PRESTBURY CRICKET CLUB

MINUTES OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Wednesday 13th March 2013 at the Admiral Rodney at 8.00pm

PRESENT

John Heywood, Tim Jevons, John Nicol, Steve Crosby, Myles Mason, John Davies, David Barker, Hilary Scott, Nick Kirkland, Bill Livesley, Roger Gorvin, Adam Massey, Graham Hall, Rob Thorneycroft, Peter Johnson, Kevin Murray, Yash Khosla, John Heywood

1. APOLOGIES

Phillip Wood, Terry Everatt, Ron Taylor, David Hodgkinson, David Evans, Simon Montgomery, Bob Meston, Davis Russell, Kim Ross, Mattie Gray, Jim Barker, Mike Hind, Rick Roberts, Dom Asquith, Bryn Thompson.

2. MINUTES OF AGM HELD ON 6th March 2012

These were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman

Proposed: Rob Thorneycroft Seconded: David Barker

CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS

2012 On the Field

On field performances were severely hampered by the appalling weather last year which saw a record number of games lost for all levels of cricket at the club both senior and junior and made life very difficult for our Groundsman Steve Pearson who managed to work minor miracles at times to get the pitch playable, so my first comments must be one of thanks to Steve and also to all those who made it possible for us to play as much cricket as was played last year, a tremendous effort all round.

To results, after a good finish in 2011 in Division 1, the 1st XI finished in an creditable 9th place which was a great team performance given the number of injuries and absences that seem to befall the team last year, and our hope is that the core of the squad can again come together to form a competitive team again and begin to perform with the consistency and ability that we all know is there in abundance!

For the past 6 years Simon Montgomery has lead the team as captain and was joined last year by Dom Asquith as vice captain, Monty has over the past years worked tirelessly to get a competitive 1st X1 in the field but has decided that the time is now right to step down and pass the honour onto Dom who will step up as captain this coming season. So, many thanks to Monty for all his efforts and good luck to Dom for the coming season. And we once again welcome a young Australian, Lachlan Floyd, as our overseas player and we hope he enjoys his time with PCC with as much success as his predecessors have shown

The 2nd X1 had good year in 2012, finishing a very commendable 5th which shows remarkable resilience given the trials and tribulations of 2011. Much credit must go to Bryn Thompson who took over the captaincy last year but it was huge team effort as the injuries in the whole squad made getting a fit 11 players on the pitch at time quite a challenge, but the signs are good that the new season will show the 2nd X1 getting nearer to the top spot and possible promotion! Especially if they can replicate the performance of the season when with just 9 men playing at home against Cheshire County Officers the team were set a target of 255, which remarkably was achieved for the loss of 5 wickets and with 6 overs to spare. I am reliably informed that this comes close to but does not surpasses the achievements of the famous Irby 8, but well done to Bryn and all those who played in this spectacular victory.

The Third XI enjoyed an all together indifferent season but thanks must go to Andrew Wood who stepped in as Captain last year in what was a difficult and very challenging time. We hope that the hard work done by the committee over the winter in restructuring will show what can be achieved by the 3rd X1 and as we look forward to welcoming many members of the U18s & U15s into all three of the senior playing squads this coming season this looks like it should be a better year all round this year.

The junior section of the club continues to go from strength to strength. We continue to attract large numbers of children who get the chance to play competitive cricket at all age levels. Last year all age groups won silverware in their various leagues and cup competitions and the true strength of the section can be seen by the number of players selected for County and District honours at many ages.

Many of the juniors are now representing the club at first, second and third team levels, as a direct result of the excellent junior section we now have in place. This success is testament to the hard work and dedication put in by all the Junior coaches, especially Steve Crosby our Junior Chair .

All the age groups play in both the High Peak and Cheshire leagues so almost every weekend or evening there will be at least one Prestbury Junior team playing cricket somewhere. And this year will see more of the Juniors playing their cricket at the Village Ground so hopefully some of the club members can wander down to the club and see some fantastically competitive cricket. A decision has been take to move the Junior section away from using Derby Fields @ Kings school, and use the Village ground where we can and we have also negotiated the use of Kerridge CC for some off the junior teams matches and training - these decision have been taken as major costs saving measures and I’m sure John Nicol will explain the financial aspects in more detail and Steve Crosby can add further details during any other business..

Off the field -Although the club’s finances were again tight we are still making excellent progress in trimming costs and increasing revenue – John will of course set out the current position in more detail shortly whilst still maintaining our priority of being able to provide a high quality environment for cricket at all ages.

As for the ground itself, this year our groundsman Steve Pearson was again rewarded for all his efforts when we were voted 3rd pace in 2012 for Wickets in the TACCS league, following our 1st place in 2011. This is an award voted for by all the teams who visit prestbury so is a real pat on the back to Steve, and especially given the weather last year.

Also many thanks go to John Elder who has remodelled the entrance gate and also replaced the fencing around the ground so we now have a sheep free pitch!

Again, many thanks to the many advertisers and sponsors of the annual fixtures diary. I would also like to thank Rob Thorneycroft for yet again organising our annual Golf Day, and although it was weather affected it was as ever another superb day as I think the golf in the bar seemed to be of a better standard than could have been achieved on the course!!!

The end of Season dinner was again organised superbly by Kenny Kirkland and Matty Grey, so many thanks for all their hard work.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity formally announce that I am stepping down as Chairman and assuming the vote goes accordingly I will be ably replaced by Yash Khola and I wish him luck in his tenure as chairman.

I would like to express my personal thanks to Hilary, John & Tim for their help during my time as chairman but most of all thanks must go to all the players, parents, committee members, captains, managers and coaches, for all their hard work over the last 2 years. It is this level of commitment that will ensure that PCC continues to go from strength to strength.

3. TO APPROVE THE HONORARY TREASURER'S REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST OCTOBER 2012

JN reported and highlighted the following in the accounts:-

Money in £18,741 money out £24,347 – deficit £5,606

Depreciation accounts for £2000, so cash loss of approx. £3000

Subs down from £13,165 to £10,078.

Senior subs down over 50%, more juniors played in senior matches, many senior players only played 2/3 games therefore no subs due, some subs not collected. Cancelled matches due to the weather had an impact on number of games played to collect subs and match fees.Better system to be introduced for 2013. Captains responsible for collecting match fees and subs

Bar trading up slightly £3,418 v £3,117

Ash Tree paid £350 for pitch hire as well as bar takings – good income for club down due to cancelled games due to the weather.

Profit on functions was £5,499 – made up of £3,302 from Golf Day (even though no golf played!), £617 from end of season dinner down from £1,340 in 2012 and £1,580 from the Junior Fun Day and BBQ.

Wages – most is for Steve Pearson and remainder for Bar Staff

Ground and square upkeep £2,246 only slightly up on due to work on square £1400 and hedge trimming £700!

Our Water bill has gone down from £418 to £271

Insurance is similar – £1,422 2011 v £1,370 2012

Cost of Winter Nets more than covered by junior subs

Derby Field £3,869 a reduction on last year, however the committee is looking at alternative pitches to reduce this expenditure further for 2013.

Sundries include £1,811 for Overseas’s player flight from 2012. No flight to pay for in 2013.

Fixed Assets are the pavilion and all machinery – written down after depreciation - shed to be replaced with metal one before start of season

JH thanked JN most sincerely for all his hard work in preparing the accounts

The accounts were approved

Proposed: Bill Livesley Seconded: Roger Gorvin

4. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

President – Tim Jevons

Chairman – Yash Khosla

Treasurer – John Nicol

Secretary – Hilary Scott

Elected en bloc

Proposed: David Barker Seconded: Graham Hall

5. ELECTION OF 1ST & 2ND TEAM CAPTAINS AND 3RD TEAM MANAGER

1st Team Captain – Dom Asquith

2nd Team Captain – Bryn Thompson

3rd Team Manager – John Heywood

Elected en bloc

Proposed: Adam Massey Seconded: Myles Mason

6. TO ELECT COMMITTEE MEMBERS

President, Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Team Captains, Rob Thorneycroft, Child Welfare Officer Fred Slater and League Rep Kevin Murray.

Proposed: Bill Livesley Seconded: Yash Khosla

7. TO APPOINT HONORARY ACCOUNTANTS

Heywood Shepherd

Approved

8. SUBSCRIPTIONS

Junior subs at £75 for first child, with 2nd child paying £65 and 3rd child paying £55

Senior subs remain at £50 with a match fee of £10

U18’s and students in full time education will pay £50 subs and a match fee of £5

Proposed: Bill Livesley Seconded: Rob Thorneycroft

9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

  • RG asked the committee to review its income streams to reduce the possibility of a deficit in 2013. The committee to look at sponsorship and /or another event this summer
  • YK suggested reduced subs for players playing only a handful of games- taken to next committee meeting
  • YK hoped the midweek T20 games could be publicised and they would attract increase footfall and bar takings – take to next committee meeting
  • The T20 crusaders game needs to be marketed well to attract spectators
  • The Under 11 and Kwik will use Kerridge ground in 2013, the under 9 use Gawsworth School, under 13 and 15 will use the club. This will save the club at lease £2,500 if not more in pitch hire. SC to liase with the junior and senior teams to work out logistics of training and matches at the club and Kerridge.

Ground update

  • In May there is one year left on the lease at PCC - at this point RG will write to Sir Neil Westbrook asking him of his intentions for the ground
  • Sir Neil could say nothing- we have no legal route to challenge this that is realistically open to us.

RG and JD are happy to manage the ground situation until we have a satisfactory outcome. They told the AGM there it is currently a very unsatisfactory situation for PCC.

JH thanked them for their continued efforts for the club.

Diary dates

Works Party 13/04/2013

1st games

1stX1 20/04/2013 Home v Malpas

2nd X1 20/04/2013 Away v Kingsley

3rdX1 21/04/213 Away V Alderley Edge

Cup games

1stX1 06/06/2013 Away v Alderley Edge

2ndX1 11/06/2013 Away v Woodford

Crusader Tour Game 28/06/2013 50 overs

Golf Day 07/06/2013

Junior 6’s 7/07/2013

Village 6’s 14/07/2013

Presidents day 01/09/2013

End of Season Dinner 20/09/2013

Bill Livesley thanks JH for his efforts, seconded by all in the room.

JH thanked everyone for their attendance and support and the meeting was closed.