AGM details: held at 8pm at Adam Brand's house on November 18, 2019
1. Present:
Alex Haffner, Terry Hyman, Danny Caro, Adam Brand, Ben Lederman, Neil Lederman, Steven Allweis, Rafi Saville, Jeremy Harris, Tony Wise, David Marks, Jonathan Freedman, Adam Parker, Michael Okin, Roy Solomons, Gideon Gale, Russell Corin (by telephone)
2. Apologies for absence
Jonathan Daniels, Brian Sylvester, Adam Solomons, Jon Feigenbaum, Richard Fraser, Simon Barnett.
3. In Memorandum
Terry Hyman reminded those present of the sad loss of those associated with the club. Firstly, Cyril Hooker, founder member and long-time President of the club whose work on and off the field kept the club going – a man who truly loved Vale CC and would do anything for the club. Second, Alan 'Vinny' Vincent, a larger than life character whose bowling in particular was noted for its shrewdness and tactical acumen. Third, the tragic death of Helena Spooner, daughter of Graham and brother of Adam who had only just started university. Finally, Alex Haffner’s mother Suzanne.
A minute’s silence was observed by all those present.
4. 1st XI Captain’s Report
Steven Allweis reported on a very successful season. For the first XI to finish fourth in the Chess Valley League in Division One against some strong teams was an excellent achievement – at a time when so many cricket clubs around the country are struggling, for Vale to do what it has across the board this season is something everyone should be proud of.
The 1st team played thirteen fixtures this season – seven friendlies and six league matches – and were able to give 45 different players the opportunity to play Jewish cricket, which shows that the demand is there and is testament to our growth over the last few years. In league matches, the 1st team had 25 different players across 6 games – which on one hand again demonstrates the depth we have and numbers who are keen to play, but on the flip side shows the challenges of fielding a consistent team and the efforts required to get an XI together each week.
In the league, the team won three and lost three. We had a brilliant last over win against Brondesbury, which was the only game they lost all season, as they finished as champions – and we knocked over UCS and Ickenham as we should have done. Finchley, as seems to be the case every year, was a daunting experience. We ran Amersham close and could have got over the line on another day, and the team fell short against Holtwhites in the first game when missing several key players.
Overall, it was a year when everyone chipped in and we weren’t reliant on any one or two players. We only scored 5 half centuries and one century in the league, but had different contributions at important moments in fixtures – and 10 different bowlers took wickets across the season as well – so a real team effort.
5. 2nd X1 Report
Gideon Gale reported that it had been a season of transition for the 2nd team with plenty of ups and downs. The team had found it difficult to maintain any consistency of selection with people unavailable as they had games for u15’s in the morning or players being pulled into the 1sts for league matches. He also felt that the fixture list had not been ideal with the team coming up against some very good opposition.
On the positive side, a number of youngsters broke through and played their first games of adult cricket, which was great to see
Gideon gave particular thanks to Anthony Wise and David Marks for all their help in the background
Looking to next season, he was keen on the idea of the 2nd team playing league cricket as a way to attract better cricketers to the club and allow fringe 1s players regular cricket which in turn will only make the 1s stronger and more competitive.
Alex Haffner thanked Gideon, Anthony Wise and David Marks for all their efforts with the 2nd team in difficult circumstances.
6. Colts Report
Anthony Wise reported on another very successful season for the Colts with even higher numbers than the record who had joined in 2018.
It had also been an extremely challenging season due to the problems with Rowley Lane and our club mark being temporarily removed.
The U11s had very good numbers and won the majority of their games. The U13s had a small squad and won 2/8 games, but will be much stronger next year. The jewel in this year’s crown were the U15s who were undefeated all season. We very much hope to continue using some of those players in our adult teams next season.
Indoor training for winter 2020 was booked at Yavneh, albeit there are 4 weeks where an alternative is needed. Outdoor training will continue at Rowley Lane. It will be important for members of the adult teams to help out with those sessions as their attendance was patchier this season.
Anthony thanked Danny Caro, Jon Feigenbaum and Gus Fraser for their huge contributions to the Colts. Danny, Gus and Anthony would manage the teams next year, but thereafter new blood would be needed to keep the teams going.
In conclusion, Anthony reflected on two very good years for the Colts with over 40 having signed up in 2019 and already over 25 enquiries from new members for 2020!
On behalf of the club, Alex Haffner remarked on the amazing work done by all of those associated with the Colts and on the need to make sure we kept the section thriving. In that vein, he also reported on the positive development that a new coach had been found for the Colts from Stanmore CC and he would be starting at the Winter nets.
7. ECB Clubmark & Welfare Officer Update
Jonathan Freedman reported that the club had, because of an administrative error, had their ECB clubmark removed during the 2019 season. A big effort had therefore been made to have it re-instated which had, after much work, been successful. This meant going forward that the club would be subject to a lighter annual review with the next wholesale review not for another 2 years. As a consequence of the re-instatement process, the club was also in much better shape in terms of documentation and record keeping processes.
Jonathan also took those present through some important learnings from a player welfare point of view which were being passed down by ECB and Middx CC.
Alex Haffner thanked Jonathan and also those who had supported the club in ensuring its Clubmark was re-instated.
8. Club Awards
Alex Haffner reported that these had been voted on and a good number (over 30) votes received. The winners were as follows:
Player of the Season – Steven Allweis
Most Improved Player – Adam Parker
Champagne Moment – 1st team beating Brondesbury in the last over
9. Treasurer’s Report & the setting of subscriptions for 2019
Terry Hyman presented the club accounts to the AGM. The general position was a healthy one with a small profit (£227) made during the year. The continued generosity of sponsors and lower pitch hire fees given that more games were played away meant that a £2,500 repayment had been made in respect of the loan on the nets (leaving £5,000 outstanding). Terry emphasised (as he had done previously) that the club could not necessarily count on the same sponsors each season and efforts would be needed to attract new people from within the club.
The budget for next season envisaged higher pitch and coaching costs to be offset by a lower loan repayment so as to ensure a break even position.
Alex Haffner thanked Terry for all his sterling work on the accounting front.
10. Chairman’s Message
Alex Haffner reported that the 2019 season was one of consolidation. At start of year, he had set three aims:
· One club – bridge between Colts and Adults
· Pathway – youngsters to play adult cricket and feed our 1st/2nd teams
· Re-inforce postion in the community – both within the Jewish and wider community
He felt it would be helpful to frame his report by looking at achievements/room for improvement under each of these heads.
One Club
Alex remarked that we have a Colts section to be proud of. Huge thanks were due to Anthony, Jon Feigenbaum, Richard Fraser and Danny Caro for all their efforts. He and others on the committee had (and will continue to) make a conscious effort to ensure those efforts were fully supported, for example attending Colts training on a Sunday morning and organising and supporting the Colts and Parents day at end of Colts season.
Most Colts parents now understand that we are a mixed Adults and Kids club.
The next step would be to get those parents supporting our adults’ sides.
Pathway
The club had had a major success in 2018 re-instituting a 2nd X1. This was an achievement not to be sniffed at given nearly all clubs are regressing and losing teams, indeed some huge clubs can’t even get 1 Sunday team out, whilst Vale have been able to get 2 together. As already explained, the 2nd X1 had been a bit more of a struggle in 2019, but nonetheless it had still got a number of kids playing adult cricket. The best example was game at Mill Hill Village CC in early August. We had 5 kids playing and the final over was bowled by Gavin Diamond’s son with other team needing 12 to win and we won. That game personified our pathway was all about.
Position in the Community
Alex was very proud of this aspect of the club’s work and keen to develop it further. In 2018, the club had hosted an inter-faith festival with the Archibishop of Cantebury’s X1 which had generated huge publicity.
This year the club had been able to enjoy the huge nachas of sharing in Terry Hyman being given a Middlesex CC OSCA award for services to cricket (the award being given on the Lord’s pitch) – this was a very significant achievement and a real validation of the club and of course Terry’s sterling work/
In conclusion, Alex emphasised that LMVCC have a club to be proud of. The 1st team was playing in the 1st division of Chess Valley League playing with the very best clubs – at this point Alex mentioned that he would like to pay tribute to Neil Lederman who had been 1st team captain throughout the rise from 5th to 1st division of the CVL and had resigned from his position after the previous year’s AGM. The colts had players who hold their own against other clubs, notwithstanding that we had a much smaller pool to choose from. Finally, the club was proudly Jewish but also very inclusive in that it recognised its role in the cricket fraternity.
Alex finished by giving his thanks to the Committee who had supported him throughout the last 12 months: the club was so fortunate to have such a dedicated group of people.
He then went on to award the Alan Shapiro trophy for service to club and emphasised that it recognised the very important principle that the club was not just about on-field performances, but also that people needed to be unselfish and give of their time to make it all happen.
Against that background it was fitting therefore that this year’s recipient had not played a single game last season. He was someone who was always willing to help, performed a job which was not exactly glamorous, but did so without any fuss and always put his hand up to wherever required.
With that said, Alex presented the award to Russ Corin who was telephoned at home from the AGM to inform him of the award (Russ having unfortunately injured his back shortly before the date of the AGM).
11. Election of Officers
Before moving to elect the new Committee for 2020, Alex Haffner explained that, following the sad passing of Cyril Hooker, it had been decided to elect a new President and that Cyril’s family had consented to the club doing so.
On that basis, Alex had the huge privilege of confirming that Terry Hyman would be appointed President of the club with immediate effect.
Thereafter, the following officers were duly elected to serve for the next 12 months:
Chairman: Alex Haffner
Vice Chairman: Adam Brand
1st team Captain Steven Allweis
1st team Vice Captain Ben Lederman
2nd team Captain Gideon Gale
Treasurer Terry Hyman
Fixtures Secretary Russell Corin
Media & Comms Officer Gideon Gale
Club Welfare & Clubmark Jonathan Freedman
Head of Colts Tony Wise
Fundraising & Sponsorship Rafi Saville
12. None
13. Any other Business (AOB)
A few items were raised, including:
· Relationship with Rowley Lane: in response to questions raised by several members, Alex Haffner explained that meetings had taken place with the Trustees of Rowley Lane who were very supportive of LMV. He hoped to continue to build on that going forward.
· Future of the Colts: Simon Barnett emphasised that it was vital to undertake succession planning over the next 12 months in view of the current reliance on messrs Wise, Feigenbaum and Caro.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.30