Apologies this is a day late, but I’ve just about dusted down the hangover from the wedding of Tom & Becca Maguire. Thanks for an awesome day guys, and on behalf of Upton Cricket Club, huge congratulations and best wishes for your married life together.

As I write this update each month, I often wonder if anybody actually reads it (I’m pretty certain the wife doesn’t!!), but a few weeks ago my self-doubt was put to bed as not one but two people referenced it on the same day! Both were massive boosts as the first was the offer of accommodation for next year for Chris McArthur which is a real bonus and the second was one of my old teachers (so I naturally felt under extra pressure to make sure my grammar was up to speed!!). In the hope that there are more than two people reading this, I’ll continue with my musings for this month then…

Looking back at the last few weeks of the season, there were some real highlights for me. Firstly, the Junior Presentation evening which was once again organized superbly by Simon McGowan and his coaching team. I had the pleasure of saying a few words (apologies for those parents who had to listen to me twice!!) and watching the awards being presented and it’s such an encouragement to see the Upton family grow each year and the family’s feeling a real part of the club. Another highlight, and one I can’t claim based on cricketing ability was turning out for the 1st XI as a last minute ‘fill in’. Whilst my maiden 1st XI half century was cruelly cut short (by about 50 runs) it was a real privilege to be part of the team and help get a game of cricket on in very wet conditions – a feat many clubs (as was proved with the high volume of games cancelled on the same day) wouldn’t have achieved. The season was then concluded with the traditional ‘Last Night of the Season’ celebrations where this year’s theme was “80’s”. It was great to see so many people making an effort with their costumes (even the odd questionable ones), and if you’ve not witnessed it before get the date booked in your diary now for next year – you won’t be disappointed!

I’m sure I’m like many club members who have found themselves at somewhat of a loss for the last couple of Saturday’s now the season has finished, but the countdown begins to next season as there’s only 28 more Saturdays to endure without cricket. Ironically, the ‘off season’ is probably a busier time for myself and the other members of the Governing Committee as we prepare ourselves for next year and beyond. I mentioned in my September message that we are looking at our strategic plans and we’ve had two really good meetings so far where we have looked at our goals and visions for the Bar, Grounds and House areas of the club. We have the third meeting on Tuesday evening where we will map our plans on the cricketing front across seniors, juniors and ladies and I’m really excited to see how those conversations evolve. To give you a feel for the plans from hereon in, the intention is to have the output collated and circulated to the Governing Committee by the end of October, for it then to be discussed and signed off at the November meeting. My aim then is to share the output at the AGM in December so that all members can see clearly where we are going, and more importantly why we have made certain decisions. As I said last month, I see it being vitally important we have these plans in place to give us a clear focus and direction to move forward with.

Looking not too far ahead, and forming part of the above mentioned strategic plans, the annual end of season work on the squares is due to take place this week (weather permitting) and I’m pleased to say that we have agreed the budget to do some additional works to level the wickets at the clubhouse end. For those who’ve played on the front you’ll know they have always been a little bit challenging so the hope is that this extra work will improve things. This kind of enhancements of our facilities is emphasized by the sheer amount of cricket played at the club as I was staggered to learn from our erstwhile Fixture Secretary; John Winder that we have hosted 133 games over the course of the 2017 season, with a whopping 16 games in one week in July. Full credit to both John Winder and the entire Grounds team for facilitating this.

So, if you’re still reading this – thank you. If you’re not, you’ll get another chance in a month’s time to get past the first paragraph!

Cheers
Jez Lamb
Chairman