Welcome to the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Cricket Championship
Graham “Chunky” Howell
Graham “Chunky” Howell
The Funeral is on Tuesday 25th February at Seven Hills Crematorium, Ipswich at 10.30 am …….
Graham “Chunky” Howell
I regret to post that “Chunky” Howell died yesterday after a long illness….. Our thoughts are with his wife Pat and his extended family at this time.
An accomplished all round sportsman, Chunky was on Ipswich Town’s books for a while as a goalkeeper as well as playing local amateur football for several clubs notably Waterside Works, Bentley MA and John Players.
He also played a lot of cricket over the years at IES, Ipswich and Brantham as well as in later years for Two Counties Seniors going on Tour with them on several occasions, once memorably so he recalled, getting lost on his way on Tour to Scotland and arriving a day late via Balmoral.
This however is probably one of his amusing, famously outrageous and often repeated stories in which he specialised over the years. When asked how did he get his nickname of Chunky, he confessed that it was later in life because he shrunk as he got older and in his early days he was known as Lofty! Wherever Chunky was there was laughter and he will be sorely missed.
RIP dear boy. I will post further details as they become available.
ECB Umpires Course
This course aimed at anyone who wishes to undertake training to become an umpire and takes place on Sunday 9th March at St Josephs College from 9.30 to 4.
The link below contains full details and a booking form.
You will be required to pay for the course in full (£70) but the Umpires Association will refund half of the fee after 10 matches in the Two Counties have been completed.
Uptake for this was good last year and we hope that this will continue this year.
Overseas (Category 3) Arrangements 2025
As it is near to that time of the year, I have updated the information on the Overseas Players Information tab ….. No major changes but we are in the hands of the ECB and Home Office in these matters ……
Christmas Greetings
And a very Happy Christmas and New Year to all….. Enjoy!
Funeral Arrangements for Tony Oram
The funeral for Tony is on Thursday 16th January at 13.15 at Weeley Crematorium and afterwards at Frinton Cricket Club
Sunday Leagues 2025
Well that has taken a lot longer than expected. The unfortunate demise of the NECL and an on-going interest from the AJ Sports Suffolk League for a possible merger has delayed decisions on the structure of Sunday cricket in the Two Counties Championship while various consultations and Zoom meetings took place.
Responsibiity for the old NECL 30 Over Development League this season will be undertaken by Richard Polley, MSC Committee member, who has contacted the nine clubs who have expressed an interest. The Sunday League will continue to be run by Pat Patel and an email will be sent out to all interested clubs very shortly. The Geoff Newman T20 competition for clubs in Essex will now be run by Stuart Coker, an additional responsibility for him since he already arranges the fixtures for the Championship Saturday Leagues and Stuart has already contacted interested clubs. Finally the Indoor League (already in progress) will continue to be administered by Richard Hunt of Brightlingsea CC.
The MSC thanks the above for their commitment and ask that communication on these competitions is forwarded to the correct person as follows
Richard Polley richardpolley@virginmedia.com 07506 731594
Pat Patel patel999@gmail.com 07740 698017
Stuart Coker alan.t.coker@btinternet.com 07551 007260
Richard Hunt brightlingseacricketclub@gmail.com 07464 195852
The rules for season 2015 Sunday League and T30 Over Development League have been added below – we do not anticipate any rule changes for the T20 and the Indoor League at this time.
Many thanks for your patience……
Message from Chris Armstrong about Tony Oram
It is with great sadness that Frinton have to announce the sudden passing of our 3rd XI skipper Tony Oram (62 yrs). Tony was well known & respected in cricket circles having played for Frinton, Kirby, Forty Club & Two Counties. He will be sadly missed. Funeral details TBA.
Level 2 Scoring Course – Message from Rob Jones
Although it isn’t until next February, I’d encourage anyone that’s interested to sign up, as this course is available to neighbouring counties clubs as well.
Location: Bury St Edmunds CC, Newton Road, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 2BT.
Course times: Arrival at 9:30 am for 10.00 am start. Finish at approx 4:00 pm.
Parking: Plenty of free of charge at the ground.
Refreshments: Tea and coffee will be provided. Attendees should bring their own lunch and snacks.
To sign up to this course, please use the following link:
AGM 2024 Minutes
It’s been a bit busy lately but I have now got round to publishing the Minutes from the recent Championship AGM as below – the first time for many years when all member clubs were in attendance, thanks to all:
Revised League Structure for Season 2025
A revised structure is linked below. You will notice that Divisions 1 to 7 is the same but there have been a few changes to Divisions 8 and 9. Our thanks to Tuddenham, Long Melford, Kirby and Harwich and Dovercourt for agreeing the changes – we feel that we have ended up with a better structure. Changes are in Boldface