ANTHONY AXFORD BOLTON CRICKET LEAGUE

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING

HELD AT BRADSHAW C.C.

25^th SEPTEMBER 2006

Apologies: P. Stafford, M. Hall, T. Hayes, and Westhoughton C.C.

Congratulations: The Chairman congratulated Walkden and Farnworth S.C. on winning the first and second team championships respectively, and Tonge on winning the Lyddon Trophy.

Minutes of the August Meeting: These had been circulated, and were approved as a correct record.

Matters Arising: It had been decided no further progress could be made regarding the attendance at the first aid course.

The dispute between the LCB and BCL is still ongoing. The League are considering withdrawing from the Michael Roache U15 Trophy.

The Sykes Cup is being repaired.

Correspondence: Clubs in the Bolton area confirmed they had received literature regarding the Bolton S&PA Awards, Coach Awards and Training Courses.

The Committee agreed the recipient of the Hubert Pendlebury Award for 2006.

Geoff Cleworth will be standing down as Records and Statistics Secretary after over 20 years. One reason he give was the poor return of figures from clubs. The Committee asked the Secretary to write to Geoff thanking him. Ron Fallows said there is software available to assist with the compilation of the averages.

The Secretary had been unable to compile a final league table for the second teams as some results were still missing, although he had contacted the clubs concerned.

The Prize claim meeting is at Bradshaw C.C. on 26^th September. Clubs will be fined £100 for failure to attend / non-compliance. Late, successful claims will be accepted, but clubs will be fined £100. Amateur player-of-the year votes are still required from the captains of the following clubs; AB, Eg, F, FSC, G, Ho, LL, Wa. We.

Clubs are asked to nominate candidates for the Most Promising Player Under 16.

Peter Mensforth has retired as Sports Editor of the Bolton News. It was agreed a presentation would be made to him at the League Dinner. He was also nominated as a Vice-President and a final decision will be made at the October meeting.

Finance: The Treasurer reported a bank balance of £3800. There is £10,600 in the coaching fund. May Barlow was congratulated on obtaining a substantial grant from Awards For All.

Umpires: There is a meeting this week regarding the new ECB Training Structure, at the moment courses are still being organised under the auspices of the ACU&S.

Juniors: The Junior Presentation will be held at Horwich RMI on Thursday 23^rd November.

Clubs have been asked to nominate players at Under 11,12,13,14 and 15 age groups for LCB trials.

Heaton Under 11s were congratulated on becoming Lancashire champions.

The Under 13 inter-league team retained the Peak Sports Trophy for the third time.

A decision about the Walkden Tournament is to be made at the next junior meeting.

The League are running coaching sessions at Smithills in the New Year. These are grant funded, but there will be a charge of £40 per child (breakdown e-mailed to clubs). David Morris noted a lot of the expenditure was on coaches, with little investment in new coaches, however the Bolton Cricket Development Group have applied for funds for Coach Education. If successful, this will be available for clubs regularly attending their meetings.

Football: Kevin Nolan puts Bolton ahead just before half time.

R&C Report: A letter of resignation from John Hutchinson was read to the Committee.

Disciplinary Report: Tonge have banned Simon Anderton for the first two matches of the 2007 season.

Dale Jones (Heaton) and Darren Mullineux (Farnworth S.C.) received written reprimands.

Paul Garnett remarked on the number of mainly minor offences reported, especially during the middle of the season.

It was recommended a meeting be called between members of the Disciplinary Panel and the Umpires’ Committee. 

Axford Trophy: The Chairman reported on our victory in the inaugural match under our new sponsors. He thanked the players who went home for their kit at the last minute when three players selected from Walkden C.C. did not turn up. Responding to a letter from Walkden, which also formed the basis of an article in the local press, Derek said no one from the Club let him know the players were not available.

Inter-League cricket will be discussed at a future meeting.

League Dinner: Roy Stafford reminded the Committee this will be held at the Town Hall on 10^th November. Tickets are £22 and clubs will be invoiced before the Dinner. Clubs will also be invoiced £25 to cover other expenses. Roy will be at the League Meeting on 30^th October to take numbers from clubs. A poster will be available for clubhouses.

Proposed Amendments to Rule 2007: Those received to date were read by the Chairman and discussed briefly. The final date for submissions is 30^th October, but the Secretary requested they be sent to him at least a week earlier so they could be distributed and discussed at the meeting.

Cricket Forum: A leaflet advertising these events had been e-mailed to clubs and were distributed at the meeting. The venues are as follows; Tonge C.C. (for G, B, T &LL) 11^th October, Eagley C.C. (for Ea, Eg & AB) 19^th October, F.C.C.C.C (for FSC, F, K & Wa) 26^th October, Westhoughton C.C. (for He, Ho &We) 2^nd November.

The forums will start at 7.45pm. The only topic for discussion will be the future direction and development of Bolton Cricket.

There are no deadlines set for the implementation of any proposals.

Date of Next Meeting; 30^th October.