You are reminded that clubs should advise Fixture Secretary Stuart Coker of any dates on Saturday during the 2023 season when your ground is unavailable to play a fixture.  Requests for permission to ask for a “free” Saturday for a Tour, Weddings, Stag/Hen Do’s etc will not be given.

There is now a deadline of October 31st beyond which date the fixtures will be finalised and it will be the responsibility of the club to arrange an alternate venue or make other arrangements.  You have been warned …….

We have looked again at the structure for next season as a result of several comments raised at the AGM.  The structure below reflects all that can be done for season 2023 – the MSC will send out an information request to all clubs during the close season to sound out their thoughts so that a decision can be made for the season 2024.

Proposed Divisions for 2023

The AGM will take place at Colchester Rugby Club on Monday 10th October at 7.30pm.  Clubs are reminded that attendance by at least one voting member per club is compulsory.  Others may attend but as a spectator only ……  Full details have been sent to your Championship Representative.

The Two Counties Presentation Dinner with our guest speaker Geoff Miller will take place on Saturday 12th November at Venue 16 in Ipswich from 7pm.  Several items will be auctioned on the night including the bat shown below.  This is personally signed by Sir Ian Botham (England’s best all-rounder), Sir Alastair Cook (England’s Top Test run getter of all time) and Jimmy Anderson (England’s leading Test wicket taker of all time).

Now this surely is a prize well worth winning…….!

We are pleased to announce the final details for the end of season dinner and awards night on the 12th of November at Venue 16 in Ipswich.  We will be welcoming former England, Derbyshire, and Essex cricketer Geoff Miller.  Geoff is known as one of the best after dinner speakers on the circuit. He played in 34 Test matches and 25 One Day Internationals for England between 1976 and 1984.  He played for Derbyshire from 1973 to 1986, captaining the side from 1979 to 1981 and returned in 1990 after playing for Essex between 1987 and 1989.  He was Chairman of the England selectors from 2008 to 2013 and was appointed President of Derbyshire C.C.C. in March 2014.

The awards ceremony will follow Geoff’s talk, each divisional winner throughout the competition and runners up in divisions 1-8 will receive their engraved trophies and pennants, with each of the regional division 9 winners receiving an engraved trophy and a pennant.

The night will begin with a three-course meal and the menu is attached to this email.  Following on from the dinner we will be hosting an Auction with some very prestigious items to be won, including a signed and framed Ben Stokes picture. There will also be a raffle going on throughout the night with the draw taking place at the end of the night.

We must stress that this event is open to ALL CLUBS and their guests and not just the clubs collecting a trophy, there has been some fantastic cricket played this summer within the spirit of the game and this is a chance to celebrate that!

To book your places for the night, please get your attendees to click on this link and fill in the survey by the 2nd November 2022 – https://s.surveyplanet.com/7vynnlpr   – If you are a guest not affiliated with a club, please name your organisation under the “cricket club” question.

There are no limitations on the number of attendees each club can have and the price is £35 per person for all of this.  Each club will be required to pay for their attendees either via bank transfer or cheque before the night.  We suggest bringing cheques to the AGM if possible.

If you have any queries or questions, please contact Scott Button via email (sbutton@hotmail.co.uk) or phone (07985668421)

We will look forward to seeing you all on the 12th of November

Scott Button

Two Counties MSC

So here is The Menu:     DinnerMenu2022

Follow the link to see promoted and relegated clubs for season 2022 subject to the completion and verification of scorecards on play-cricket …………..

http://twocounties.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Promotions-Relegations-20221.xlsx

Following a (somewhat belated) decision by the ECB we can confirm that all tomorrow’s scheduled matches will be played (subject of course to pitch conditions and the weather).  The full statement from the ECB can seen below…………..

“Cricket will resume on Saturday to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and honour her remarkable life and service.

Following the cancellation of Friday’s cricket fixtures as a mark of respect on announcement of her death, the England and Wales Cricket Board can confirm that play will resume from Saturday including international, domestic, and recreational fixtures. The decision has been taken after consultation with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and in line with Official National Mourning guidance.

This means the Men’s Test match between England and South Africa will begin at The Oval and the Women’s IT20 match between England and India will also go ahead at the Riverside in Durham. The scheduled match between England and Sri Lanka Men’s U19 along with recreational cricket fixtures will also take place as planned.

Before each match, a minute’s silence will be observed (followed by the national anthem). All players and coaches will wear black armbands. Branded inventory will be replaced with messaging paying cricket’s respects to The Queen.”

This was won by the Norfolk Alliance by 6 runs in an exciting match that went down to the last over.  Two Counties bowled first and restricted the Alliance batting early on and the shackles were only really removed when the middle order comprising Mark Jones (who we remember from his days at Felixtowe and Frinton) with a half century, partnered by Chris Cooper with 42.   The Alliance were bowled out for 209 in the 47^th over with local lad Jonah Handy a standout 7.4 overs 5 for 38 and the Clacton pair of Dan Williams and Imran Sheikh also amongst the wickets.

This seemed a very gettable target on an excellent Mildenhall track.  In the chase though wickets fell regularly with no-one able to take the game by the scruff of the neck and the Two Counties were unfortunately bowled out for 203, Mark Jones and Michael Seago with a couple of wickets each …….  Dan Williams and Imran Sheikh also contributed with the bat with 40 and 39 respectively and Graham Ford of Worlington got a useful 32 opening the batting.

Both teams clearly enjoyed the occasion and it is hoped to repeat the fixture next season.   Our thanks to Mildenhall CC for hosting and Lloyd Edwards and Rob Humphries for their work in getting the two teams together.  A useful and interesting add on to the occasion was the discussions that took place within the Two Counties team on the day about possible rule changes in Division 1 for next season and this will be followed up shortly by the MSC before the Two Counties AGM in October.

This weekend’s matches will almost certainly take place in similar condidtions to those earlier in the season……  All players and officials are asked to refer to my posting dated July 15th with regard to strategies that should be adopted by players and officials………

The Two Counties team for this match is as follows:

Lloyd Edwards (Coggeshall – Captain)
Tom Sinclair (Clacton)
Graham Ford (Worlington)
Ryan Vickery (Halstead)
Josh Wells (Halstead)
Tom Piddington (Hadleigh)
Daniel Williams (Clacton)
Imran Sheikh (Clacton)
Kane Addison (Coggeshall)
Lewis Millions (Hadleigh)
Jonah Handy (Mildenhall)

Looks a half decent team to me!  Should be good enough to claim the bragging rights??

All support welcome……………

Ipswich Cricket Club will be hosting The Colonel’s 12 over Tournament Day on Sunday 28th August 2022 at Clay Hall and you are invited to come along and enjoy the day with us.

Four teams will contest the tournament with the first round matches commencing at 10:15am followed by a cricket tea lunch between 12:30pm and 1:00 pm

The tournament will feature a round robin style league with everyone playing each other once. The top two sides will then contest the final. Roughly around 6pm.

Refreshments will be available all day from the bar. We will also be having a BBQ on from around 4pm till roughly 8pm, with a small charge for food.

Friends and families are all welcome

It would be great to see both new and old faces for the day and supporting the club as well as remembering the much loved Colonel (Paul Crane)

We look forward to seeing you and enjoying a great day of competitive cricket

John Howe (Secretary,  Ipswich Cricket Club)