The documents page now has the 2006 reports and agm minutes available.

Morden Corinthians CC
Captain’s Report 2006 – Saturday
by Andrew Jarrett

Andrew’s Saturday Team
Season 2006
Played 21
Won-12-57%
Lost-8-38%
Draw 1-5%

On the whole, the 2006 Season can be considered a great success. The quality and numbers of members who joined the club were fantastic. I was fortunate enough to be asked to skipper one of the Saturday sides and enjoyed the experience immensely. On the whole the squad was made up of a great group of lads and this fantastic spirit was evident throughout the season with everyone having a laugh as well as playing as a team. My thanks go to all those who played in my side and to Mark Bartram for his assistance. In addition a big thank you to Jim for his great efforts and organisational skills, as well as to Steve O and Imran for all of their hard work. Ok down to business now.

The season’s results were a mixed bag, with the majority of our wins being by a large total, some closer than we would like and the 99% of our losses being by small margins of either 30 runs or less. We only suffered a single drubbing the whole season, which was not a true reflection of the game as we collapsed chasing a large total. The team performed very well against some very strong opposition and pushed a league winning side very close twice, and losing to another league side.Some notable performances were the beating of a strong Kingston Methodists side, the exciting double over Riverside and the revenge match against BKXi where we posted 360 odd against the oppo. Throughout the season, the boys showed tremendous aggression, competitiveness, spirit and sportsmanship, with an Australian walking and a few batsmen being called back if the outcome was in doubt. The chatter on the field was a fantastic aspect with the boys encouraging each other and keeping things good humoured.

We had a fairly settled side this year with a squad rotation system in natural operation. The most pleasing aspect for me as captain was that everyone enjoyed their cricket and liked being associated with the club. In addition it was great to see a marked improvement in peoples games through the course of the season. Some notable examples were Jason Ware’s batting. Jason ‘Bullet’ became a solid reliable middle order bat, which included 2 match winning innings. “Sledge” Brown also rapidly developed into a reliable fielder and a good lower order bat as well as being a useful bowler when called upon. Sledge was the heart and soul of the chatter on the field. Steve Vickery is a class above where he was last year, with consistent displays of some great keeping including stunning catches and great work standing up to the stumps, this is evident in the number of stumping on the season including some off

the medium pacers. We were fortunate to have some very strong players join the club this season. Our Aussie Roy Capitao showing us all how to club the opposition into submission with some fantastic batting and bowling. Roy strengthened our team a great deal and was a reliable member who would always step up to the plate when called upon. We are hoping that he will return next season if his wife to be will allow him. Our secret weapon Nick “Hefner” Hughes showed us what true class is and this rubbed off on the team, Nick providing some big scores, solid fielding and cunning bowling. Nick’s ability to cover drive bouncers left us all in awe and it really was a pleasure to watch such a graceful batsman in action. In addition we had solid performances from Azam Malik, who was a valuable number 5 batmen and bowler.

Azam was one of the backbone players who bolstered the team as a true all rounder. Mark Bartram showing a great level of consistency in opening the innings and was reliable in the field and his energy rubbed off on the team. We also welcomed Chris Whitfield whose accurate wicket taking bowling was invaluable as well as his emergence as a solid opening bat. Simon Watt performed well with both bat and ball and strengthened the team immensely at the number 7 slot. Grahame was up to his usual wicket taking best and put in some match altering performances. Steve O’Neil who churned out some scores for us as well as providing some solid bowling in very tight situations. Mike Scott delivered some fiery bowling spells when opening up the attack. Keith Pilgrim showed an amazing improvement on the season and was valuable part of the tem with some whirlwind hitting and his now famous hat-trick against BKX1.

So in all, a fine season marked by good spirits, a winning attitude, good humour and a great team spirit.

My Thanks again to all of the team who made my job a happy one and to Mark Bartram for his excellent assistance.

Morden Corinthians CC
Captain’s Report 2006 – Sunday
by Gerry Coetzer

I think it is safe to say that the Sunday team has had its most successful season in the club’s history. It was a season of records; from the most ducks in a game to breaking the highest individual batting score 3 times in the season. We only had 2 losses the entire season one being outplayed against Godstone and one game where we were really below par. I think everybody will recall the game against West One…chasing 116 to win and at one stage we were 69/2 and then got bowled out for 89. I think we will settle the score next year.

The success of the Sunday team was due to the great team spirit and also that everybody gave 110% in batting, bowling and/or fielding. I would really like to thank everybody for the commitment during the season. I would like to make a special mention about a certain Mr Pinkney who took a catch in slip and then managed to sprint across the pitch so fast that even Roy would have struggled to keep up with him. Also cast your mind back to the various other achievements of the season, too many to mention individually.

I would like to thank the vice-captain, Majid for skippering when I was not available and also Brian for having the club kit at every game. Thanks to Jim for arranging new fixtures at short notice. There is one fixture that I have to make special mention of because they told Jim that they will not play against us if we don’t have decent bowling. This team is called Downsiders. After putting a strong team together we managed a competitive score and then we bowled them out very cheaply. This was one of the sweetest victories and also showed the spirit of the team after we heard of their captain’s demands.

I would really like to go into more detail about our season but I was kindly reminded by a certain chairman that my report should be short and sweet. I would like to say thanks for all your efforts during the season and for making yourself available every weekend. You made my first season as captain a rewarding experience.

Finally, my personal thanks to all those who have played this season.

Morden Corinthians CC
Captain’s Report 2006 - Vivek’s Team
by Vivek Sarohia
This season was a testament to how successful the club is becoming. After a fantastic recruitment drive by Imran and the other committee members, MCCC were able to introduce a second Saturday side for the first time in its history - and this side proved they were no pushovers, producing some fantastic performances and helping the club grow into the healthy position it is in today.

The statistics showed that after 17 games, the team won 9, drew 1, and lost 6. However this doesn't tell the whole story. On the batting front, our top performer week in, week out was Girish Patel. From his 13 innings, he scored over 500 runs for the club at an average 73.89. His steel at the top of the order helped give us the platform we needed to win many a game. However, he was ably supported during the season by Satish, Imran, Simon, Daniel and Matt Oliver.

A special mention also to Craig Stewart, who only played in the first month of the season, but scored a fantastic 152 not out against Kingstonian which was the highest score for the club (until bettered by Gerry Cotezer later in the season). Our bowling this season also has been great. Our top wicket takers were Brian Clifford with 24, David Lumby getting 18 and Richard Wainer taking 12. However, bowling contributions were made throughout the team, with Hemant, Girish, Satish and Chirag all giving great support. Special mention on the bowling has to go to Imran Ahmed, who got a memorable hat-trick and bowled some great spells - even more outstanding considering he is usually a top order bat!

In terms of memorable matches, there were so many. But two exceptional performance come to mind - the first being the match vs Epsom Methodists. With MCCC batting first, Epsom managed to restrict Morden to a very low 135 runs in their 40overs. Epsom were expecting to win this easily, and made 90-1 off the first 20 overs. Defeat looked on the cards before Morden's fighting spirit, and exeptional bowling by Imran and Girish, managed to turn the game around and bowl Epsom out for 142. Possibly the greatest comeback of the season?

The other match was the inter-club match versus Saturday firsts. With club pride at stake, Sat 2nds put on 193, before bowling out the firsts for a measly 127. David Lumby bowled exceptionally well destroying their top order with his fast bowling, but the whole side played magnificently that day.

From a captain's perspective, I could not have done the job I did without the help of some excellent support from the whole team. Everyone below made contributions and I would like to say a personal thanks to - Girish Patel, Hament Patel, Brian Clifford, Imran Ahmad, Ewan Cotter, David Lumby, Satish Viswanathan, Matt Oliver, Theo Moore, Richard Wainer, Craig Stewart, Steve O'Neil, Barek Choudury, Chirag Patel, Tom Rebane, Simon Hawkins, Andrew Spencer, Anand Jayaram , Haris Khan, Adil Javed, Richard Gambrill, Tony Hammond, Prasanth Reddy, Daniel Denize, Tushar Wadha, Mitul Patel, Vikram Sangar, Raj Sharma, Duncan Wheeler,John Spurgin, David Clifford, Arvind, Tom Vettiket and Saugata
Mukherjee.

However, in particular I want to thank one person whom without his support both on and off the pitch, this season would have been a complete flop. Brian Clifford was a fantastic Vice-Captain, and his humour and knowledge of cricket was greatly appreciated not only by me,
but by the team as a whole.

The Saturday 2nds had a fun ending to the season by having our own little awards ceremony, democratically voted for by members of the side who played 3 or more matches for the team. Congratulations to the winners:

Player of the year - Girish Patel (runner up Brian Clifford)
Batsman of the year - Girish Patel (runner up Vivek Sarohia/Daniel
Denize)
Bowler of the year - David Lumby (runner up Brian Clifford)
Most improved player - Ewan Cotter (runner up Tom Rebane)
Best dressed player - David Lumby & Daniel Denize
Worst dressed player - Brian Clifford (runner up Theo Moore & Ewan
Cotter)
Comedy moment - Ewan Cotter taking a wicket (runner up Ewan being
dismissed reverse sweeping)
Catch of the season - Duncan Wheeler vs Bagshot (runner up John Spurgin
also vs Bagshot)
Jonty award for best fielder - Brian Clifford
Monty award for worst fielder - Theo Moore
Cheerleader of the year - Hament "Look for three!" Patel
Outstanding individual performance - David Lumby's 4-for against the
"firsts"

This season has been a tremendous success, and I have been very proud
and honoured to lead the team in its inaugural year. May the team, and
club, grow from strength to strength.

Morden Corinthians CC Chairman’s Report 2006
by Steve O’Neil Ramsadeo

I am very grateful to all of the Officers of 2006, especially for their valued support and assistance that they have given to the Club during the course of the season.

After some six years as Chairman, I agreed - at last year’s AGM - that I would hand over the reigns of Chairmanship to Imran. I have really enjoyed the role, the challenges I have faced and the success that the Club has achieved along the way.

As a Club we are stronger all round and I am proud to have played a part in the on-going growth and development of Morden Corinthians CC. Of course, our achievements to-date couldn’t have succeeded without the backing of a dedicated committee of officers during my tenure as Chairman. For all your hard work - again, I warm-heartedly thank you all for your valued advice, support and commitment to the MCCC cause!

Imran, of course, has my full support as the new MC CC Chairman. He is ideally suited to accept the baton in taking the Club on into the next phase of its journey. Imran has a long-standing history with the Club. He knows its values and will uphold the spirit’ that binds us together, as we enjoy playing the game of cricket together. I wish him every success in fulfilling his role of leading Morden Corinthians.

The 2006 Captains and Vices for Saturday and Sunday have led us admirably to our most successful season to date. As a consequence, our standard of cricket has improved as a whole. This is emphasised by the fact that we have beaten teams in 2006 which would have thumped us in previous seasons. Vivek’s team, as a relatively new side, unsurprisingly had a shaky start, but once each individual bedded in to a better playing unit, the wins increased steadily and assuredly, backed by an enthusiastic captain.

Andrew and Gerry were both highly impressive in their leadership, exhibiting excellent tactical decisions throughout – very useful when crucially they had to ‘pull games out of the bag’.

We have enjoyed playing a record number of fixtures in a season. Jim has again been excellent in getting the job done with consummate ease. He has also added his own brand of team management in the 20/20 series. My other Officers - Steve Vickery has diligently and promptly delivered the minutes of our meetings and crucially assisted with our links with the Rugby Club. Majid has kept us financially safe for another year, and Imran and Brian D have encouraged membership to new heights, while Ewan has guided us to many watering holes throughout the season and, I’m confident, will end on a ‘high’ with the Club dinner. Our Carol Vorderman tinkering with the digits is Mr Stato Tony H, who went through more pencils this season than ever before, but eventually he was able to compile the stats that chart our cricketing achievements as individuals and as a Club.

Through the associate membership of the Rugby Club, MC CC now officially has a Club House and bar facility to enjoy. I encourage that we continue to develop our relationship with their committee as this will be wholly beneficial to us as a Club. I urge our 2007 Committee to be as pro-active as possible in building closer ties with the Rugby Club as there are a number of initiatives here with which we should be involved.

The Committee and Officers have worked hard to fulfill the Club’s ambitions to date. They will continue their work to ensure we evolve and grow.

How we did in 2006 – our goals and achievements – in brief:

§ Running a second Saturday team in earnest
§ Having Regular use of the Club House and bar
§ Having excellent quality teas
§ Surpassing our recruitment of new players
§ Participating in our second 20/20 tournament
§ Hosting regular 20/20 evening matches
§ Increasing our home games quota
§ Fulfilling completion of match reports
§ Continuing our annual BBQ event for the third year in succession
§ Continuing our end-of-season dinner
§ Adding new clubs to our fixtures

Again, I extend my gratitude to all of our Officers and players for the support that they have given to me and to Club. It’s comforting to share in the experience that we all played a part in moving the Morden Corinthians forward in the best tradition of our ‘Corinthian spirit’, aiming high to grow and to ensure the future of our Club.

Enjoy the break…and I look forward to seeing all of you at the AGM of course! And then next year in the new season as we eagerly wait to unpack our kit and enjoy the spirit of playing the game of cricket together.
.

Kind regards

Steve O'Neil Ramsadeo
MC CC Chairman, 2006