all bits of news that I am sure will be very warmly received.

Those of you who managed to visit the ground last year may have noticed that we had some subsidence damage as a result of the storms early in 2020. We were successful in receiving some grant money to put this right, but then of course lockdown happened and a lot of 2020 was a little bit strange. I am pleased to be able to announce remedial works have started in the last few weeks and we are well on the way to repairing the damage to both the ground and the perimeter fencing.

The Club has invested in the practice facilities as you know from my last update, and our new netting has been ordered and should be at the Club in the next few weeks. I would like our players to acknowledge that we are investing in them, and make sure that we take good and proper care of our practice area and respect the investments that the club has made. We are planning to have a pre-season ‘players meeting’ in whatever possible format we can and again more details on that will be released in due course.

As mentioned – keep your eyes on our website and social feeds for some exciting upcoming news, and you will get a further update from me next month!

Andrew Micklethwaite
Chairman
Thornham Cricket Club