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Secretary's Report for Season 2008
Rain and wet grounds again caused problems with cricket at all levels both on Saturdays and during the week being affected. Groundsmen and their helpers are to be praised for their efforts in keeping grounds and pitches fit for play and practice. Vital games at the end of the season were played in conditions that earlier in the season would have been considered unsuitable.
On the last day of the season Netherfield, Blackpool, Morecambe and Kendal could each mathematically have ended up as champions. Netherfield beat Morecambe and were left waiting for the result from a very wet Stanley Park with Blackpool having to bowl Chorley out to become champions. The last over started with Blackpool needing two wickets to win. Chorley survived making Netherfield champions. A full review of the season's cricket and the progress of the young players in the League are fully covered in new sections in the Handbook.
The weather also affects the income of clubs and with the clubs expenditure increasing with the cost of travel and other charges such as those being imposed by water boards for drainage and possible increased fees to the Performing Rights Society, the financial state of some clubs is becoming precarious. Though some Clubs have benefited from investment in facilities such as nets and ground improvements funded by the ECB there has been little recognition of the costs clubs incur in developing youth cricket. Recreational cricket is dependent on the fundraising capacity of the clubs. The decline of cricket in schools where the development of young cricketers was subsidised by the education system has resulted in Clubs developing youth sections thus bearing the costs of the coaching and development of young players. It is essential for the future of the game that more of the money that comes into the game is directed to the grass roots particularly to the cost of coaching. It is disappointing that the U/21 payments scheme that recognised the clubs contribution to the development of young players with Premier League clubs being rewarded financially for the number of U/21 players playing in the Premier League has now been withdrawn.
Thwaites withdrew their sponsorship of the League. The League is very grateful for their support during their association with the League. They financed the introduction of coloured clothing for cup competitions, provided the prize money and supported the Presentation Evening. Their contribution was a great help in running the League.
Towards the end of last season the Furness Building Society became interested and sponsored the final stages of the Cup Competition. They have since agreed to sponsor the League for the next two seasons. The League is grateful to Roy Booth whose initial conversations led to the sponsorship.
Over the last two seasons the method of assessing umpires has been changed. There have been teething problems with some umpires being suspicious of the system. Assessment is essential for two main reasons. It provides a way that umpires who wish to stand in matches at higher levels of the game can prove their competence to do so. It can identify weaknesses in an umpire's performance that with advice and help from fellow umpires can be eradicated.
The Captains have a major part to play in the assessment. It is essential that they take the task seriously and that their comments are constructive and as helpful as possible. The assessment procedure when operating properly should lead to higher standards of umpiring and a reduction in the number of "incidents" that spoil the pleasure of umpires, players and spectators. Next season Alan Bolton who is now no longer able to stand as an umpire has agreed to act as an independent assessor.
Increasingly umpires have been reporting problems with scoring. In some 2nd Division games clubs have not provided a scorer. The league score sheet which is forwarded to the website must be accurate in all respects. The web master has had his task made more difficult in some cases by errors in spelling, inaccuracies in totalling, not including names of catchers etc.. It is the responsibility of the home captain to ensure that accurate information is sent to the League. The Executive has discussed the situation and warns clubs that Rules 6) and 7) will be fully implemented next season and fines imposed.
NB The Executive has decided that errors in the score sheet that affect its entry into the computer will be interpreted as making the score sheet "incomplete" and therefore liable for fines and ultimately loss of points.
Mike Latham succeeded John Ketttlestring as Web Master at a time when the operating systems in the northern league.org website were beginning to creak. The League web site had always been linked to a Northern League site on the ECB's web site play-cricket.com. This has been developed and contains a powerful statistics and administration package. Rather than attempt to up date the systems on the old site, Mike has made this site the basis for the results, tables, averages, match reports, news, photos etc. and has become a very effective means of communication of the day to day happenings and running of the League.
Mike with his camera has quickly become a very familiar figure round the grounds of the league. The League is very grateful for his contribution, time and enthusiasm. John Kettlestring in his time as web master established the site as the central means of communication for the League and transferred all of Roger Harrison's records on to the site. It is important that this history is not lost and is kept up to date. The League is pleased and very grateful that John has been updating these records on the old site. His efforts have given and will in the future give pleasure to ex-cricketers re-living their glory days. Computerisation can ease administration and make it more efficient. However it does need someone to run it. The League as it has done in other areas of administration wishes to spread the load of running the website and is anxious to recruit help for the web-master.
The League has been saddened by the deaths of David Wilson of Preston and Doug Rossall of Chorley. A fuller account of their contribution to cricket is elsewhere in the Handbook but their passing reminds us all of the contribution made by the many people who work for their clubs in a variety of ways. Without them cricket could not be played. It is not an easy task and changes in regulations etc. do not make it any easier. Often their efforts go unnoticed, the League thanks them all.
The League is grateful for the support and coverage from the local media. The coverage on a Saturday afternoon from Radio Lancashire has been missed but the coverage from the Lancashire Evening Post, the Blackpool Gazette, the Westmorland Gazette and other local newspapers continues to give the League a good exposure. Our thanks go to all the reporters for their interest and encouragement.
John Cooper
Secretary
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