Yelverton Bohemians Cricket Club

        Welcome to 2012  

The nights are getting shorter, the days are getting longer and I suspect a cricket season is approaching.    

This year presents the club with a number of challenges which all members have an opportunity to contribute to.

On the playing side, we are continuing to recruit for new members to ensure our ability to field three competitive sides on a Saturday is maintained. This offers the widest variety of cricket for all standards of players and provides incentives to improve performances through the selection system. Westy is keen to use the platform of his first year of captaincy to strive towards the hallowed promotion spots. The second XI will be keen under the incognito BB to avenge the relegation blues and return from whence they came in the Devon League and the third XI under the new captaincy of Ben Spear will be looking to improve upon the third place in last year's Tamar League. Ben will undoubtedly draw from the multiple decades of experience of his dad and continue the good work being handed down the generations of Spears.

The seduction of new players into the club has been very positive, and a target squad of 50 members for the five senior teams to choose from would be ideal. The South Devon Sunday League side has offered up a further opportunity of competitive cricket for those who may not be able to commit to the Saturday leagues, while the Sunday schedule still affords some of the more traditional social matches the club has always enjoyed against the likes of Cheesewring and tour teams etc. Cunners will once again be guiding the sunday cricketers through the inaugural season.

The newly promoted P&D team will now compete in the top tier for their midweek soirees, and will continue to invest in the YBCC Youth for inspiration and success, hence the appointment of the Chairman, Bam Bam as captain. 'One to one' legside batting training is available on request.

The Academy, overseen by Paul Farnham, have a challenging year ahead to top the success from last season, with the Under-11 squad sweeping the board over the last two years. There are rumours of a YBCC cloning laboratory located in the back streets of Yelverton where these young players are manufactured as cricketing machines, though this could be just an urban myth. The under 13's and under 15's have yet to emulate their younger bretheren, but nevertheless the standard youth cricket at YBCC is testament to the investment in facilities and dedication of the coaches and managers who donate so much time to the cause. Many thanks to the parents as well for supporting their offspring and forcing themselves to the Friday BBQ's and having to drink wine and beer for the duration of the training sessions.

Not forgotten during the winter are the Indoor XI who continue to ply their cricketing trade during the inclement winter months and are currently third in the league.

This year the winter nets are being held at the new facility at Torbridge High School, Miller Way, Estover, with the first session on Sunday 29th January at 10.00 until 12.00. A slightly different departure from previous years, but hopefully more accessible for those coming off the moor. Please support these sessions as it will improve everyones early season performances, enable those few extra Christmas pounds to be worked off and it does cost the club money if attendance is poor.

This year is an even year so it must be time for a tour. The Dorset Olympic Tour at our usual Swanage venue will be on the 20th August 2012. Studland, Bere Regis and Swanage Cricket Clubs are booked and the fourth venue is a special mystery venue. The usual high jinks, 24 hour Challenge, Bag of Doom, Full Moon Club, Hat Day and the YBCC Open Golf tournament will be endured again, and for a change we will have a club member with a tour birthday. In fear of breaching the Data Protection Act I am unable to reveal his identity, but as tour doesn't fall on a Sunday it will not affect any captaincy issues.

Please keep an eye on the Facebook and Website for news of up and coming events and remember to continue the good work on recruitment. Any ideas, thoughts or desire to get more involved with any aspect of the club please feel free to contact members of the committee either through the website or by phone.

Many Thanks.

Geoff

Thank you to all that attended the recent AGM.

For those who were unable to attend, here is a brief summary of the proceedings:

• Officer reports presented.
• Clubmark, U-11 Colts success, P&D success, T20 success, were highlights of the year, whilst 2nd XI relegation was on the downside.
• 3 teams to be maintained on Saturdays provided recruitment is successful, decision to be reviewed in late January. Emphasis made on recruitment as essential to guarantee the fulfilling three fixtures each weekend and all members to be part of the process. South Devon League sunday cricket is an unknown quantity for us, but will afford some further competitive league cricket for members.
• Training to be moved to Thursday Nights.
• John Cowsill has decided to step down from Ground Secretary and reduce the amount of workload on himself next season. He has worked tirelessly since becoming Ground Secretary in 2004. The post is currently vacant and there will be more responsibility on senior captains and colts managers to ensure there is a wicket prepared for their games. This will involve spending a little more time at the ground and sharing jobs around. The Club thanks John for all his efforts over the years and he will still be around on a part time basis to continue to share his loam tales and machinery malfunction memories.
• A financial review will be carried out over the winter to analyse the club accounts. This year, although the accounts have remained steady, there has been some missed opportunities for revenue income and also some unneccesary expenditure. In addition there are some tax rebate possibilities to be investigated.
• Club Officer elections: Chairman: Geoff Willcocks, Vice Chairman: Chris Pearson, Secretary: Yasmin Warland, Treasurer: Geoff Brain, Fixtures Secretary: Ian Dawe, Ground Secretary: Vacant, Bar Manager: Steve Hosking, Club Welfare Officer: Helen Casey (tbc), Colts Representative: Chris Pearson, Club Development Officer: Geoff Willcocks, General Committee: Dave Gates & Alan Munton
• Playing Officers: 1st XI Captain: Rich West, 2nd XI Captain: Chris Pearson, 3rd XI Captain: Ben Spear, Sunday XI Captain: Iain Cunningham, Midweek XI Captain: Geoff Willcocks
• Brian Chetwynd continues in the role as President
• Gary and Sue Crompton have been made Vice Presidents of the Club.

There are probably further points I haven't mentioned here but these will be included in the minutes when issued.

So, please encourage new members to join in the close season and get involved in the indoor league over the winter and indoor nets in February.

Thanks, Geoff