Warmest greetings to all Christleton CC members and friends. Little has changed cricket-wise since the last newsletter. The weather continues to be glorious and you can imagine how perfect it would have been this afternoon on our lovely ground. We’ll never take it for granted after this experience will we? So we’ll continue with a browsing through some April matches of the past. More lockdown news follows , including suggestions for children’s activities in a limited space.

1st XI v Bollington 26/04/2008

The second game of the season in 2008 saw our 1stXI entertain Bollington on a cool, overcast day at Little Heath. At this early stage of the season, these sound like ideal bowling conditions and this was skipper Matt Parkinson’s thought as he invited the visitors from East Cheshire to take first knock. Both sides had strong line-ups that day that included future Cheshire players, with Callum Rowe opening the batting for Bollington, whilst Rick Moore was at number 3 for Christleton. Both players did well for their teams. However, it was Christleton’s popular and prolific all-rounder Iroshan de Silva who was the pivotal player, producing a tour-de-force with both bat and ball.

The Bollington innings progressed quite serenely to 50 before Rowe was out for a patient 21. Form this point, wickets tumbled regularly and at 90-7 after 37 overs, the visitors were in trouble. Then N. Iqbal, batting at number 9 for Bolly, produced a dazzling counter-attack, hitting 53 from only 26 balls to boost the final total to 149 all out. Iroshan took 6-47 from a long spell. He also took a catch and had a direct-hit run out. There was also a catch for Russell Anderson that day– what a fielder this young man was.
After tea Iroshan (68) and Rick (61*) put on a watchful and patient 129 for the second wick-et as the Swans overhauled the target with 2 overs to spare, with Simon Jones making a cultured 2* in with Rick at the end.

So for Iroshan that day, runs, wickets, catches and run outs. All of this was achieved as always with class, great technique and the minimum of fuss. And for the team, 20 useful points. The scoring that season was done by Rick’s dad Andy Moore, and the book is immaculate and a real credit to him.

Pictured above…
Iroshan getting 4 more through backward point and with head outfield groundsman and former 2nd XI captain, Brian Wareing

2nds earn a hard-fought victory at Offerton

We’re going back 25 years to a second week of the season game at Offerton in April 1995. TakeThat were at Number 1 for the third consecutive week with the classic ‘Back for good’ as the Swans tried to find the ground in deepest Stockport in the days before satnav. Bob Lewis was captain that season and asked the hosts to take first use of a damp early-season pitch. The attack fired with good control in helpful bowling conditions, restricting Offerton to 143-7 after 45 overs. The opening bowlers Bob Lewis and ‘Eggsy’ Quayle demonstrated relentless accuracy and had combined figures of 26 overs, 3-52. There were also wickets for Charlie Scales and Bob Ellis. For the bowlers it was fists of pure emotion, for the batters just a head of shattered dreams. 55m views can’t be wrong….(Ed: See what you did there 😉 )

https://youtube.com/watch?v=N2ICtCO8TCw

Mentioned in dispatches

In April 2005 Swans 2ndXI visited Bollington Rec. Jimmy Dathan was like a finely-tuned engine that day, firing on all cylinders to record figures of 7-4-5-4, with 3 victims bowled and one caught by skipper Wareing. Richard Morgan-Jones had 3 victims bowled. Ian Rule and Russell Anderson bowled one batter each. This was a remarkable innings in which 8 batsmen were bowled, 1 caught and 1 run out. Bolly’s 72 was knocked off for 1 wicket after tea.

In the interests of balance, I am aware that although 2 of today’s wins were against Bollington, not all of our games against these tough opponents went so well!

Lockdown

We are indebted to all those bodies who are supporting cricket clubs during these extraordinary times. The Cheshire Board, The ECB, Cheshire West and Chester Council have all been welcome sources of advice and support for which we are most grateful. The latest ECB communication to clubs can be found here:
https://ecb-comms.co.uk/t/1FT6-6UBN4-2E2203387/cr.aspx
You will find news about the club game and the professional game. Parents of young children may like to download the All Stars booklet which can be accessed via a link in the document. The skills challenges look good, especially if you have kind neighbours who will throw you the odd ball back.

The nice people at Fearnley Cricket have posted a series of cricket practice videos that can be done in small groups or even individually. Cricketers young and old can have hours of fun and get some valuable practice by doing these activities. One of the youngsters is hitting the ball very confidently towards windows. Be careful– this can lead to difficult conversations with parents– I remember such moments only too well!

The videos can be found here: 
https://www.fearnleycricket.co.uk/kidsathome/practice-videos.html?utm_source=Fearnley+Cricket+Shop&utm_campaign=33ca3a7e95-Black+Friday+Extended_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_63c47f5bfb-33ca3a7e95-61860489

Another skills challenge that I can recommend is not cricket related. It’s a basketball app but it offers a good variety of interesting challenges that can safely be done in a restricted area. Normally $7.99 a month, Home Court is free until 31st May. It’s Homecourtai at the app store with this logo.

Take care, stay safe.

Warmest greetings to all Christleton CC members and friends. It is the time of year when I normally look for-ward to settling into the Chairman’s seat and getting ready for the roller coaster ride of another cricket season. This time around, that will not be the case as our ground is all dressed up with nowhere to go. All cricket play-ers, officials and supporters know that the cricket season’s 22 weeks normally pass by in the blink on an eye. This year, it will progress a bit more slowly. I have fingers crossed in the hope of some cricket, although other things are clearly much more of a current priority.

April is always a tricky month for cricket as you try to find some early season form and confidence. In times gone by, it was a productive month for bowlers on uncovered, soft pitches. Bowlers themselves would look sur-prised at times at the extravagance at the movement. Mid Off was always busy as you scooped one up after weeks of indoor practice. It’s raining as I write, and this is so typical on the first cricket Saturday after a spell of fine weather.

As there is no current cricket to comment upon, I have been having a look through the archives to see what our teams were up to in seasons gone by. Obviously, I am going to pick out mostly successes of the past. Therefore, we will be having a lot more April wins than has sometimes been the case in the sluggish starts of several recent years. I’ll try to mention a lot of people in the coming weeks.

1st XI makes a winning start to the season

In 1996 our 1stXI travelled to Woodford for the season’s opening fixture, dodging the showers in that year’s wet April. The scorer for this and many other seasons was the inimitable and much-missed Harry Graves, always a vociferous and enthusiastic presence, usually encouraging batsmen to, ’Run up, there’s three** there.’ The 1stXI attack was in miserly mood that day, bowling our hosts out for 116 in 44.2 overs. Neil Glover opened the bowl-ing and set the tone, conceding only 4 runs in 6 overs. There were wickets for Richard Dandy and Jim Gillson, with 2 for Chris Spencer– the first 2 of his 54 that year– well bowled Spen! Chief destroyer on this occasion though was Guy Newell with 5-33. Terry Jonas bagged his first stumping of the season and there was a ct. P.W. Evans b. R. Dandy in this match– a classic dismissal if ever there was one.

After tea, Jim Gillson 58* and Steve Johnson 27 made rapid inroads into the required total before Paul Evans applied the coup-de-grace with a quick 23*. This was a 21 point haul on the day and a great start to the season.
** Or four, or sometimes even 5.

Opening day win for the 2nds

The first day of the 2011 season saw a strong Christleton team travel to Upton for the 2nd X opening fixture. After winning the toss the hosts opted to take first use of the pitch and found batting tough against an accurate attack. Russ Butcher (3-18), Jason Ashcroft (4-23), Ollie Morgan-Jones (2-6) and Steve Jackson (1-11) had their personal bowling radars finely tuned that day and, remarkably, extras was the highest scorer with 27 out of a total of 89. After tea, Harry Peel decided that attack was the order of the day as he smashed a rapid and powerful 60* to help land the win. The team that day was very strong and looks very sociable- with Rob Marks, Andy Heyland, Matt Allen, Matt Astbury, George Bryant and Keith Jaynes all turning out on this occasion in an encouraging start to the season.

Mentioned in dispatches

Not quite a win but a great effort from the Morgan-Jones brothers

We’re heading back to the first week of the 2014 season and a very good home game against Cheadle Hulme, played during an excellent spell of weather. Skipper Mike Gaynon won the toss and was delighted to take first use of a straw coloured wicket. The Morgan-Jones boys then proceeded to put on ninety for the first wicket. Olly was the more circumspect of the pair with 35, whilst Josh raced away to a rapid, boundary-crunching 93. The engine room then chipped in as Alex Powell 30 and Adam Gittins 34* helped to post a highly respectable half-time score..A draw was the eventual outcome with CH 9 down at close. Details… https://christleton.play-cricket.com/ website/results/1569666

Lockdown

Sadly, not a great deal has changed since I wrote to you at the start of lockdown. In the meantime, the club’s activities are largely paused, though certain essential work in grounds care and financial matters continues My thanks to all those who are still working hard on behalf of the club.

The events that we would be looking forward to are on hold. I’m sure that you would have been looking forward to doing some of these things: attending pre-season training and practice games; playing in the opening fixtures; junior registration and first action; getting some new kit together or dusting off a time-honoured cap; seeing if your kit still fits, always an anxious moment; knocking-in a new bat; trying to remember which guard you take or how many paces your run-up consists of; being stood under the first catch of the season; enjoying cricket teas and thanking the lovely people who provide them; meeting our sponsors at afternoon tea time; seeing old friends and talking about how good we all were – (strangely, the longer you’re retired, the better you get!); competition against respected opponents; unleashing the new shots and/ or deliveries you’ve been working on over the winter; seeing if you can still hit it, land it or catch it; watching the change from April to May as our lovely ground takes on its full resplendence again. Please remember: these pleasures are merely delayed, they are not cancelled. Hopefully, we will enjoy them again before too long.

Cricket is not top of our priority lists right now, but please be ready to support your club when our activities resume. Take care and stay safe.

Important Dates:

1st August – Cricket Rocks
5th December – Christmas Party

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Peter Mitchell. 

Peter played for the 1st & 2nd XI in the 60s-80s .  He was a Batsman and Wicket Keeper and one of the members that first helped build the Clubhouse that stands on the ground today.  In later decades he regularly supported the Club in his role as a Vice-President.  He will be deeply missed. 

Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to Barry, Sarah, family and friends.

On Monday 30th December, we were stunned and shocked to find that our Clubhouse had been ransacked overnight.  Thieves/Vandals broke in through one of the windows but then proceeded to throw chairs, glasses, bottles, pictures etc through all the other windows.  They tried to kick in the double-glazed doors and the fire exits.  They broke into the bar smashed the optics, poured themselves drinks and then went on to have a  destructive frenzy.  Furniture was thrown around the building into the TV, PA System and the framed pictures showing all the history of our club.  

These despicable characters also went into the kitchen ripping cupboard doors off, yanked the telephone and router out of the wall.  They trashed the credit card machine, the cash till and most sickeningly they ripped the defibrillator off the wall, which was left scattered around in pieces.

Their final present to us was to let off all the fire extinguishers (both powder and water) which left a horrible mess but also their foot and handprints.  Forensics have taken excellent evidence from this along with DNA from the glasses and bottles that they drank from.

The culprits will not be able to get away with this heartbreaking, thuggish behaviour and we urge people to contact the police with the names of these people. 

Anyone with information relating to the burglary/vandalism are encouraged to call 101 quoting IML600400. 

We have also set up a Just Giving page to help raise funds for the repair and replacement of damaged items.

Just Giving – Help Our Club

Congratulations to Chairman Mike Hollindale
who was awarded Life Membership in recognition and appreciation of his outstanding loyalty, hard work and dedication to the Club.

The Clubman of the Year Award was awarded jointly to two well deserved members
Pete Roberts & Mark Inchley for their immense voluntary work for the Club this Season.

The newly elected officers for 2019 can be seen on this link

Officers 2019

It is with heavy heart that we announce the passing of Arthur Broster.  Arthur was the longest serving member of Christleton Cricket Club, having played, participated or supported since 1947.  He was a passionate and generous supporter of the Club.  He was always ready to help, advise and give encouragement to the players, especially the youngsters. He will be deeply missed and and we send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.