The snow has melted and Spring is here! Well, March 21st is officially the first day of Spring and then the clocks spring forward an hour…and then NETS start…and before you know it the season has started!
2018 will be an historic year as MGCC has been promoted to play in Division ONE for the first time in the Clubs 30 years in the OCA. We deserve the place though we were assisted by a winter recount! We equalled our highest ever league position last year finishing 4th (for the 5th time!) and just missed out on promotion as the top 3 were moved up. However, over the winter Horwood pulled out to join an MK league (nice place to play cricket?) and we were promoted to replace them.
Your new Originals Skipper and Captain of Vice have been busy recruiting over the break and we welcome a few fresh faces and experienced campaigners into the fold. But with our usual Exam & Uni deserters we still need everyone to be available as often as possible from the start. It will be tougher in the Top Flight as we visit some very respectable grounds, but we aren’t facing anyone we don’t know and can’t beat!
Check out the WhatsApp Group for up to the minute messages from Skip and make sure you get your availability to him. (Also some stellar jokes from yours truly!). Those that follow the new-fangled Twitter thing need to follow us too!
Guns Leonard will be taking charge Midweek and plenty of opportunity to play in the fast and frantic format (unless batting with Joe).
Every Sunday morning at 11am we will have outside NETS on the artificial down the ground. This gives you 4 weeks before the first game to get loose, unwind that rocket arm, make the catch and find some timing with the bat! Depending on the weather we may also get practice on grass too.
The Club needs financing too. Mikey has dropped a line requesting entries for the Bonus Ball which starts March 31st. Just £20 for 20 weeks and if your number comes in that’s £30 in the beer kitty for you. All players should look to sell 3 numbers at least. They make a great Easter present and much healthier than chocolate!
Annual Subscriptions and Match Fees remained unaltered at the AGM and be ready to pay that by June – perhaps with your Bonus Ball winnings!
Your Chairman will have even less tolerance for any KIT transgressions in Division One. You know what you face if you turn up with any other Club branding! And there is no reason to with a great array of well priced kit from Eddie at Trysports. We now even have training Gilets! (Sat – you are definitely not a ‘Medium!’)
Get online and order, or nip in to Bicester and have a word with David, but get there early before the rest of Oxford starts wanting embroidery doing….Get your Club Number ready for the start.
Check out the OCA website for all the fixtures ahead and note we have a home Sunday League game too: The Back-to-Back local derby Weekender! First at Westcott on the Saturday and then we host them at The Recreation Ground the next day!
Match reports will be appearing here throughout the season as well as OCA reports, so put in those performances to get in the headlines!
We requested a couple of free Saturdays in May, for Daley’s Stag (5th) and Club Day (19th). The fixtures have fallen with us playing at home across June and July every week (bar one) and this also gives us the chance for some height of Summer post match socials (in the bar!)
Sunday 1st April – 11am at the ground for the first Net Session and time to blow away those cobwebs!