The cricket season is galloping along and already we are entering the second half of fixtures. It has been a challenging year for the Club on the field due to a combination of factors unavailability, injury, public and degree examinations but hopefully we will emerge unscathed with much to build upon in the future.
Our Junior Section continues to produce some excellent young players and we are well represented in the Northumberland Junior Sides (and indeed the Minor Counties side). The Under 13`s won the Northumberland Junior League on Sunday and the Under 11`s are a match for anyone in the County as are the Under 15`s. A huge amount of this success is due to the hard work of the team of volunteer coaches led by the tireless Barry Pearson who give freely of their time to provide opportunities for young players.
Probably the hardest job in this side of the Club falls to Mark Wright who leads on the All Stars initiative for the Under 9`s. Over 40 children engaged in this programme this summer and most encouragingly a small majority of them were girls. Female cricket is an important part of the BHCC cricket development programme and is sure to go from strength to strength if we can build on this initial success.
To help support our Summer Activities BHCC were recently awarded a grant of £1000 by the ECB and we will use this money to keep the programme going through the School Holidays. The local Governing body have organised a number of initiatives including Under 9 festivals and a Dynamos (under 9) programme and we will be delighted to support these as best we can.
On the social side of the Club the Bar continues to thrive helped no doubt by the stunning weather we are enjoying. There have been some substantial wakes of late which always helps the cause – brand new Granny Janice Mussett runs a brilliant service.
Squash has become something of an all year round game and our team has been taking part in a Summer League in preparation for a tilt at the Premier League when the season proper gets underway in September. Martin Avery tells me it will be a tough task to compete with the big boys but they won`t want for lack of effort.
The business side of the club remains buoyant. In terms of operation the General Committee met recently and formed three sub committees to consider the strategic approach of the Club over the next three years. The three groups will meet on a quarterly basis to oversee 1.Cricket and Ground, 2.Finance and Assets and 3. House and Social. Their job will be to report back to the General Committee for final decisions on the big issues in their sphere of influence. The Board will also meet regularly to deal with day to day matters and the statutory responsibilities of the Benwell Hill Community Interest Club which is our legal status.
All of the above takes a huge amount of communal effort and I thank all those who work so hard to help to make Benwell Hill a thriving cricket club and a sporting and social hub in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Enjoy the Summer everyone and keep the Factor 50 handy.
Simon Lunn
BHCC Chairman - Mobile No. 07791 683827 E.Mail simon.lunn@live.co.uk
P.S. There will be another Summer Quiz on Tuesday August 9 with the Hon Treasurer Larry Dawson in the hot seat. Come along to see Ummagumma taken down (hopefully)
