Goodbye 2019 and Hello 2020!
Hopefully, sometime soon, we will be able to say goodbye to the rain too. Never mind, the Square is coming along nicely with a good covering of grass and with light rolling now underway preparations are well advanced for yet another true hard flat surface this Summer.
We start with Outdoor Nets at the ground from Sunday March 29th, then every Sunday and Thursday until matches begin in May. Sunday session starts at 10.30am and Thursday at 6.30pm. Numbers will dictate activities. Just rock up.
OCA League Fixtures are now on the OCA Website and we start our Division 2 campaign at Faringdon on May 2nd…..17 matches later on September 12th we finish at home to Watlington, when we will celebrate an immediate return back to the Top Flight!
Midweek League fixtures and details will be out later in March, but Timms Senior has already advised a similar format to last year with ten league games, and the top 4 teams playing off for the Trophies. These games will start first week of May too, on Wednesday nights as usual.
Our Captains remain unchanged with brothers Leonard leading us out: Joe on Saturday and Tom on Wednesday. Satty has stood down from Saturday Vice due to a busy year ahead with the family and Joe will soon appoint his new Vice…my money is on someone with Broad Shoulders! TimDog will be assisting Guns in the Midweek, (which means doing everything!)
The Match and Sign-on Fee system brought in last year worked well and has been retained for this year, meaning those that play regularly benefit from £50 annual subs and from only £10 match fees (the Tea alone is worth that!) and those playing less frequently can opt to pay only the match fee of £15 per game (no annual sub needed). We feel this works fairly for all and brings in funds to cover the matchday costs for officials, balls, teas, which in total is more than £100 per game.
This matchday funding is nowhere near enough to run the club and extra fund raising is essential. The Bonus Ball, under TimDogs stewardship, starts Saturday 15th February and only a few balls remain, (just like Tacky) so get in quick to avoid disappointment (also, like Tacky!)
The Quiz Night is back too! Saturday 21st March at the Village Hall. Another great fundraiser for all the community to enjoy. Only £5 per person (includes a free bevvy from the very reasonably priced bar!) Quizmaster Dave will be at the mic and Teams / Tables can be reserved in advance. Prizes Galore!! Get in touch with any Committee Member, Whatsapp, or email me from the Contacts link above. Please support these activities because without them those match fees would have to rise considerably, or we could always lower our standards to be like………………..!! (fill in cricket club name here).
Special Thank you to ARZOO Indian Restaurant in Bicester for generously sponsoring our 2020 Match Balls. A great night was had at ARZOO’s in January when 14 of us sampled many cold beers and hot curries! We look forward to a long association with ARZOO and are planning our ‘Mid Season break’ there already!
And finally……The long awaited return of that very special event, something that takes a while to recover from, something that always brings the unexpected, something that always comes close to Police reprimands and fills landlords hearts with joy and tills with cash, that turns Cricketers into Hospital Patients! Yes, 2020 brings the return of “The MGCC TOUR.”
Watch this space for more details, but keep Mid-August free for now….You just simply cannot miss this! (Bring a spare Liver)
So, get that pre-season aerobic training started and prepare for a long hot run-fest, wickets tumbling, Summer of Fun!
Chairman Kyle.