The 2001 season was a difficult, but ultimately memorable, one for the club.  At the start of the season, to all intents and purposes, we did not have a clubhouse.  The old clubhouse had been demolished and the new one was only taking shape; we had toilet facilities, and a couple of unfurnished rooms to change in, but no hot water, or tea and bar facilities.  It was very hard work for everyone and, not surprisingly, we had some low moments during the year.  However, the new clubhouse was opened in September, and we can now look forward with optimism to the 2002 season.  We still have very large debts to pay off, but for the first time in thirty years, we have a state of the art clubhouse and something to build on.

In 1st XI league cricket, we had a poor season on the field of play, finishing seventh equal out of ten in Division 2B of the Thames Valley League, and actually only avoided relegation, by the skin of our teeth, on the final day of the season.  This was especially disappointing given that we had finished third, and had nearly achieved promotion, in the previous season.  The main weakness was in our batting, which failed consistently, several times when chasing a low total after good efforts from the bowlers.  Availability was poor: some of this can be put down to the lack of facilities, but apathy and lack of commitment to the club were also factors.  Satish Sharma did a tremendous job as captain, often sacrificing himself in the batting order to give others an opportunity, and he deserved a better return for his efforts.

In 2nd XI league cricket, we had a much better season, finishing sixth out of fourteen in Division 5 of the Thames Valley League.  It was a classic season of two halves, with four defeats and no wins by the end of June, but six wins and no defeats thereafter.  Availability was very poor at the beginning of the season, and we often struggled just to get eleven players, regardless of age and ability; that we did, was primarily down to the dedication and perseverance of David Peters, who once again did a tremendous job as captain.  Towards the end of the season, the club had the luxury of having two overseas players at our disposal, and one of them being available for the 2nd XI, for four successive matches, strengthened the team significantly.

We fielded two XIs on Sunday throughout the season, which was a pleasing improvement on last year.  The 1st XI had a very good season, winning ten and drawing three of the seventeen matches played. Despite the good results, Saqib Ahmed had a difficult first season as captain, often being let down by poor availability.  The 2nd XI did not do quite so well in terms of results but, nonetheless, had a very enjoyable season, and Andrew Amor did a great job in his first season as captain.  However, despite the success of both teams individually, there was a feeling that the two XIs were actually two separate clubs playing under the same name, with hardly any movement of players from 1st to 2nd XI, or vice versa.  Some of this can be put down to the combined effect of the merger with Sir Ali and the lack of clubhouse facilities, because some players from the two XIs did not know each other, and were not then meeting in the club bar after matches.  However, some of the problems run a bit deeper than this, and need to be addressed in the 2002 season.

Communication between players and captains was very poor throughout the season.  As above, some of this can be put down to the lack of clubhouse facilities, because people were not seeing each other as often as they would normally expect to, but this cannot excuse some of the misunderstandings, which took place.  The worst of these led to the club effectively failing to turn up for the semi final of the Timberlake Cup at Winchmore Hill.  David Banner and I were the only two players to turn up for the match, which meant that we let down both the opposition, Holmer Green, and also the hosts, who had laid on a barbecue and advertised the event in the local press.  It was without doubt the worst, and most embarrassing, day of my cricket life.

Phil Noot did a wonderful job, yet again, with the colts, continuing the good work of 1999 when we established three teams.  He was helped by Sean McSweeney and Tony Hewston, who both attended an ECB coaching course before the season started.  However, we still need more volunteers to help out; I seem to say this every year, but the colts are the single most important part of any cricket club and we must not lose sight of this.

The appearance and upkeep of the ground improved dramatically during the 2001 season, and this was reflected in our annual rating from the Thames Valley League.  David Banner did most of the work himself, putting in long hours after work in the evenings and on weekend mornings; his dedication and commitment was exceptional, and the club is greatly indebted to him for his efforts.  Although he received some nominal financial support from the club, David was effectively doing the job at cost, because he used an external contractor to look after the square and, whenever the club had cash flow problems, he tended to “lose” the receipts for various materials and machinery, which he had purchased on the club’s behalf.  We are currently reviewing our strategy for the ground for the 2002 season.

I think that there is much to look forward to, at last, in the 2002 season.  However, we need to make the most of the opportunity, which the new clubhouse gives us, and try to build the club up to its former glory.  Cricket generally is facing a major challenge at the moment in modern society.  It is a long game in our ever more time pressured world, it is increasingly expensive to play and, like all other sports in this country, it seems to be marginalised by the saturation coverage and popularity of football.  In addition, demographic changes mean that there will be fewer younger people in the years to come, and social trends suggest that younger people are more inclined to watch rather than play sport, anyway. All this means that, logically, there will be fewer cricketers in future seasons.  I have said before that I think many cricket clubs will fold in the years to come, because there are simply too many of them competing for too few players; the silver lining could be stronger, financially independent, clubs, albeit fewer of them.  I do think, however, that with the outstanding ground and clubhouse facilities, which we now have, that we have a bright future.

Finally, I think that of the many challenges, which we face at the moment, two stand out as a priority for 2002. Firstly, we must continue to build up our colts section, this is the lifeblood of the club; if we succeed everywhere else and fail with the colts, then ultimately the club will not prosper.  Secondly, we as a cricket section must play a full and active part in CPSA (Chalfont Park Sports Association).  The hockey section is thriving, following its merger with Amersham Hockey Club, and they have an active, twelve month a year fixture list and social calendar.  The cricket section needs to follow suit, and play a full and active part in the club, all year round.  Of course, we cannot actually play cricket during the winter months, but we need to get an active social section going, and use the new clubhouse facilities to their full capacity all year round.  We cannot disappear in October, and then return in April, and expect to carry on where we left off.  Cricket needs to pay its way, and this means contributing to the revenue stream all year round, not just when it suits us.

Matthew Stevenson