View from the Veranda (3)

The evenings are still dark and dreary, the rain continues to fall and the cricket season feels like it is a long way off. We are, however, now in March, and that means that the first of our pre-season friendlies takes place next month. Club legend and fixtures' secretary, Paul Johnson, is nonetheless already putting in place a plan B should the inclement weather continue; "if this rain keeps falling, all pre-season friendlies will automatically transfer to water polo fixtures. If nothing else, it'll do wonders for everyone's fitness levels". However, the thought of the Vets in budgy smugglers has to be enough to put everyone off everything. For life. Let's just hope the sun makes an appearance sometime very soon.

TCC in the News
Quiet though this time of year inevitably is, that hasn’t stopped the Ts being in the news this week. The Cricket Paper has profiled TCC in its current (w/c 5 March) edition , and we basically get a full page spread replete with photos of the pavilion, the Ts in action and of the TCC posse that appeared on Sky’s Cricket AM a couple of years ago. As far as I’m aware the Cricket Paper doesn’t publish these articles online, but do try to grab hold of a hard copy if you’re passing a decent newsagent.

Somewhat embarrassingly, I, erm, well, umm, appear in all three of those photos. It’s not a set up, guv, honest! Thankfully one of them (a panoramic shot of the pavilion) is a long distance one that isn’t quite in sharp enough focus to see the scoreboard; we’re batting and are uneasily placed on 36-5 whilst chasing Sunbury’s 280. The less said about how that chase went the better.

Allstars’ Cricket
Over the winter the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been playing around with ideas for reinvigorating junior cricket across the country. And, that reinvigoration kicks in big time in a few short weeks when ‘Allstars’ Cricket’ makes its debut. In essence, Allstars’ Cricket (I sincerely hope that all documentation will include that apostrophe; they’ll be hell to pay otherwise) is focused on the youngest age groups. That means the 5-8 year olds who used to play ‘Kwik Cricket’. These kids now get branded kit directly from the ECB whilst the clubs providing the coaching get a range of things to help them improve the sessions that they offer. There are also a few administrative changes to the way the cricket is organised and they (the changes) all look as if they will help us offer a really good package to the youngest cricketing aficionados.

There is, of course, likely to be the odd bump in the road as this is rolled out, but TCC are going to jump on board and give it a go. We aren’t alone, as over 2,000 clubs up and down the land have signed up. Our folks leading on this are Pete Burke, Paul McLoughlin and to a lesser extent Steve Cowley; do let them know if you want to hear more and, of course, get involved (either by helping out with the coaching/organising or as you may know of folks whose kids might be keen to dip their respective toes in to cricket).

Win/lose league cricket for everyone
Finally, one update for those in the 4ths and 5ths. The 1987 League has decided to follow the Middlesex County Cricket League in including both timed and win/lose cricket in their league format. So, you’ll now have 9 games of win/lose cricket and 9 games where the draw is still in play. Both Hinay (4th XI skipper) and Phil (5th XI captain) attended the AGM, so they are best placed to advise on the details. Do drop them a line if you want to find out more.

Right, stay classy, folks, and bring on the better weather.

Dan