• 10 Nov 2001:   Season 2001 Trophy winners
• 10 Nov 2001:   2001 Dinner dance
• 3 Oct 2001:   A sister for Jake
• 31 Jul 2001:   Who says I need a helmet?
• 10 Apr 2001:   Indoor Nets
• 8 Apr 2001:   Tenpin bowling scores
• 8 Apr 2001:   Preseason tenpin bowling
• 28 Feb 2001:   Report on AGM

Food, fun and prizes at Badgers dinner

For those of you unable to attend this season's dinner and dance, not only did you miss out on the usual convivial evening and Mark Gordon's inaugural speech as club captain (which was a good 'un), but you might also care to know that the trophies were distributed as follows:

Another baby Badger starts her innings!

On Wednesday 3rd October 2001 Dawn Gordon gave birth to a 7lb 5oz baby girl, to be named Amy Grace. Mother and baby are doing fine, and father Mark sounded surprisingly chipper too :)

Dinner dance details

This year's dinner dance will be held on Saturday 10th November 2001, at the same venue as in recent years, Leatherhead Golf Club, who have done us proud over that period. Pre-dinner drinks can be taken from 18:30 onwards, with the meal slated to start at 19:00 and carriages at midnight. The cost this year is twenty-nine pounds per person, so don't forget your cheque book if you haven't paid in advance!

View a map of the area around the golf club

Bat in a helmet? Me?? Never!

No doubt over the past two or three seasons many Badgers will have heard me pooh-poohing the idea of wearing a helmet, especially when discussing the ECB directives in relation to junior cricket. However, my views have been coloured somewhat by recent events, which I shall regale you with for the 'benefit' of those that were otherwise engaged at the time.

This year's tour to the Cotswolds started with a new Friday fixture - Windrush Valley, a picturesque little ground near Great Barrington village, which seemingly sloped quite sharply downwards on all four sides of the square - where we were made extremely welcome. Unfortunately for me, early in our innings in that game, I top-edged a pull at a hip-high full toss into my face, resulting in multiple fractures and a (very) depressed left cheekbone. Fortunately the host's wicket keeper (who had earlier been hit on the head by a Mark Gordon bouncer and would subsequently also be hit in the cheek by an errant leg-side delivery) was a dental surgeon who came off the pitch to take a look at the cheek and instantly despatched me to hospital, being very specific about where.

Thankfully Janet was watching the game and was able to drive me to the A&E at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, and stay with me for the four hours or so of fun and games that followed. We got back to the hotel in Chipping Norton just as the rest of the party were hitting the coffee and truffles, but the usual jocularity helped to ease the pain a little and I'd like to think that my misadventures didn't spoil the occasion for everyone else, even if it did put something of a damper on it for Janet and I.

Ten days later I underwent surgery to raise the cheekbone and insert a small plate behind it to hold everything in place. Despite considerable trepidation in advance of going under a general anaesthetic for the first time since I was five years old, I survived the operation, and the experience, and have lived to tell the tale with only a slightly protruding cheek bone, and rapidly fading bruises, to indicate any sort of a problem.

However, I for one will be wearing a helmet whenever I go out to bat in the future, and I have been told that several other members of the team that were playing that day have also started doing so. I was lucky inasmuch as no permanent damage was caused (given the speed the ball was travelling, had it hit me an inch higher the after effects don't bear thinking about) but it really isn't a risk worth running again, even if helmets are sweaty, uncomfortable, tiring to wear and restrict your vision.

Having said all that, as long as the club provides helmets for those that don't have their own, I really don't see that anyone should be forced to wear them. Some will choose to, and others will choose not to, and that is as it should be. Despite my own experience, I'd hate to see the ECB introducing the same ruling for adult cricket as they already have for the juniors.

Preseason tenpin bowling - the scores

The first entertainment event of the season has been and gone, and a good time was had by all, even if Bella Pasta do need to smarten up their logistics when it comes to large parties!! I can't imagine that anyone other than the participants really cares, but since the new club skipper was the out-and-out winner, I thought I'd do a bit of grovelling :))

Mark Gordon	146	-	160	=	306
Steve Pitts	138	-	134	=	272
Roy Gordon	117	-	145	=	262
Mick Willmott	128	-	129	=	257
Alan Tickner	111	-	130	=	241
Ian Gregg	92	-	129	=	221
Gill Gordon	117	-	102	=	219
Dave Tickner	115	-	104	=	219
Bonnie Willmott	93	-	112	=	205
Darrell Pitts	112	-	82	=	194
Richard Kemp	80	-	108	=	188
Ann Kemp	85	-	94	=	179
Dawn Gordon	88	-	89	=	177
Sandra Gregg	76	-	92	=	168
Menolly Pitts	76	-	79	=	155
Jacqueline Pitts	77	-	69	=	146
Janet Pitts	49	-	50	=	99

(Oh, and don't blame me if any of the above totals are incorrect, as Darrell added them up in the restaurant before our meal)

Thanks to Dave Tickner for organising another cracking event, which was certainly well received in my household!!

AGM - 28 Feb 2001

The usual stalwarts, numbering a baker's dozen, attended this year's AGM at the Sutton Highfield Lawn Tennis Club, for whose hospitality the club is once again most grateful. You will all no doubt be horrified to learn that Keith Miller made a right hash of the forecasts last year, and the club duly made a 250 GBP profit on income that was nearly 350 pounds above forecast, including two wins on the Premium Bonds. Shocking :)

As a result, match fees and subscriptions will remain the same at five pounds and twenty pounds respectively, as they have done for a number of years now.

This year's tour should hopefully include a full slate of games (see the fixtures page for more details) and we will once again be staying at The Crown And Cushion in Chipping Norton (view a map of the area). Accommodation may be limited, due to another large party occupying all the twin-bedded rooms, so get your requests for a room in sooner rather than later.

The expected changes to the officers of the club took place, with Steve Pitts standing down as Club Captain after eleven years. The appointment of Mark Gordon as his replacement then resulted in a domino effect on the other officers, with Barry Davenport taking on Mark's role as Team Secretary (in absentia - so if you aren't happy about it Barry you'd better talk to your Dad, who did at least agree to act as your backup whilst volunteering you) and Alan Tickner yet again stepping into the vice-captain's shoes, for a third term in that position, when no other volunteers were forthcoming. Ian Gregg was voted in as the fourth committee member, replacing Alan.

If you've now lost track of who's doing what, hopefully the club officers page will put you straight :)

Indoor Nets Season 2001

This year's indoor nets will be held in the sports hall at Nescot College, Reigate Road, Ewell, Epsom, Surrey.
Tel no. 020 8394 1731. Due to the closure of other facilities it has proven extremely difficult for us to get the dates and times that we would like, but those with further to travel will almost certainly appreciate the later start times.

There will be four sessions on the following dates:

Preseason tenpin bowling and meal

Dave Tickner has finalised the details of the pre-season get-together, and I'll let him tell it in his own words:

I've booked three lanes at Hollywood Bowl Crawley, on Sunday 8th April, 4-6pm, which should allow 16 people to play 2 games each. After that those who wish have a table booked at Bella Pasta, which is adjacent in the Leisure Complex. For those who don't bowl there are several Dreamcast experiences to play. It is reasonably priced, with the bowling £3.75 per game from memory.

The venue is well signposted on a major roundabout in Crawley Town Centre, with plenty of parking, although always busy, so leave a little extra time.

The address is:

Hollywood Bowl,

Crawley Leisure Park,

Crawley,

RH10 2LR.

Tel:

01293 521999.

View a map of the area around the bowling alley