Wellington Cricket Club

The splendid County Room at Somerset County Cricket Club was the venue for Wellington Cricket Club’s Dinner Dance and Presentation Evening when 100 people gathered to celebrate another season of achievement and success,  both on and off the field of play.

Following a three course meal of exceptional quality Club Chairman Duncan Short welcome all those present, in particular three sets of guests – Colin and Linda Waller from Wellington AFC (Colin is a Vice President of WCC), Nigel and Caroline Davy from Wellington RFC (who are both keen supporters of WCC and have done much to assist the Club’s social functions) and Barry and Linda Holder (until the end of the 2010 season Barry was the groundsman at Wellington Playing Field and has provided advice and direction as the Club has taken over wicket preparation and maintenance) as well as main sponsors Hal White and his wife Helen of Tiverton Carpets and Furniture and then delivered his review of the 2011 season; the past season was one that had seen the 1st XI be one of the favourites for promotion before the season and with several new faces joining the established ones the hopes were high, but the team had fallen short in the end and had closed the season in fourth place in Division One of the Somerset League; Mr Short saw the reasons for this as being ones of lack of availability at crucial times, lack of sharpness and agility in the field on occasions and these aspects conspired to thwart the team from its goal; there was no doubt that skipper Paul Short had done all that he could to get the side promoted in terms of his own play and his work as team captain, but the overall package had just pulled up short.

The 2nd XI – under the captaincy of Simon Rudd – had achieved its best ever Somerset League finish by achieving fourth place in Division Four. The team had an excellent blend of youth and experience and this mix took the team to its new found success.There were opportunities given to all who played for the side and this proved to be a successful policy as seven wins in nine second half games showed and but for three losses in four in June the rewards may have been even greater.

The Sunday League XI achieved a second runners up spot in two seasons in the Taunton and District Sunday League and in a tough division this was a fine achievement; Mr Short reported that skipper Paul Short had used the correct quantity of young players in each of the two seasons that the Club had participated in this League and this was part of the reason for the team’s success; Rob Moysey, Paul Short and Sam Murdock had won the divisional awards for batting, bowling and young player adding to the success.

The Club’s teams that play non league cricket – the Sunday Non League XI and the Midweek XI – had had good seasons too with the Sunday side recording memorable wins at Sidmouth and Uphill Castle and generally providing cricket to all who wanted it – at a time when a lot of Clubs do not have one Sunday side let alone two that WCC can quote the latter is excellent Mr Short observed as he thanked Steve Symons for looking after the Sunday Non League XI.

Midweek cricket took the form of 20/20 evening matches with local sides and matches against sides on tour; good results were posted and good hospitality was shown throughout by the side run by Marc Holloway. Junior section success came through Mark Salter’s Under 11s winning their Taunton and District Youth League section, the Under 13s under Martin Ellacott had an extended cup run and the Under 15s under Richard Short would be a stronger concern in 2012 after a consolidatory year in 2011.

Following his playing review of the season Mr Short then focussed on the non playing side of the Club and started with the completion of the Club’s pavilion bar facility called The Long Hop; much hard work and a lot of time had gone into this and through the work performed by Bob Trott, Adrian Lee, Steve Symons, Simon Rudd, Kevin Crout, George Coate, John Bettinson, Rob Moysey and others this facility was ready for the first home match at the end of April.

The facility is run by a three member team of Mark Saunders, Trevor Brooks and Amanda Moysey and they had had a successful first year in the job.

Club Development has become very prominent at the Club in the past two seasons and Mr Short paid thanks to Simon Spalding who manages Development within the Club; Simon, along with others, has managed and delivered two tranches of winter youth coaching to the young people of Wellington with a third to come in January 2012.

Achieving the prestigious Club Mark award mid season was a notable moment as this shows that the Club offers a child safe environment to play the game in and those who had delivered this were warmly thanked.

Administratively the Club is strong with Secretary David Derrick, Treasurer Marc Holloway, Fixture Secretary Steve Symons and Membership Secretary Adrian Lee forming a formidable unit.

Club Day 2011 had been a monumental effort by the Rudd family in providing the catering for well over 100 people and year on year the quality and range of food on offer at this event increases.

Those who had joined the Club in 2011 were thanked for their contributions and they had all made their mark and it was hoped that they would be back in 2012.

The Club was in a healthy state in so many ways and the aim was still for the 1st XI to achieve promotion to the Somerset Division of the WEPL; it is hoped that 2012 is the year for this wish to become reality.

Award Winners 2011 (all trophies were presented by Principal Club Sponsor Mr Hal White who is the Proprietor of Tiverton Carpets and Furniture)

Clubman of the Year Award – Adrian Lee

Mrs E.George Young Player of the Year Award – George Hooper and James Bath

Tony Rudd Sportsman of the Year Award – Alex Troake

A.W.Scott First Team Player’s Player Award – Ali Bunce

Fullstone Second Team Player’s Player Award – Trevor Brooks

1st XI Batting Award – Rob Moysey

1st XI Bowling Award – Rob Moysey

2nd XI Batting Award – Richard Henwood

2nd XI Bowling Award – Richard Henwood

Non League Batting Award – Alex Sparks

Non League Bowling Award – Simon Rudd

Meredith Fielding Award – Paul Short

Six Hit Award – Aks Latifi

Lady’s Award – Mrs Amanda Moysey

Fantasy League Winner – Julian Jones

The Taunton and District Youth League Under 11s Western Section Winners Trophy was received by Team Manager Mark Salter

The Taunton and District Sunday League Division A Runners Up Trophy was received by Team Captain Paul Short

All those who had scored hundreds or taken five wickets in an innings during the season received an award

Our 2012 event will take place at SCCC’s County Room on Saturday 13th October starting at 6.30pm for dinner at  7.00pm.

A warm autumnal day provided an excellent backdrop to the 2011 Wellington CC/Wellington RFC Golf Day that was held on Friday 14th October at Oake Manor Golf Club; the competition secured around thirty entries and the standard of play was high with the eventual winners being the Minty Fresh team that was captained by Wellington CC’s Luke Desave – he and team mates Lloyd Alley and Chris Wyatt of Taunton St Andrews CC and Gareth Nation of PQR FC scored 101 points and win a round of golf at the Vale of Glamorgan course in South Wales.
 
As with any event such as this a lot of hard preparation goes into it and thanks go to Simon Rudd and Julian Jones for their organisation of the event before the day; on the day itself a cross club contingent got stuck in early in the morning and prepared the course so it was ready in good time for the first tee time.
 
Keith Colman, Chris Bullock, David Derrick, Gareth Hodgson, Chris Rudd, Tony Rudd, Matt Colman, Simon Rudd, Julian Jones and the staff and management of Oake Manor Golf Club all had a hand in ensuring that the day went well and thanks go to them all.

WCC will be holding a Poker Night at The Long Hop on Saturday 11th February; the cost to enter is £10 and will include a buffet supper.

More details nearer the time.

Simon Rudd will again be posing the questions at a Christmas Sports Quiz that will be held at The Long Hop on Sunday 11th December from 7.30pm; teams of three are invited to play and we can cater for ten such teams.

Cost to enter is £2 per head.

Names and teams to Simon Rudd or David Derrick.

The 2011 Club Dinner and Dance was another excellent event; well done to all award winners and thanks to all who attended and arranged the event.

A full report and photos will follow.

An excellent Golf Day was held in conjunction with Wellington RFC on Friday 14th October at Oake Manor Golf Club when some thirty teams tried their luck to claim the title; the team captained by WCC’s Luke Desave won the competition with a score of 101 points.

Thanks to all who competed and helped to arrange the day – another top event!

If you wish to attend this year’s Dinner & Dance on Saturday 15th October at Somerset County Cricket Club and haven’t booked a ticket yet, this is your last chance!
Please contact Duncan Short at duncan.short@towergate.co.uk with your menu choices from the below.

The evening will start at 6:30pm for 7.00pm dinner.  Please do note that this is the night of Taunton Carnival and various roads around the town and the Ground itself will be closed from around 6:30om 

Please ensure you arrive by 6:30pm at the latest, otherwise the nearest car park will be Sainsbury’s in the town.

Tickets are £25 per person or £20 for Under 18 members.
Non-members are welcome though tickets are £25 regardless of age.

A few people have also asked for more details on the dishes, I’m pleased to be able to give you the full descriptions from the Cricket Club.

Starters
Sundried Tomato and Basil Soup

Smoked Salmon & Prawns
Prawns infused with a Sweet Chilli Mayo on a layer of Smoked Salmon with a Wedge of Wholemeal Bread

Fresh Asparagus Wrapped in Parma Ham
Glazed with Hollandaise Sauce and topped with Red Basil Leaves

Main Course
Somerset County Cricket Club Carvery
Choice of Beef and Pork with a selection of Seasonal Vegetables, Roast and New Potatoes

Stuffed Aubergine
Filled with Roasted Vegetable Risotto, topped with a Herb and Cheese Crust

Homemade Puddings
Individual Fruits of the Forest Cheesecake

Ice Cream Brandy Snap Basket

A plate of Somerset Cheeses served with Apple Chutney, Grapes, Celery and Biscuits

Freshly Brewed Filter Coffee and Speciality Teas served with Chocolate Mints

The WCC Long Hop Bar will be open throughout the winter on alternate Friday evenings from 7pm to 9pm.

The purpose is two fold….firstly, the obvious one, is to allow you to spend your money on some lovely cider and beers and keep club revenue (and stock) ticking over.

Secondly, by considering the opening as an Open Sub-Committee, there will be a topic for discussion each week.  The topics will be chosen to achieve one of three targets; a) increase awareness and involvement of players, past players and community; b) increase revenue and minimize expenditure and c) improve efficiency and increase productivity, particularly regarding match preparation.

The first dates and topics are:

Friday 7th October - Launch of Past Players Association, gather names and ideas
Friday 21st October – Sightscreens, replacing current scaffold screens – we need ideas!
Friday 4th November – Wellington T20 League 2012
Friday 18th November – Match day preparation, being more efficient
Friday 2nd December – The clubhouse: decor, blinds, etc

If you have any topics for later dates, please let me know

The main gates will be locked after dusk and access will be via the WCC combination padlock. 

A torch will be useful and if you do not know the lock code, please ask.

Kind Regards,
Simon Rudd

Throughout the close season there will be regular discussion groups taking place in the Clubhouse where all members are invited to partake in a drink or two and discuss all issues that affect the Club, both playing and non playing in nature.

The aim of these meetings is to pool together ideas that can be used to improve our facilities, playing prospects, future development and may other things besides.

We are looking to start these sessions on Friday 30th September at 7.00pm when Trevor Brooks will lead a forum on sight screens.