After all the excitement of our opening season at the new ground, and the fanfare of the Grand Opening Day, 2011 has been an altogether more sober year for the Club.  The biggest blow was the tragic loss of our President and benefactor, Carole Rawle.  She had been our greatest supporter and her death was a shock for everyone.  Already in our first season at Butt’s Field she had become a welcome a regular watcher of our home matches; her absence this summer has been felt keenly.

Plenty of cricket has been played this summer – by the senior side at weekends, by the Twenty20 League side on Tuesday evenings, and by the Juniors, who have enjoyed both weekly coaching and a number of competitive matches.  The Club played twenty-seven senior matches in all, winning fourteen and losing thirteen, and yet a number of others were cancelled or interrupted due to poor weather; it was amazing how often a week would be largely dry then the rain would tip down on the Sunday.  Still, no club can expect the kind of glorious endless summer weather we experienced in May and June last year.

The Senior Side
One of the disappointments of this current season has been the comparative lack of new players joining in the fun, and the even fewer spectators at home matches.  Getting new players is a key part of our plans for the Club.   We must be careful to make sure that the Club has an inclusive, not exclusive, atmosphere.  We want people to join in and have a go.  We like to play to win – of course we do – but village cricket is a sociable game and we would welcome anyone who would like to play, however skilled or otherwise.  Those who, perhaps, last played many years ago, should not be put off by a lack of confidence in their abilities.

The aim is to have a weekend league side in the fullness of time, but at present our weekend fixtures are friendlies, and even if we were putting out a regular league side, there would continue to be a number of friendly fixtures.  In these matches, the emphasis is on making sure everyone gets a chance to play a full part in the game.  What could be more pleasant than whiling away a lovely summer’s afternoon playing cricket at our stunning ground, enjoying convivial company, a delicious tea, and, at the end of the day’s play, a few ales?  No-one will be laughed at or cursed for dropping a catch, or for bowling a wide, or missing a long-hop.  Our cricket is to be enjoyed!

It is with a view to introducing a slightly gentler form of the game that we will be including a new Wednesday evening side next season.  Our current Twenty20 League side play         competitively and at a high standard; the Old Sarum Invitation League has grown in stature and standard in recent years and is the perfect competition for our younger senior players, in particular.  However, our new Wednesday side will, we hope, offer an opportunity for twenty-over mid-week cricket in less competitive circumstances.  In this side, our teenagers can be blooded; those who, perhaps, have not played much in recent years but fancy a go, can do so without fear.  The emphasis will be on playing matches at lovely grounds like our own, and on enjoying a few drinks at the game’s end.  We are joining a new Cranborne Chase Evening League along with Sixpenny Handley and Wimborne St Giles, and will also include further fixtures, with Bishopstone, and, we hope, Fonthill Park, and perhaps one or two other Clubs.  It should be great fun, and we really hope some new players in the Valley will emerge.  Neither age nor ability should hinder anyone who would like to play!

In terms of the weekend games, David Brown has been working hard on our fixture list, taking over the bulk of the work from Robert Stallard.  Robert has been a brilliant servant of the Club for mnay years and we are all hugely grateful.  We also hope that both his association with the Club and his help will continue.  The fixture list for next season is now almost complete and will include a father-sons match and also monthly ‘family games’ where all families and friends of the Club will be encouraged to come and watch and tuck into a decent tea and post-match barbecue.

We will also try and improve our communication within the wider Valley.  We shall make sure fixture lists are posted up on notice boards and in shops and pubs and that we list the upcoming monthly matches in the Valley Broadsheets.  We care very much that cricket in the Valley should not be seen as an exclusive club for a small number of players.  So many of you have very generously helped create our stunning new ground and we want you all feel a sense of ownership and belonging to it.

Junior Cricket
Our Juniors have progressed well this year, although the Under 13s was disappointingly low in numbers.  Geoff Bonner and Karen Hitchings did great things with our Under 9s, while the Under 11s made considerable progress.  We even managed to win our first ever Under 11s game – no small achievement – and had two players, in Liam Perry and Ned Holland, representing unbeaten Wiltshire District sides.  At the end of the season, Felix Woodroffe also gained a county trial; our congratulations to him.  We have been fortunate in being able to welcome Paul Boatwright, a highly experienced former South Wilts CC coach.  He has been joined by his two sons, Matt and Tom, who have also qualified as coaches.  So too has Toby Golden, who has also shown exceptional coaching talents and empathy with our younger players.  Further good news is that another hugely experienced coach, Steve Webb, is also moving to us from South Wilts, which is fantastic news.  Next year, we plan to run Under 9s, 11s and 13s plus a Girls side, but incorporate the Under 15s into our weekend and Wednesday evening sides.

The Ground
The ground continues to look stunning and is, to my mind, the finest pitch in the area – and this is almost entirely due to the incomparable Ian Newman. Ian has continued to show extraordinary devotion, time and energy to our beautiful ground, although Mark Cuff, in particular, has also helped him.  We are enormously grateful.  I would also like to thank the good people of Bowerchalke for our lovely benches, dedicated to the memory of Carole Rawle and Dick Low, and to the Bucklands for their benches too.  Our huge thanks also go to those who continue to contribute regularly, and that includes McKillop & Gregory, who donate funds from every property they sell in the Valley.

Fund-raising continues for the pavilion, although the harsh economic times are not helping.  However, we remain upbeat and are working hard applying for grants etc, and are accepting that this goal may take a little time.  We now have formal planning permission for the Twin Peaks, and this may have to suffice for a little while yet.  We are, however, hopeful that we will be able to put in a sewage plant next season, which will enable us to add toilets and showers at the back of the existing pavilion.

Cricket Force Day
The official weekend for the ECB’s Natwest Cricket Force is 30th March-1st April; the following weekend is Easter, so we will almost certainly hold our now traditional season opener that last day of March as well.  As usual, there will be a barbecue, games, and a work force to lay a permanent practice strip behind the pavilion.  And as always, all are very much welcome!  The past two years have been great occasions, and this year we even had two Hampshire CCC players join us.  The plan is do much the same for 2012.

Nets
All Club and non-Club members are welcome to use the nets and practice areas at any time.  We now have plenty of kit and good facilities, not least a wonderful Bola bowling machine thanks to the incredible generosity of Pat, Tony and Jane at The Horseshoe in Ebbesbourne Wake.  They continue to be huge supporters of the Club, recently hosting our end of season dinner.  The bowling machine does require a coach or senior member of the Club to be present, but it is a superb piece of kit and can be used outside of formal coaching sessions.

We also plan to hold more regular senior nets next summer.  The day of the week will be confirmed in due course, but one again, anyone who fancies a swing of the blade or turning over an arm is more than welcome.

The Chalke Valley History Festival
Our first History Festival was a huge success, with some 4,000 people attending and around 90% of capacity overall at the twelve events.  For all those who gave their time freely, and to the villagers of Bowerchalke who put up with the influx, our sincere thanks.

The Committee have, however, realized that if the Festival is to endure then it needs to expand.  This, it is felt, is unfair on the Village residents, and would involve greater use of the cricket ground – and certain surrounding fields – than is really acceptable, and so we have decided to move to a new site on the Hoopers’ farm at Ebbesbourne.  There we have an equally stunning 22 site of some 22 acres with metalled access tracks in and out and in which, we hope, we will continue to hold the Festival for many years to come.

Next year’s Festival is already looking good.  The programme is nearing completion and includes Julian Fellowes, Max Hastings, Antony Beevor, Michael Morpurgo, Amanda Vickery, Stella Tillyard, Jeremy Paxman, Simon Jenkins, Michael Wood, Tom Holland, Rowland White, Helen Castor, Sarah Dunnant, Artemis Cooper, Patrick Bishop, Alison Weir and others.  It will run from Tuesday 26th June until Sunday 1st May.  The mid-week events will be the same themed ‘double-bills’ we had this year, but there will be two events tents next year, not one.  At the weekend, events – both children and adults – will run throughout both days.  We will also be joined by Pike & Shot, a living history events group, and we are also including a historical fiction competition for two age groups – 11-14 and 15-18.  The shortlist will be read out at an event on Sunday 1st July, and Michael Morpurgo will be among the judging panel.  Event themes include the Georgians, the Civil War, First World War, Second World War, History of British Food, Agincourt, the Middle East and the Tudors.  Another theme will be Britain and will include a debate on the Greatest Britain.  A shortlist will be voted for by the general public.

We have also set up a new Chalke Valley Historic Trust. The idea is to split Festival profits between Community Projects and history education in schools, although in terms of the former, the initial project will be the Cricket Club’s new pavilion.  Once completed, we will happily consider other ideas.  The Festival was set up primarily as a means of providing funds for the Cricket Club; it has already developed into something more than that, but the original goal of finding a way of financing the pavilion remains a key goal.  The Festival does have a website: www.cvhf.org.uk, but if there is anyone who would like to or be willing to help with the Festival, we would certainly like to hear from you.

Finally, the Club would like to thank all those who have continued to support our wonderful Club and new ground, and all the Bowerchalke Residents who have to put up with teams and children playing there throughout the summer.

We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and all best wishes for the New Year.