We regret to advise you of the death of Trevor Merrell – he was a long standing and popular umpire on the Two Counties panel over very many years.  Our sympathies are extended to son Keith and all other members of the family at this difficult time. Funeral arrangements will be posted when they are available.

Following inappropriate conduct at the recent Two Counties dinner and an independent review conducted by Essex Cricket in the Community (Dan Feist, Phil Knappett) and Suffolk Cricket Limited (Rob Jones), the Auctioneer, Chair (on behalf of MSC) and Secretary have been asked and agreed to send written apologies to Frinton CC.

Please remember if any member club(s) are unhappy with the conduct of an individual or the MSC committee as a whole then they can can exercise their rights to call for an Special General meeting as outlined in Two Counties rule 9b A Special General Meeting shall be called by the Secretary at the request of six or more Clubs. Any items that require a decision will be decided at the meeting and shall be declared carried if more than 50% of member clubs voting are in favour.

I can confirm that all apologies have now been made

The rules for the 2023 season are to be found under the Rules tab on the website …..

Items where there are changes are highlighted in boldface and some are just in wording or reflect an up to date situation.

However you are asked to play particular attention to:

1. Changes in Rules 13a governing Player Loans.
2. Under Rule 13g the Youth Mobility Visa ban is removed.
3. Rule 14e now states that Umpires Expenses must now be paid before the start of the match.
4. Rule 14g introduces a Powerplay in the first 10 overs of the 50 over competition in Division 1. This reflects the wishes of the players’ survey taken some time ago.
5. The changes to Rule 15c reflect a tightening up of the wording regarding the time allocated to matches where there are Panel Umpires as well as the MSC desire to speed things up.
6. The points deduction for infringements specified in Rule 20 is now removed but the MSC will at their make additional fines for continual violations on a scale to be published shortly. Points deduction will be reinstated for the season 2024 should this new system be abused.

This information will also be sent out to Championship Representatives by email.

There has been serious damage to the clubhouse at Easton CC and, apparently, the insurers are refusing to pay out, leaving the club with a substantial sum to find to sort things before the start of the season.  Should any member or club wish to help by making a donation then follow the link below……

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/easton-cc-clubhouse

 

 

TRIBUTES have been paid to Bob Cunnell, who has passed away at the age of 80.

Bob was Suffolk’s most successful Minor Counties captain, leading the county to Championship wins in both 1977 and 1979.  He passed away on January 12th after developing pneumonia.  Bob had been suffering from advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease in Orwell Nursing home.

Bob, who was born in Ipswich on July 16^th 1942 and attended Northgate Grammar School, played club cricket for Ipswich side Browns, Saxmundham and Copdock.  He was also a widely-respected cricket coach.

He was the first cricket coach of former Suffolk batter and current Suffolk CCC Chairman Andrew Squire, who said: “Bob or RE, as he was also known, was not only Suffolk’s most successful ever captain, but he was a fine cricketer too.  Yes, he had some excellent players at his disposal as a captain, but because he was prepared to lose in order to win a game, Suffolk pulled off some remarkable victories under his leadership.

Bob will be fondly remembered by all who knew him in cricketing circles and our condolences go out to his family at this sad time.”

Suffolk CCC President Tony Warrington, who played both Suffolk’s Championship-winning sides, said: “Bob was a very good captain both tactically and in managing his team.

In two-day cricket you have to be prepared to lose in order to win which means you need to take risks and Bob was a risk taker. He would rarely set the opposition more than four runs an over to chase in their second innings to keep them interested and more often than not Suffolk would win.”

Bob made his Suffolk debut in 1960 versus Lincolnshire and went on to play 167 matches in the Minor Counties Championship.

Only fellow former captains Phil Caley (220) and Simon Clements (184) together with the county’s all-time leading wicket-taker Cyril Perkins (181) have made more Minor Counties appearances for Suffolk.

He also captained Suffolk in their Gillette Cup tie away to Sussex in 1979 when they came close to causing a major upset, losing by just two wickets.

Bob taught at Chantry High School in Ipswich for 39 years and received a BT Teacher award for Lifetime Achievement upon his retirement in 2002.  He is survived by his wife Jennie, sister Wendy, son Nick and daughter Sophie and grand-daughter Julia Ann.

Bob’s funeral will be held at Seven Hills Crematorium on Thursday, February 16th at 11.15am. Donations in support of Parkinson’s UK can be made via

http://robertcunnell.muchloved.com

(My thanks go to Nick Garnham for much of the content of this post.)

The following have been added to the Rules tab on the website……

ECB Safeguarding

ECB Anti Discriminatory code

The ECB General Conduct for Recreational Cricket is also on the Rules tab.  This is a long document covering many aspects but players/captains and officials are advised to look at Paragraph 6 and Appendix 3 for the latest on discipline.  The MSC is determined to improve behaviour both on and off the field of play and firm steps, with the help of the Umpires’ Panel, will be taken to achieve this.

Paragraph 23 of the ECB General Conduct deals with the abuse of Social Media and should also be read and applied.  Emails, postings and tweets even if they are club based or by individuls are all subject to sanction.  Please beware and think carefully of the implications before you post or tweet.

At this year’s AGM the question was raised regarding the number of teams playing and the possibility of more regionalisation. It was agreed that the MSC would conduct a survey to find out exactly what the clubs want.

Therefore could all clubs please email the Secretary with their thoughts relating to the list below?

• Further regionalisation from Division 7 down.
• A reduction in the number of teams from Division 7 down.
• A reduction in the number of teams throughout the Championship to a maximum of 10 per division.
• An extension of the current loan system to allow loans to loans to take place for all teams from Division 7 down.

Even though most of the questions above relate to Division 7 down, the views of all clubs would be appreciated as this give an overview of the thoughts of the entire Championship.

It would be useful to know even if you want the status quo to remain. Though any change will not take place until season 2024 an answer by the end of February would enable the MSC to start to plan ahead and look at possible options.

Saturday League Fixtures were issued to Championship reps and fixture secretaries in early December. Any clubs wishing to change the date of a fixture need to get in touch with their opposition and arrange a mutually convenient alternative date – this must be within the parameters of the season – 15th April to 9th September. Once this is agreed both clubs need to email fixtures@twocountiescricket.co.uk and Rick Jones with the relevant details. This needs to be done by mid January and certainly no later than the end of this month.

We hope to add all these fixtures to the play cricket site within the next few weeks.

Stuart Coker

This will take place on Wednesday 11th January 2023 at West Suffolk Crematorium followed by the Wake at Ravenswood Hall, Blackthorn, IP30 9JA

The MSC wish you well and hope that you enjoy the festivities….  Roll on next season……….!!

I am indebted to Martin White for the obituary below:

 

Cricket in the region has suffered a massive blow with the sudden death of Gordon Rayner.

He was taken to West Suffolk Hospital last Tuesday after being found unwell at his Hengrave home and died on Friday. He was 81.

For nearly 30 years, Gordon served with distinction as an umpire on the Two Counties’ Championship panel and in the early days had officiated games in the Dairytime League (now Medite) and the Suffolk Premier League whose fixtures were played on Sundays. He was highly respected by players and his calm exterior often diffused what could have turned into an awkward situation.

His experience and quiet, courteous manner helped many new umpires to become more confident and he acted as a mentor and helper to many. Always ready with advice when asked, Gordon often looked at both sides of the question before delivering an accurate and understandable explanation.

He later helped John Goldsmith arrange the youth fixtures for the popular and long-running Culford School tournament and until fairly recently had also officiated the school’s first XI matches after ending his association with league cricket and it became something he thoroughly enjoyed.

Gordon also played a vital role in helping Tom Smith with the appointment of umpires to all the Suffolk County youth games and dealing with call-offs and reappointments where necessary and had already committed himself to continuing that role next season.

In his cricketing days, Gordon was an opening batsman for Ampton and Culford and when he realised his career in that department was coming to an end he turned to umpiring the game he loved.

While his health had not been as good as he would have liked for some time, he never complained took each day in his stride and was always cheerful.

In 2002 he served for three years as chairman of the Suffolk Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers and remained a loyal member, always attending meetings and often in the company of his great friend, Alan Beazer.

He served for many years as one of the Association’s members of the Two Counties’ disciplinary panel and his experience in that role shone through as up to his death he had been performing a similar task for the Suffolk FA, of whom he was a past chairman and an honorary life vice-president.

Gordon was a gentle, kind, caring and humorous individual who will be sadly missed by all those who had the privilege of coming into contact with him and the Association’s thoughts are with his sister, Barbara, son Adrian and his family.

 

Martin White