It is becoming something of a cliché to begin this report with the comment that last season was yet another momentous one for Blunham Cricket Club, but the fact remains the opening of the new pavilion, the World record weekend and the revival of cricket at Roxton all contributed hugely to what was a notable season. The playing strength of the club continues to improve both in terms of quality and quantity and there is no doubt that we are now established as one of the leading clubs in the County. The rise in the club’s fortunes has been significant over the past five years or so and has been achieved though a number of factors, notably good club spirit coupled with the hard work and dedication of a good number of members. This has been in sharp contrast to the fortunes of many neighbouring clubs and in this area we have been one of the few clubs to see their fortunes going up. Hopefully, there is now sufficient strength in depth to ensure our achievements are not lost.

Last season’s playing achievements were slightly overshadowed by the opening of the new pavilion, which really has made a difference to morale and comments from visiting teams. All those who contributed to the success of the project deserve a pat on the back and I for one was delighted that the finished article was so much more than I had anticipated and hoped for. As a club, we do have a real duty however, to help ensure the pavilion stays in tip-top condition and that everyone ‘mucks in’ to help on home match days.

Turning now to the playing side and last season’s performances:
• The highlight of the season had to be the breaking of the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous game of cricket, which was achieved over a very soggy August Bank Holiday weekend. I’m not sure how players and officials survived the first 24 hours, but they did, and as the weekend progressed, the sun put in an appearance and morale greatly improved. At first media interest was low but we are indebted to members of the Pakistani national team for suddenly turning the attention of the sporting world on the ‘beautiful game’ and by the Monday, both TV and radio channels were giving us plenty of coverage. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the players the World Record now stands at 105 hours. Neil and others did a brilliant job organising the supporting cast for the event and the club is indebted to many people in the village as well as umpires and friends for contributing towards this notable achievement.

• The youth development programme continues to shine and last season all the year-group teams were the ones to beat in their respective leagues. Numbers seem to be keeping up on Friday evenings and it is gratifying to see more young players are enrolling as coaches, which is the key to the future and all those involved in the youth set-up should feel justly proud of their endeavours. The many contributions Daniel Coverdale and Chris Bruce in particular have made over recent seasons deserve special mention.

• As for the senior sides we had a new Saturday structure last season with the 1st and 2nd XIs competing in the Hunts league for the first time. The league change seems to have been a success with no real increase in travelling and some interesting ‘country’ venues. Results were not quite what we had hoped for. The Ist XI lost several games that it ought to have won and ended up third; the 2nds fared slightly better and were runners-up in their league. As expected, the 3rd XI found life difficult in the Millman second division but did win three games and were rarely outclassed. Sundays were a similar story with the 1st team flattering to deceive and in a very closely fought division, ended up next to bottom. Luckily, relegation was avoided thanks to the Eggington pitch. The 2ndXI did achieve promotion and the Development side had a good start to their campaign but then ran out of steam to some extent.

• There were less outstanding individual performances to report than last season but most of our talented young players are continuing to improve. Matt Benson, Connor Heaps, Dom Aloia, Adam Grimes, Callum McGlynn, David Garofalo and of course Nick Harding all produced key performances, as did G Fitzgerald and Matthew Cottrell when home from university. The batting and wicket keeping of Jack Parish really boosted the Sunday 1sts, Ed Davis scored runs galore for the seconds and both Roger Bennett and Simon Ackroyd proved there is still plenty of life in the ‘old dogs’. Several youngsters reached 50 for the first time at senior level and the likes of Chris Boulding, Ben Spendlove and Jordan Harrington are now making their mark in the adult sides.

• Individual thanks must again go to Neil Wilden who has worn many hats over the past year and who worked hard to establish the role of club captain. He did a brilliant job coordinating the week-by-week team selection, managing the fixtures and maintaining a watching brief over the club’s playing strength.

• 2010 also saw the seventh Blunham CC tour, this time to Lincolnshire. The weather was reasonably good and there were four good games. Again many thanks to Neil for all his hard work with the organisation.

• It was a decent summer weather-wise, especially early on, with not too many cancellations. Despite increased pressures on the square the playing surface remained of a very high order and we must again give enormous thanks to Kevin, Tim and others who spent hours and hours preparing strips and having to cope with sometimes unreliable equipment! Their work over very many seasons has been a godsend to the club and we very much hope the new team of Matt and Dom will be able to carry on in like fashion.• President’s day went really well with huge thanks to Jodie who produced a real feast and to Carole for scoring. It was an exciting game and the real champagne moment was when Chris Brice bowled the visiting captain and star batsman for a duck! Sadly the game against a Captain Scott’s XI again proved to be something of a one-side affair.

• We have entered no less than three teams in the winter indoor leagues and managed two midweek teams throughout the summer, both of whom achieved some success.• Our backroom team again did us proud throughout the year, especially the ladies. Carole, Mel and Jodie again performed wonders with the week-to-week scoring and Presentation evening which was a super evening with a delicious meal. Neil, Daniel, Nick and others have been beavering away with organising a range of social, fundraising events.

• The website continues to attract a great deal of interest and is a very worthwhile publicity mechanism for the club. Many thanks to Steve for his continued work in managing the site. The World record weekend information is brilliant.

• Memberships and registrations were by and large completed and paid on time. Just one or two defaulters, which you find in any club. Match subs were again more regularly paid but there was still some chasing of captains! Sadly, not all expected monies from the World record sponsorship have been paid.

• The Roxton playing field has proved a very worthwhile addition to the club’s playing strength. The new all-weather strip produced plenty of runs, the new pavilion is small but attractive and the holes in the outfield didn’t cause any broken bones. We seem to have developed a good working arrangement with the Roxton Playing Fields Association.

Overall, as with previous seasons we can again feel really pleased and satisfied on many counts, but there is still plenty to think about for next season and beyond. The following would seem to be the most important;

• There will be new faces in new positions for next season. As a club we need to ensure there is plenty of support available, especially for our new ground staff team.

• The move to the Hunts league has been a success but we need both teams to be promoted to reach the playing standard to which we aspire, given the size and status of the club.

• Running FOUR teams on a Saturday will be a real challenge. The addition of a Roxton and Blunham social XI in Millman division 3 should ensure more people getting a game; especially as 9/14 games will be really local.

• Keeping the new pavilion looking great week by week.

• A new score box and nets to complement the pavilion will hopefully be in place for the start of the season.

• Maintenance tasks such as umpiring and scoring. Much better than in the past but there is still a tendency amongst some young players to expect the ‘oldies’ to do all the chores.

• A Lashings charity day on Friday August 26th.

Overall 2010 was undoubtedly another hugely successful year for the club. Almost all neighbouring clubs in the area are experiencing hard times and we are undoubtedly the envy of most local clubs in terms of the playing strength of our young players and it has been very pleasing to note the improvements in terms of commitment and attitude in so many quarters. Neil has done a phenomenal amount over recent years and it is not unreasonable for him to want to step back to some degree. Many others have given good support, Nick, Chris and Daniel especially. All the captains deserve a positive mention, as do Tim and Kevin for their work on the square, Carole and Jodie for a wide range of contributions and Mel, who has done a really good job with memberships and Presentation evening. Team spirit is currently good but not without the occasional blip and we won’t be playing Dallow Chargers next season!! Young players need to be fully conscious of the fact that Blunham CC has offered and continues to offer them opportunities to develop as players which other clubs and schools would not have been able to provide. Let’s hope we can all pull together to make the 2011 season another one to remember for Blunham Cricket Club.
Max Hill