And The Winners Are -
The end-of-season awards dance was held in the Clubhouse on 13th October. A good time was had by all, with the following trophies presented:
First XI:
The Strathie Cup for best batting average, Alan Wallace
The FCC Cup for best batting aggregate, Robbie Birrell
The Dryden Trophy for best bowler, Scott Gourlay
The David Smart Memorial Cup for best fielder, Scott Gourlay
The Wood-McHugh Trophy for most vital innings, Scott Galloway (against Drumpelier)
The Andrew Grant Trophy for best catch, Robbie Birrell (against Forfarshire)
The G D Crichton Cup for Players’ Player, Scott Galloway
Second XI:
The FCC Cup for best batting average, Dave Cowan
The Ceilidh Cup for batting aggregate, Dave Cowan
The FCC Cup for best bowler, Dale Cowan (Airch would have been proud)
The Christie Trophy for best fielder, Andy Leckie
The Dick Morrison Memorial Trophy for Players’ Player, Dave Cowan
(Airch would have been proud about Dave’s awards as well, but he wouldnae have admitted it)
Juniors:
The David Robertson Cup for best bat, Shane Munro
The Coughan Trophy for best bowler, Dale Cowan
The Christie Trophy for best fielder, Robbie Wright
The Melville Cup for most improved player, Grant Horsburgh
The Nette Cowan Trophy for most catches, Shane Munro
The Fraser Irvine Shield for Under 13s Player of the Year, Liam Kelly
The Edmunds Shield for Under 15s Player of the Year, Robbie Wright.
Sadly, we had no Under 17 matches. The Club also won Cupar and Falkland Six-a-Side tournaments.
Technorati Tags: Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Drumpelier, Forfarshire, Cupar Cricket Club, Falkland Cricket Club
October Newsletter
So how was the season? Rain-affected? More like rain-afflicted, and always, it seemed, to our disadvantage. The Firsts, promoted last year, finished fourth in Scottish National Cricket League Division One, while the Seconds, also promoted last year, survived with well-bitten nails in East of Scotland League Division One. Not a bad outcome, but slightly better luck with the weather and, we would have to admit, a little more playing to our capabilities, might have seen us in the Premier Division in 2008.
The Juniors suffered badly from the weather. The year started really well, with fifty to sixty kids up the park on a Friday evening, but rained-off practices and fixtures, and games cancelled because opponents couldn’t raise a team, gradually wore down all but the most enthusiastic.
And the Archie Cowan Memorial Trophy match with Falkland on 16th September? Another victim of the rain, sad to say. Next year. Next year …
The Big News: Next year will be our Centenary. The end of the Club’s very first minute, dated 1908, notes “It was agreed that if bats and a ball could be obtained for the following Saturday, the Secretary should cycle to Ladybank and arrange a match.” There’s no record to say that the Secretary made it to Ladybank and back, but there’s been a few matches arranged since then, and there’s a few things arranged for the Centenary.
On the playing front, there will be a pre-season tour to Northern Ireland and we are presently exploring the possibility of a bus to take players and supporters on a long weekend, 18th to 21st April. We will have a three-day Cricket Festival in June with matches against a Scottish President’s XI, a Sussex Ladies’ XI (possibly England Ladies) and one other game to be finalised, with hopes that it will be with Falkland Cricket Club. There’s an end-of season game at Lord’s against the Cross Arrows on 22nd September (a Monday) with a warm-up game at Gerrards Cross Cricket Club the day before.
On the social side, there’s to be a Sportsman’s Dinner (lunch?) in February (details to be advised, but we hope it will be a joint effort with the Football Club), and a lunch (possibly dinner) and auction of cricketing memorabilia in November 2008, while the grand social event of the year will be a dinner and dance in the Lomond Hills Hotel on 13th September. It will be ‘MC’d’ by Bob McFarlane from Rossie Priory, and the speaker will be England scorer Bill Frindall, known to all cricket lovers as ‘the Bearded Wonder’ and a highly reputed after-dinner speaker.
However, we have to face some harsh realities. Our costs are rising, our income falling. Can we really go on with players getting their game for practically nothing, their teas for less than a cuppa and a bun would cost in a cafe? Can we really go on trying to run the bar with volunteers because most of the time, we don’t have enough trade to pay staff? Dave Christie says 2008 will be his last year as Groundsman; who is going to keep the park in order, never mind keep it to Dave’s very high standards? Can we really go on providing all the labour and covering all the costs of keeping up the park to the benefit of the whole village? We have a general shortage of able-bodied senior members. We have a shortage of adult players and a serious age-gap between those who will (we hope) come up from the ranks of the juniors to move through the Twos into the Firsts. We have a very serious problem with so many of the young players, some of considerable promise, simply packing in the game when they get to seventeen or so. Few of them return. We need more qualified coaches for our juniors, not because the assistants we have are not good enough, but because that’s what the rules demand. If we don’t field a Second XI, we are not permitted to compete in the Scottish National Cricket Leagues. Of all the things we have to do, developing the youngsters is the most important, and that’s getting a lot of thought. We hope to have more to report this winter, but if there’s anything you could do to help ‘on any of these problems’ please get in touch.
Some of these are new problems, some old adversaries whose teeth are getting sharper. Moan over, though. We are working hard to bring in more money through sponsorship and the players are doing more and more on fund-raising activity. We’re hoping to solve all your Christmas present problems by having Anniversary ties and a special Anniversary Whisky available before December this year. More news soon.
Remember too that the Clubhouse is available for members’ functions, so in addition to our wintertime Prize Bingo Teas (we hope, we hope) this is a great venue for your own parties and celebrations – join us!
Stay up to date with events; log on to www.freuchiecricketclub.com/blog.
Contact us at the clubhouse (01337 858 226), call the secretary on 01337 857 292, or e-mail secretary@freuchiecricketclub.com
A paper copy of this Newsletter is being distributed around the village, courtesy of a couple of our up-and-coming youngsters, Robbie and Shane. Stick at it, lads!
Technorati Tags: cricket, Cricket Scotland, Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Falkland Cricket Club