2009 4ths report


	Dear Fellow Club Members & Friends, 4th TEAM – REVIEW OF 2009 SEASON I shall begin my review with a very big and heartfelt thank you to all the players who represented the 4^th Team during the season; and also to the many mums, dads, friends and relations who gave us their support so magnificently, both home and away. This was my tenth season at Springfield C.C. and I can honestly say, without any shadow of a doubt, that I have never before experienced, at any level in the club, such a high degree of enthusiasm, commitment and genuine team spirit. Thank you so much. I stood for captaincy of the 4^th Team with a firm intention to create a development opportunity for up and coming young talented cricketers. I felt strongly that we needed to establish an open link between the senior side of the club and the excellent work that Paddy and Ken, and their team of coaches, provide in the junior and colts section. I appreciated that this was going to be a challenge, but I was determined from the outset that nothing would persuade me to do otherwise. The fact that fourteen boys, aged between eleven and sixteen, have played in the 4^th Team this season suggests that our youth development strategy has to a large extent been accomplished. This is of course only a start and my hope is that this policy will be given full support next season and beyond. I am certain this is the way forward and that it will be the means by which Springfield C.C. will achieve future success, both in respect of expanding our senior playing membership and in acquiring silverware. In addition to bringing on young players, we have also enjoyed, and benefited from, the active participation of several dads who might have thought they had retired from playing cricket. Well I have been convinced, for quite a while, that this was an area of untapped resource just waiting to be explored, and, just as I suspected, we managed to coax Iain Wright, Fran Prudence, Zaf Mahmood, Simon Miller, and, on a couple of occasions, Eric Ovel, to dust off their pads and take to the field. Their involvement has been a considerable bonus, not only in terms of their playing ability, for they have all been selected on merit, but also in respect of the assistance they have given me by way of encouraging our young players and giving valuable advice on the field of play. In truth they really didn’t need much coaxing. Thanks chaps, you have been brilliant. So who are these young talented cricketers to whom I have referred? Well, from the fourteen boys who have played, eight have become regular members of the team and each one has made substantial progress during the season. Included in this group are Charlie Prudence, Chris Wright, Andy Ovel, Harry Williams, Tom Mean, Chris Hart, Courtney Grant and Haris Mahmood. It is my belief that these boys, if carefully nurtured and given top technical cricket coaching, will, in due course, go on to represent the club at a higher level. It is also my belief that such promotion should not occur too quickly and that young talented cricketers should be allowed and encouraged to initially express themselves at the appropriate level. Nothing breeds success like success, and our boys will benefit from accumulating runs and gathering wickets before progressing through the ranks. Six other boys have played for the 4^th Team this season and each has played well on the occasion they were selected. I’m sure that Matt Hartley, Anthony Larcher, Gareth Williams, Jordan Miller, Ben Hitchens and Ollie Goldsmith will be trying hard to push for a regular place next season, as I hope will many of the promising youngsters who have been playing for our junior and colts teams. My message to all these young lads is to work hard at their game, develop their skills, and demonstrate their ability through good performances at nets and in matches. How did we do in Division 8? From the outset my measure of a successful season was to be wholly based on how well we managed to introduce young talented cricketers to senior cricket and then to ensure that they were able to perform effectively and enjoy the experience. As indicated above, I feel we have gone a long way to achieving this particular goal. In doing so, however, we have also played well as a team, to the extent that we won seven matches (one against a team promoted in second place) and we ended the season in a creditable eighth place in the final table having attained a season’s high of sixth at the halfway stage. In fact I am sure we would have held on to sixth place had it not been for several teams rather going against the spirit of fair competition by fielding first team players in the closing games. Aside from our league position, and indeed the admirable number of victories gained, our most positive successes were that we introduced many young boys into senior cricket; we developed and maintained a fantastic team ethic; and we created an environment wherein all members of the 4^th Team played for each other. I am also proud to say that I received much praise from members of our opposition with regard to the way our young players conducted themselves on the field of play. As is customary for our club, it is the duty of a captain to nominate a Player of the Year for his team and for the presentation to take place at The Players’ Supper. Whilst this is of course a pleasurable task, it was a difficult one for me when so many of the team have contributed so much and have put in many memorable performances. From the senior players, Iain has kept wicket to a consistently high standard; Zaf and Fran have scored valuable runs at the top of the order; Mark has bowled tidily; Simon has proved to be a very useful all rounder; and Pete Shervil, despite several painful injuries, has been a great support both on and off the pitch. Well done to you all. From the junior players, Charlie, Chris Wright, Andy, Harry and Courtney have all displayed excellent potential as allrounders; whilst Chris Hart and Tom Mean have bowled well with good pace and energy. In addition there were several brilliant individual match-winning performances, such as Charlie’s five wickets for six runs against Terling and his forty-seven runs against Sandon; Harry’s five wickets for eight runs in the pouring rain down at Burnham Sports and Courtney’s thirty-eight runs opening the innings in the same match. There were many magic moments from each player, although we did have a particular young man who played in seventeen matches, batted wonderfully at number three and who amassed a splendid 562 runs at an average of thirty-five. Clearly a star of the future, epitomizing everything the 4^th Team has set out to achieve this season, it was therefore my pleasure to present Haris with the award of 4^th Team Player of the Year. Well done maestro, same again please (or even better) next season. By way of a closing note I’d like to add that following the end of the league season the 4^th Team played and won three out of three friendly matches. Performances in these games were important, both as a barometer of how much improvement has been made by our young talented cricketers and also as a launching pad for next year. I’m delighted to say that in these games both Charlie and Chris Wright recorded their maiden senior fifties, and Andy and Iain made their highest scores of the season. Congrats on your excellent work. You will surely reach new heights next season. Captaining the 4^th Team has been a joy and I sincerely hope we have begun something that will be supported and maintained by all club members next season and beyond. I’ve had a ball; I hope all who played and gave their support so brilliantly did too. Kind regards and many thanks, Martin