Trustees, Report 2024 The 2024 season ended betterthan it had begun, when the wet state of the heath in April and May meant that we had no home matches (and therefore no bar income) for the first six weeks of the season. After that, we had a most enjoyable summer. The Saturday 1st and 2nd Xls ended up comfortably mid- table and might have challenged for promotion had we been able to play fixtures against weaker sides when it was too wet to play. And the Sunday Xl won their league. Steve Nunn was 1st Xl Batter of the Year (321 runs) and talented youngster Henry Warner won the bowling award. There were also awards for Joe Young {best player) and Calum McDonald Ibest performance). 2nd Xl Batter of the Year was Nitya Patel and Luke Coppin, equal highest wicket-taker in the league with 18 wickets, was Bowler of the Year. Matt Murray was Player of the Year and Ollie Licence won Best Performance. The new Midweek Xl won almost as many matches as they lost- Ethan Frost won the batting award and Matt Murray with his 5-5 v Boxted won the bowling award. Daryl Sleeman was Player of the Year and Will Spicer won Best Performance for his 103 v Elmstead. A highlight of the year was the Sunday Xl in the new 30 over league - full of talented young players graduating from youth cricket under Duncan Wyatt's excellent captaincy. They won seven of their ejght games and confirmed their position as league champions on the last day of the season. Award winners were James Woodcock (best player), Felix Friedlein (batting), Luke Coppin {bowling) and Sam Collins (best performance). A special moment was when we said a final farewell to our favourite New Zealander Bev Guthrie, who played his first gameforthe club in 2018 and has been back several summers since. He was in the UK thi5 year to captain New Zealand in the Over 705 World Cup. This will be his last year with the Green 50 after his last game we made presentations to him and his wife Suzi. Women's cricket remains a real strength of the club. The hardball team won convincingly in their last game of the season and, as I write, have won three of their first four indoor games this Autumn. The softball team {pictured at Castle Park) have a great mixture of talent and enthusiasm. Youth matches were badly affected bythe weather but the Kwik Cricketers took part in six tournaments and the U135, U145 and U155, largely represented by the same players, had some good results. At the Awards morning in July we celebrated individual successes and thanked the coaches, especially Mindy Irven in her first year as Director of Youth Cricket. At the Awards evening in September Mindy was deservedly presented with the Club Member of the Year award. Cricket week in July, our first for a few years, was a great success with eight matches in eight days. Many thanks to Rachel Watson for masterminding it all. As well as running the bar, Rachel also organised a number of excellent social events and has transformed our social media output. Groundsmen Mick Purser and Craig Scott have worked tirelessly to look after the square and outfield despite the best efforts of the weather. And our Safeguarding Officer Kathryn Spicer continues to safeguard our reputation as a s?fe, welcoming and family-friendly club. Richard Parker has continued to lead our drive towards Carbon Net Zero by 2030. In 2025 he plans to do more work on influencing other clubs in Essex and Suffolk to follow our lead in combatting climate change.
David Stovell keeps an eagle eye on our finances- we will almost have broken even this year, which is a good achievement when we lost so much income at the start of the Season. As a registered charity, we are applying forthe firsttime to claim back gift aid from the Government on membership subscriptions- if successful this will help to fill the gap between our income and expenditure. We have remained a valued part of the Eight Ash Green Village community by takin8 an active role in the village summer festival, attending Parish Council meetings, helping out on village clear-up days, and making sure that we sook after the Heath. In July, we hosted the wake for Life Member Robin 'Boo' Cant, who gave countless hours to the club and built our second pavilion extension. He was a real character and will be much missed. In September we were delighted by the success of our Crowdfunding project to raise funds for environmental improvements to the pavilion and outfield. With matched funding from Aviva, the campaign raised over £28000 in a month (plus almost £3000 in gift aid reclaim). We plan to start building work on the inside of the pavilion early in the New Year. Many thanks to everyone who supported the project- it was great to welcome a good number of them to tea and cake on the last day of the season. As we end 2024, the club is in a strong position. We are financially stable and have money in the bank to start the pavilion work. Looking forward to 2025, here are some of the challenges to face: what can we do to the outfield to safeguard the future of cricket on the Heath in April and May. how can we build on our reputation as the greenest cricket club in Essex/Suffolk? how can we achieve promotion for the 1st and 2nd Xls? how do we maintain the strength of our youth cricket? how can we strengthen our links with the village? how can we involve more people in the club (parents, social members, sponsors)? Finally, thank you to everyone who has supported the club this year as a player, parent, spectator or sponsor, not least the faithful committee members. You all help to make the Green a great place to play, watch and enjoy cricket! Tim Chambers, Richard Parker, Rachel Watson Trustees December 2024
EIGHT ASH GREEN CRICKET CLUB INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30thSEPTEMBER 2024 2024 2023 2024 i El 2023 INCOME SUbriptIOnS- Seniors Subscriptions - Youth Subscriptions - Women Match Fees - Seniors Match Fees- Youth Holmwood House Nets Bar Functions & Fundraising Merchandise & Kit Sponsorship Donations Grants Interest Received Miscelleaneous Crowdfunding Appeal EXPENDITURE Ground Maintenance Pavilion & Equip Maint Coaching & Match Exps Balls Nets Trophies League Fees Merchandise & Kit Rent, Rates & Water Electricity Insurance Bar Functions & Fundraising Miscellaneous Legal & Professional Depreciation 5470.00 2040.00 570.00 175.00 41.( 11199.91 336.88 659.26 862.00 1444.00 656.96 949.50 119.88 500.86 636.62 1176.78 4923.99 511.93 265.85 81.00 1863.00 1127670 575.38 657.81 2410.Crt) 4.[) 825.(XS 1584.00 10.LX) 439.00 8862.61 461.00 93.99 1200.00 940.00 2150.00 59.81 18.79 25351.10 353.57 7663.13 2352.D) 965.00 851.68 498.92 394.94 268139 18.72 1112.20 1>X) C 5756.93 1797.41 20.00 80.00 1863.CKI 47831.30 22782 79 26188.42 27923.47 Surplus for the Year 21642.88 -5740.68 47831.30 22782.79 BALANCE SHEET AS AT 30th SEPTEMBER 2024 Pavillion Extension, at cost Less EET Grant Received Less Amortisation, 1 Ovo net cost per annum 34302.88 -5000.00 -29302.88 0.00 Equipment and Refurbishments, at cost Less Grants Received Depreciation 22530.00 4394.00 -11751.00 6385.00 8248.CKI Accrued Expenses Cash at Bank -1068.00 12181.44 25985.58 12026.30 -155fj.( 26574.47 Current Account Deposit Account Liquidity Manager Account 4(Xl.97 Totsl Net Assets 55510.32 33667.44 representedby.." General Reserve Balance blfv Surplus for the Year 33667.44 21642.88 38808. 12 -5140.fj8 55310.32 13667.44 I have prepad the above accoij ts from th ecords and information supplied and certify the figures to be in accordance therewith Roy Girard 23rd October 2024