As we move towards the season of mist and mellow fruitfulness a missive from a slightly weary Chairman to bring Members up to date with matters Benwell Hill.
With one weekend of the season to go the 2nd X1 still have a chance of winning their league. They play at Denton Bank against old rivals Chester le Street and whilst results elsewhere will need to go our way hope springs eternal. The 1st team play in the reverse fixture at Ropery Lane with sixth place in the League at stake. Given the early season trials and tribulations surrounding unavailability and injury it is probably fair to deem this a satisfactory season.
The potential within the upper echelons of the Club was fully demonstrated last weekend when the Champions elect South Northumberland were beaten at the Hill and on the following day the prestigious Banks Salver League Cup was won comprehensively against one of the best teams in the competition - Hetton Lyons. With greater commitment and some tweaks around the edges 2023 could be an exciting year for the BHCC faithful.
Much the same could be said of the 3rd X1 who have often struggled to get sides out but are a match for anybody in the West Tyne League on their day. To continue to compete it is imperative across the board that more adult cricketers are recruited over the winter.
The Junior teams under the overall leadership of Barry Pearson have had excellent seasons and there will be a number of items of silverware to present at the Junior Presentation in early October. Whilst winning trophies is part of the objective it is more important that a love of the game is engendered and that the spirit of cricket is maintained at all times. Generally speaking the behaviour of our players is excellent but cricket is a game when failure is never far away and learning to take `the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune` is a crucial aspect of the learning process.
Our women`s team have also faced unavailability issues but I am grateful for the efforts of Laura Pearson, Ty Buckley and others to keep this aspect of our Club alive. It is not easy but girls and women’s cricket is an important element of our provision. Some of the girls in Mark Wright`s All Stars Group are seriously talented games players.
In a summer of glorious weather where almost no games have been lost to the weather the Ground has looked a picture. Mark Charlton of Trilogy Turf has done a fantastic job with the square whilst Geoff and John Chambers have maintained the outfield and surrounds to the highest of standards. I am grateful to all those others who have moved covers, pushed rollers and picked up markers over the course of the season. You know who you are!
I will cover other aspects of our Club in my next communication but it seemed like a good idea to centre on cricket here. I will also discuss other aspects of the planning process that the General Committee will be embarking upon in the next week or two. If you have any items you wish to raise please come forward and talk to me or any of the `usual suspects`!
Last but not least our Under 19 team have a Northumberland Cup 20 20 Final at Tynemouth on Sunday with a 4.00pm start. It would be great to see a strong turnout to encourage the future stars of the Club.
Hasta
Simon Lunn
BHCC Chairman – tel 07791-683827
