A very enjoyable was had by all at the 2023 Presentation Evening held at Venue 16. After the dinner,  the winning clubs were presented with their cups and shields by guest speaker “Lord” David Gower. Following on from the presentations, David entertained the audience with a series of amusing anecdotes, in particular relating to his time as England Captain. With all formalities completed, David was happy to pose for photographs and to sign autographs. David played 117 Tests and 114 One-Day Internationals for England.  An elegant left-handed bat, who led England to victory in the 1985 Ashes, entertained the audience with stories about his time in both international and county cricket.  He has had a successful career as a cricket commentator and television personality since his retirement and told anecdotes about some of the great players he encountered. These included tales about fellow Englishmen Sir Ian Botham and Graham Gooch as well as West Indies legend Sir Viv Richards and the late, great Australian leg spinner Shane Warne. Gower played with Warne at Hampshire, where he now lives, after leaving Leicestershire. He was also interviewed before the event by reporter Nick Garnham from Suffolk Cricket and this interview can be heard on Radio Suffolk at around 3pm this Saturday 18th November. A big thank you to the organising committee and a thank you for all those attending. The picture below shows David with some of the Two Counties Committee and other guests.        

Entirely down to me this but the information published yesterday in the EADT and other local papers contained errors on the Ladies winners for season 2023;

It should read:

Ladies Performance Winners  –  Copdock and Old Ipswichian

West Division – Mildenhall

Central Division – Ipswich and East Suffolk

East Division – Mistley

Apologies…………………..

 

We regret to inform you that Mick has passed away.  He was groundsman at Elmstead for many years as well as a player and was also the Club President.  He always prepared excellent wickets and was usually present at matches involving the club.  He will be sorely missed by the many cricketers who knew him over the years.

Our sympathies go out to his family at this time.  We will publish funeral arangements when they are known.

An AGM with few issues completed in record time well done and thanks to all for your participation!  Various reports are attached below:

We welcome back Harwich and Dovercourt 2nds who had to reapply as they had conceded more than the required number of fixtures but a unanimous vote confirmed their position.

We welcomed new clubs Horringer, Colchester and East Essex 3s, Kirby and Great Bentley (Sunday League) who were also given a unanimous vote of support and have now become a part of the Championship.

The only rule change that required a vote was that of restricting Tier 5 player/coaches entering the country on an International Sporting Visa to playing in Divisions 1 and 2 only.  This was carried on a majority of votes cast.

Rules and Schedule of Standards is now posted on the website (which is undergoing a reconstruction as yet incomplete) under the Championship Rules 2024 tab.  We urge you to read these particularly new items under Rule 14h, i and j and a modification of Rule 16b for Division 1 clubs.  You are also asked to look carefully at 17 and 17a on the Schedule of Standards which relates to the provision of teas.

Only two clubs failed to attend the AGM and they will shortly be receiving a fine notice according to the Rules.

Acting Chair Report 2023(1)

SecretaryReport2023

Results Secretary Report 2023

The Accounts for 2023 and the Structure for 2023 have already been forwarded in an earlier post.

 

The final Championship Structure is listed below:

Projected divisions 2024(1)

The Accounts for 2023 are below:

TCCC Accounts 30-9-23 signed

 

We are pleased to announce the final details for the end of season Presentation Dinner and Awards night on the 11th of November at Venue 16 in Ipswich.

We will be welcoming former Ashes winning captain Lord David Gower.  Lord Gower is well known as one of the most stylish batsmen to ever play for England.  He played in 117 Test matches and 114 One Day Internationals for England between 1978 and 1992, scoring over 8,000 test match runs and over 3,000 ODI runs.   Lord Gower also played nearly 450 first class games and 430 list A games for Leicester and Hampshire scoring just short of 40,000 domestic runs.  As of February 2021, he holds the record for 119 consecutive innings without registering a duck in Test Cricket!  Following his retirement, Lord Gower became a successful cricket commentator with Sky Sports, and on 16 July 2009 he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. On the occasion of England’s 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country’s greatest Test XI by the ECB.

The Awards Ceremony will follow David’s speech, 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.  All the winners of the Ladies regional T20 competitions and the Performance League will also be presented with trophies and pennants.  A list of winners is in the link below.

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 a silent Auction with some very prestigious items to be won, including a signed Harry Brook Bat, signed & framed Sir Alistair Cook photo, a signed & framed Stuart Broad photo and a signed & framed photo from England latest double centurion Tammy Beaumont. 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 1st of November 2023 – https://s.surveyplanet.com/sdjgwhvq  – Please note any Bookings not cancelled by the 1st of November, may be liable for a full charge.

There are no limitations on the number of attendees each club can have, and the price is £35 per person for all of this.  An invoice for every booked attendee will be sent to the club’s Championship Rep.  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 which is on Monday 9^th October at Colchester Rugby Club.

The event will begin at 7pm and finish approximately 11pm.  However the bar will be open until midnight for those wishing to stay a bit longer. The Venue address is Venue16, 312 Tuddenham Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 3QJ and has plenty of parking facilities.  The Venue will operate a “CDhallenge25” policy.

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 11th of November.

Winners and Runners Up

Scott Button,   Event Organiser

Below is a link to promotions and relegations for the season as a resut of the final matches played on Saturday 9th September…

I have been contacted by several clubs asking for clarity about the structure of the leagues for next season.

This is not possible to finalise until after the play off match involving the Division 1 Champions Halstead CC as this could have a knock on effect throughout the structure should Halstead’s quest be successful.

It is further complicated by the unfortunate withdrawal of Needham Market CC and their possible return to Division 9 for next season, which will effect the structure from the curent Division 4 down and a number of possible “new” entries wishing to join the Championship (to be ratified at the AGM) as well as several clubs wishing to enter an extra team for next season.

Alan Rogers has sent out a proforma for clubs to return indicating the number of teams that you wish to enter for next season and he has sent out a reminder to those clubs who have not responded – this should not be necessary!  If you have not replied please do so to Alan ASAP even if the response is the status quo.

All the above means that a restructuring below Division 6 will take place as soon as all the variables are decided,  It is the intention of the MSC to publish the new stucture a week or so before the AGM on the 9th October for clubs to look at before that date.

 

STATE OF PLAY

There is a perceived difference in the playing standard between clubs playing in the Sunday League.  The this end it is suggested that 2 Divisions are put into place for season 2024 based on PLAYING STRENGH and not geographically.  There would be no relegation from the 2nd Division but at the end of the season it might be possible to move clubs in either direction to reflect player strength and performance.

If there is no increase in numbers it would be possible to have 3 matches between each club per season or arrange a couple of weekends when a cup or T20 competition is arranged.

To this end if there are any clubs who would like to join the Sunday League for next year (or even have a 2nd team from their club playing in the 2nd Division) can you please speak to Pat Patel before the end of September?

Pat Patel is contactable on 07740 698017 or patel999@gmail.com