1. AGM / EGM 2021

Shipston on Stour CC Annual General Meeting 2021

Minutes of Annual General Meeting held at 7.00pm on 29/10/2021 at the White Bear, Shipston.

Present :

Gary Betteridge, Neil Harper, Steve Gainsley, Jack Murphy, Dave Murphy, Marcus Ireland, John Paton, Joel Bennett, Simon Willey, Ed Bolderstone, Matthew Pratt, Roger Wickson, Neil Harvey, Dan Knight, Richard Hargett

Apologies :

Bernie Spratt, Jon Hince, Liam Murphy, Tom Cox, Matt Corby, Alex Bury, Sam Dexter, Dave Pyne, Julian Morris, Ryan Worthington, Glen Jackson, Veronica Murphy, Peter Betteridge
Minutes of last meeting :
Read and agreed as a true record.
Adopted following a proposal by Matthew Pratt, seconded by Ed Bolderstone.

Matters arising :
None

Chairman’s Address :

The chairman addressed the meeting as follows :

Normally I would start by thanking the committee first and the players last – on this occasion I would like to do it the other way round. I’d like to thank and congratulate all senior and junior players in one of the most successful seasons the club has experienced.

For the seniors, whether it was a case of better training facilities, a few extra competitive Sunday games or just a little more commitment, for whatever reason there seemed to be a lot more players contributing to their respective teams instead of relying on the same old players.
With this being the case, for the 1st XI to be in the hunt for silverware until the final few weeks of the season and to finish a respectable 3rd place I thought was a step in the right direction to hopefully bring the honours home in the 2022 season.

It was a very similar situation for the 2nd XI as they were in with a chance of promotion leading into the last couple of weeks, finishing a very respectable 4th considering they were up against mostly 1st XI teams. It just goes to show when you, the players, put in a little effort on training nights you start to reap the rewards and as a committee it is great to see the new net facility being used to its maximum.

The junior section was just as successful, firstly to have the numbers we get on a Friday night with Allstars, Dynamos and hard ball is a great achievement in itself – to stand at the top of the bank looking down on a field full of junior boys and girls running around enjoying themselves is great to see. To then be able to field 4 junior teams and see one reach a quarter final, two reach semi finals and one to win their plate final is a massive achievement. So for me, I couldn’t be more proud of all players, coaches and parents – let’s hope this success carries on into the new season ahead and hopefully in the future the seniors will then benefit from these youngsters coming through as we are gradually starting to see.

All this is great credit to all the captains and coaches of the respective teams which now leads me into thanking Jack for the professional way he leads from the top. In the way he managed net sessions during and post COVID throughout the season and in the way he leads his troops on and off the field, Jack is one of the most committed and enthusiastic cricketers you could ever meet, he always gives 100% and he is our “Mr Cricket”. Thanks Jack, I appreciate everything you have done.

Thanks to Marra for his commitment travelling every week from Cheltenham – he has one of the most difficult jobs in any club, being 2nd XI captain. I found it very difficult to put into words as to how best to describe Matthew – all I can come up with is UNIQUE. When playing in the 2nd XI always expect the unexpected, but you cannot knock how he leads his mixture of youth, experience and John Paton. His positive attitude, team talks and banter are second to none – it’s just how every second team captain should be. Thank you Marra.
Thanks to Liam and Spike for the way they organised the Sunday fixtures, especially giving the juniors the opportunity, not just to play but also bat and bowl – at times out of their comfort zone and never once letting their club down.

A big thank you to Mr Bradley, our President, for standing as 2nd XI, 100 ball, Sunday friendly and junior umpire. He has made it viable for us as a club to progress with the new net facility due to a very generous contribution towards the cost. So on this occasion I’ll be talking on behalf of all senior, junior and everyone else involved in the club, it’s a massive thank you.
When I took over the chairman role, my two main priorities were to improve the junior section and provide better practice facilities. The ECB made improving the juniors a little easier by introducing Allstars – the person I have to thank for setting this up is Mark Ireland, who had to attend meetings and courses to get us up and running. But then to keep it progressing you need someone passionate, enthusiastic and patient, fortunately for the club Steve Gainsley took up the challenge and has done a fantastic job by taking the junior section to another level. The Friday nights have grown each year, as I mentioned earlier we ran 4 junior teams throughout the summer, he ran winter net sessions and still found time to attend winter courses as well as league meetings. Steve basically saw the net project through from start to finish, dealing with contractors, suppliers and anyone else who needed to be dealt with, he was down at the club on a daily basis keeping an eye on what was going on and to put any faults right. As you can see, Steve had a very busy year, so from all the juniors, junior parents, the committee and myself, thanks Steve.

I would also like to thank those few people who helped with Friday nights, I won’t mention names just in case I miss anyone. I’d like to thank Peter Betteridge who helped Tom with the ground, you both did an amazing job to produce wickets week in week out to the very highest of standards.

Now for the main 3 who have been the rock behind me, in my words I call the 4 of us the executive committee, who are chairman, vice-chairman, treasurer and secretary. I created this sub-committee to make decision-making a little easier, especially when decisions had to be made quickly. I would say out of season we would talk cricket-related matters at least twice a week, but in season we would be talking on a daily basis. The time Tom, Matt and Neil put into this club is unbelievable, without these 3 the club wouldn’t be in the position it is in today – we’re in a good financial position, we’re on top of all our paperwork and play at one of the best grounds locally. I cannot thank these guys enough, I cannot praise them enough, all I can say is from the bottom of my heart is a massive thank you and if I ever had to go into the trenches I’d want you boys behind me. Matt, Tom and Neil, thank you.

What we must remember is anyone who joins a committee is giving up a lot of their spare time and doing so without any payment, so when commenting or criticising any decisions a committee make, just remember those couple of facts.

I started playing cricket for Shipston at the age of 12 for the under 16s and I’ve not missed a year up to now which is 37 consecutive years. I joined the committee as a junior representative as a 15 year old and I think in that time I’ve spent a minimum of 25 years on the committee in one role or another – that is one of the reasons why I am stepping down from my position as chairman. I also feel it’s time for someone else to come on board and take this club to the next level with fresh ideas.

Sorry for keeping you so long and thank you for your time, also thank you for putting up with me for the last 6 years in this position, Shipston CC has been and will always be in my heart, good luck to the new committee and let’s hope 2022 can be better than this past season.

Treasurer’s Report :

The treasurer had sent his apologies for absence but stated that copies of the full audited accounts as at 31st March 2021 are available to any members on request, copies can be sent by email.

The bank position at 08:00 on 29/10/21 was as follows :

Lloyds a/c - £7251
Savings a/c - £4731
Total - £11982

Plus a small amount of cash in hand, approx £250
Please note that we have an interest-free loan for £5000 to repay to the Stella Symons Trust, but we do have approx £4000 of reclaimed VAT to receive from the Sports Club, mostly from the net purchase in 2021

At the 2019 AGM a financial position of £11k had been reported with some income still outstanding, which took us up to around £12k in total – a healthy position.
Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the outlay on new facilities in 2021, to be in the same financial position at the 2021 AGM is a considerable achievement.

The treasurer had asked for any questions on accounts to be forwarded on – There were none.

Election of officers :

President – John Bradley had stated he was willing to continue as President but was happy for someone else to take on the role if there was any interest.

In the absence of any nominations from the floor, John Bradley was proposed by Dave Murphy, seconded by Jack Murphy and voted in unanimously.

Chairman – Gary Betteridge had previously communicated his intention to stand down as chairman after 6 years in the role.

In the absence of the President he continued in the chair while asking for nominations from the floor to take on the role of chairman. There was some discussion on exactly which committee members would be willing to retain their roles should a new chairman be found – all officers except the chairman and the secretary had stated they were willing to continue in their current roles. However no nominations for chairman came from the floor so the outgoing chairman closed the meeting and called for an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held 14 days later, at which time club members must find a way to nominate a new chairman if the club wishes to continue. With a new chairman in place, the remaining places on the committee can then be filled.

Shipston on Stour CC Extraordinary General Meeting 2021

Minutes of Extraordinary General Meeting held at The White Bear at 7pm on 12/11/2021

Present :

Gary Betteridge, Jack Murphy, Steve Gainsley, Matt Corby, Matt Pratt, Ed Bolderston, John Paton, Liam Murphy, Dave Murphy, Dan Knight, Neil Harvey, Conor Murphy, Sam Dexter, Micky Cornock, Joel Bennett, Ryan Worthington & Marcus Ireland.

Apologies :

Neil Harper, Tom Cox, Roger Wickson, Simon Willey, John Bradley & Alex Bury

Election of Officers :

The current Chairman Gary Betteridge (GB) addressed the room to open the meeting and carry on from where the AGM had to be adjourned 14 days prior.

Chairman – GB was pleased to report that Glyn Roberts (GR) had contacted the committee to put his name forward for the role but unfortunately could not attend the meeting due to a prior engagement. GR had however, written to the committee in order to formally stand for the position. (See Below)

“Dear Board,

Please accept this as acknowledgement that I am happy for my name to be put forward for possible election as chairman of Shipston Cricket Club.

If you choose me for the position it will be a great honour. I look forward to working with you to continue to make the club a great part of our whole community.

Please accept my apologies for not being at the EGM; I have a prior engagement.

Yours

Glyn Roberts”

GR was then proposed by GB, seconded by Matt Corby (MCy) and duly appointed as the only nomination. GB would chair the remainder of the EGM in his absence.

Secretary – Dave Murphy was proposed by JM, seconded by Ed Bolderston (EB) and duly appointed as the only nomination.

Club Welfare Officer – Steve Gainsley was proposed by MCy, seconded by Micky Cornock (MCk) and duly appointed as the only nomination.

GB then put forward a proposal to re-elect the remaining committee members from 2020 en bloc, provided there were no fresh nominations from the floor. As there were no objections this was seconded by Marcus Ireland (MI) and unanimously approved.

Other Committee Members – Sam Dexter (SD) was proposed by GB, seconded by JM, Marcus Ireland was proposed by Steve Gainsley (SG), seconded by SD, Dan Knight (DK) was proposed by GB, seconded by JM and Micky Cornock was proposed by Liam Murphy (LM), seconded by MI. All nominees were accepted on to the committee.

The new committee was therefore confirmed as follows:

All present thanked GB and Neil Harper (HP) for their service to the club over the previous seasons before GB brought the meeting to a close with no other business.