Mes que un club

Well we have finally reached the end of what has been a fabulous season for Kimberley Institute 1^st XI. Winning our first Nottinghamshire Premier League title, along with the success in the Twenty20 Cup earlier in the season has been a very special thing to be part of.

Success at a cricket club, and developing winning teams can rarely be attributed to one particular thing. It is normally the sum of many parts which come together to make for a successful environment.

There is no doubt that this year we have been blessed with a number of fine young players who have together blossomed at the right time into outstanding, and perhaps most importantly, consistent league cricketers. That did not happen over night. The work that Sam Ogrizovic and Michael Blatherwick put in over the last few years to assemble much of this side was vital to the success. Both Michael and Sam had the longer term vision to see that by building a young team with a strong collective work ethic, success could be achieved. It is easy to try to chase success by bringing in players who you expect to deliver instantly. More often that not you are disappointed. We had tried that route in the past and been burnt. It takes great determination and a brave confidence to say ‘this is the way we are going to do it, it might take time, but it will succeed’. So to Sam and Michael, I say a big thank you. Not only for having confidence in me, but also in this group that they could perform.

We have also been lucky to have the wisdom and skill of our team manager. ‘Rookie’, takes a lot of stick from the young lads, but he has this great ability to connect with them and get the best out of them. He, like Sam and Michael, has shown unwavering belief in the ability of the group over the last two seasons, and now he has been rewarded. It says something when lads of 21 look forward to going out for a social drink with a man of Rookie’s age! Thank you Rookie for trusting in me and for providing me with council over the season.

Karen Layton, a key cog behind the scenes.

It is not all about the team and management though. Any success is actually as much down to the people behind the scenes as those out on the pitch. Karen Layton does a phenomenal amount for Kimberley Institute Cricket Club. She is Child Welfare Officer and organises the teas (and I do think ours are amongst the best in the league!) along with Tina King, and I was so pleased she was up there on Saturday to share our success. Martin Clarke is vital on match day's running the bar along with our treasurer and his wife Nichola. Without Martin, Colin would not be able to get his match day beers and would be forever grumpy!

We without doubt have the best scorer in the league. Rob Naylor is a voluntary sensation. His scoring is sublime, he knows all the statistics and can be a useful source of information in analysing our performance.

Our outstanding ground staff who have worked tirelessly to provide superb playing conditions all year.

We are also blessed to have the most fantastic ground staff. At so many grounds, you come across groundsman who actually hate nothing more than people playing cricket on their square! Not Stewart and his team. They will do anything they can to help get a game on, and this year we did not suffer a single abandonment at home, our last game a perfect example, with the mangle and sponges out despite it being a dead rubber in many ways.

Geoff Griffiths has been Chairman since 1998
and has overseen both NPL titles.

We have Geoff Griffiths our Chairman, John Parkin the President and the rest of the committee. They do a sterling job ensuring that the 1^st XI can just come along and play without having to worry about the numerous logistical aspects of running a cricket club.

Finally we have our fantastic supporters. They are always our harshest critics, but as Graham said to me, ”it is only because we want you to be better!” They have travelled home and away to supporters over the difficult last few years and been unwavering in their support. I hope they have enjoyed the success over the last few weeks.

Barcelona FC have a motto of “mes que un club” which translates as “more than a club”. I think that befits Kimberley Institute, and our challenge now is to repeat our success in the same vein as our Catalan counterparts.

Thank you to everyone, it has been a wonderful year!

Champions!!

We did it! Can you believe it! Kimberley Institute can once again after 15 years call ourselves the best cricket team in Nottinghamshire after claiming the points we needed to win the Nottinghamshire Premier League title on Saturday.

Even though we only needed two points to secure the title out of a possible forty over the last two weeks, it was always going to be a little nervy for us until we actually got there. After Jack Blatherwick got us off to a great start, you might have just thought the recent juggernaut that we have been riding would just continue to roll on. Clifton had other ideas however, and we needed George Bacon to come to the party with a wonderful spell in the middle of the innings to get us the five wickets we needed. It was a classic example of how every member of the squad has played their part and stepped up to the plate when they were needed.

George Bacon wheels away after taking the wicket that clinched the league title on Saturday

At the top of the order, we have had the guys who have done all the set-up work, laying the foundations. Shaun Levy has had a great season scoring just shy of 700 runs at an average of 40. Tom Rowe has scored 750 at 41 and Sam Johnson 710 at 39. On their day, each has won games with special innings, but more often than not, it was just a case of accumulating good runs and a fast rate that gave us a platform to win the game. Then you move into the group I like to call the finishers. Dominic Brown has scored 654 runs at an average of 55 with 8 of his 20 innings finishing not out. George Bacon and Alex King have provided 500 crucial runs between them, often in the process of seeing home tight games.

On the bowling front, the Captain King has lead the way with 40 wickets to his name at an average of just 19. He has been ably supported by a broad cast with Bacon taking 36 wickets, myself 20, Savage 19, and Brown, Rowe and Blatherwick taking 41 between them.

It is no doubt due to the fact that we have had such a wide range of contributors and perhaps a lack of reliance on one or two individuals, that we have been so successful. Whenever, we have faced difficulties over the last three months, someone has put their hand up and delivered.

Kimberley Institute - Double Winners 2015

Statistics can only tell you part of the story though, and perhaps what has been most important through this period is the tight bond that has developed between the group. Obviously winning games makes things more enjoyable, but perhaps because many of the players have been through difficult seasons and have come out of the other end of it stronger, they have a strong affinity to take advantage when you start to build something special. Many people off the pitch have been involved in putting together this successful season. I don’t want to name them individually, but they all know who they are. To them I say a huge thank you, and to my team mates, for allowing me to fulfil a life ambition of winning one of the top amateur cricket leagues in the country. Hopefully we can do it again, but for now, let’s all head down to Newdigate Street this Saturday, to celebrate what has been a long awaited triumph for the cricketing club of this wonderful town and community! Come on Kimberley!

One game at a time

We are nearly there! Over the last few weeks I have worked hard to keep reminding our boys that we need to take one game at a time and not look too far ahead as we search for our first league title in 15 years. Actually, I need not have worried. Our professionalism over the second half of the season has been quite phenomenal and Saturday’s win over relegation troubled Farnsfield ensured that we have now taken 215 out of the last 220 points. A remarkable feat. We now just need to take three points out of the next 40, something we will be very keen to tie up this Saturday at Clifton.

Saturday was not only an enjoyable cricket day because of another win at Kimberley, but also because I was able to get home in time to watch Lancashire become the T20 Blast. It was a fantastic achievement from a Lancashire side built with local young cricketers. Lancashire have been pretty smart over the last few years with their coaching appointments. Firstly Peter Moores created an excellent environment for young players to be given a chance to thrive while supporting them with quality experience players. Then last winter’s appointment of Ashley Giles has allowed them to follow the same pathway. You only have to look at Giles’s willingness to select Gavin Griffiths and George Edwards for finals day to see that they believe in giving youth a chance to thrive. It was also pleasing to see an old teammate of mine Steven Croft captain the side to victory.

There is little point in investing in an expensive junior academy system if you then have no confidence to select the players it produces and to give them a chance in the 1^st XI. Of course, there is always pressure for success and therefore it is easy to look to use your cheque book to bring players in for short term gain. However, the value of being able to develop a core of your side as local cricketers with a strong connection to your club can be of incredible value as you look to build a team that can compete over the longer term. I am pleased to see Lancashire do that, and there is no doubt that at Kimberley there are similarities and we also have the opportunity to build something special.

For now, our attention is very firmly fixed on Saturday’s fixture at Clifton, and while obviously we will be conscious of acquiring the points we need, our focus will be on winning the game. As I say, “one game at a time!”

Time for Nottinghamshire to provide Trent Bridge test for amateur cricketers

Saturday’s spectacular win at West Indian Cavaliers was a wonderful experience and a result that very much keeps us in the hunt for the Nottinghamshire Premier League title. More than that though, it was a demonstration of how exciting and thrilling a game can be when both teams need to win in the closing stages of the season.

This year has been a very competitive year at the top of the Nottinghamshire Premier League. Up until only two or three weeks ago, up to six or seven sides could have retained realistic hopes of winning the title. As a result, there have been some surprises and a number of twists as teams fought it out for vital points. When league cricket is like this it is great. Too often though, the second half of the season can be a dull affair for 5 of 6 teams stuck in the middle of a league where there is a two horse race for the title and perhaps a three horse race for relegation.

Growing up in Lancashire this could also be a problem. In fact, in the Northern League there was no relegation! However, what we did have was places in the Lancashire Cup to play for. You could equate this to qualification for next year’s Champions League! The top four teams in the league at the end of the season qualified for the Lancashire Knock-out Cup which was made up of similar qualifying teams from around the various leagues in the county. This was then (and still is) a really tough competition which was hotly contested and with a final at Old Trafford.

I still find it a great shame that Nottinghamshire does not have a county cup competition. Yes there is the T20, but as I have stated before, I really think this could be scaled up, and it is not comparable to a longer format competition. It would be great to have a 40 over or 45 over cup competition, which the top 7 sides from the previous Premier League season (plus the T20 winners) qualify for. They could then be joined by the top four finishing sides in both the South Notts Division A and the Bassetlaw Championship to make a 16 team knock-out cup. You would then actually only need four rounds, and it could be a cup competition to run towards the second half of the season after running the T20 during the first half.

One of the key elements would need to be a Trent Bridge final. For local cricketers, this should be seen as a great opportunity to play at an international venue, and something to aspire to. I find it most disappointing that local club cricketers are not currently afforded this opportunity. Thankfully, there are no dead rubbers ahead for ourselves over the next three weeks, and we must be on top of our game as we face a tough Farnsfield side this coming weekend.

Cup run comes to an end

Sunday saw our excellent run in the ECB Royal London Championship sadly come to an end at Northern Cricket Club, but it has been a great experience for the whole squad. While it was disappointing to go out at the quarter final stage, especially in a game that we knew we got ourselves into a decent position in, it has been a run which has very much whetted the appetite for us, and we now want to make a real good effort over the next few weeks to try to win the Nottinghamshire Premier League.

On Saturday, we took another big step towards that aim with a good win away at Welbeck.  It was another comprehensive performance which provides an indicator that we are building some momentum. Having been through a few title run-ins with my hockey teams, what is crucial at this stage is that we take each game as it comes and not look too far ahead. There is no doubt that this week’s opponents Radcliffe-on-Trent will be another difficult hurdle to overcome, as they proved when they beat us earlier in the season.

The key to our success so far this season has most definitely been our strength in depth, with 13 players competitively vying for a place in the starting 11 each week. It is never an easy thing keeping 13 good players happy, but so far our management team have done a fine job balancing selection and rewarding those who are performing well. It is very difficult to go and win competitions when you only have 9 or 10 decent players as it makes you vulnerable when people inevitably are unavailable at points during the season. So as we push hard across these final few weeks, it will be important that we continue to use that depth in the right way each week.

In the next week down at Kimberley we turn our attention to developing the next generation of 1^st XI cricketers as we run our Ashes Cricket Camp. It is all very well having a strong  1^st XI level, but if you then do not invest in developing your young players, it can mean that any success can be short lived. We must continue to strive to be at the forefront of youth development, and it is by organising camps like this, run by our young 1^st XI players, that the next generation can start to see what they need to be able to make it through. There are still some places left on the course so if you are interested visit our website for more details. I look forward to seeing a big crowd down at the 2bm Private Ground for this Saturday’s vital league match. Come on Kimberley!

All in the toss

We are now moving to a crucial few weeks in our season at Kimberley Institute. We are still battling on three fronts and we are very much looking forward to our Royal London Club Championship National Quarter Final in two weeks time up in Liverpool against Northern CC. However, before we get that far, we have two huge days this weekend. On Saturday we take on Plumtree who currently sit top of the Nottinghamshire Premier League. Plumtree, like ourselves, have a side built around a number of talented young players, and it promises to be a key battle in shaping the direction of the League title. On Sunday, we then face old rivals Wollaton in the Semi Finals of the Nottinghamshire T20, where a win would see us progress to face either Farnsfield or West Indian Cavaliers later in the day.

Last weekend I was at a wedding so I was unable to see the spectacular innings of Sam Johnson that brought us the victory at Ordsall Bridon. You only need to take a look at the innings statistics to see how special a knock it must have been. We will need Sam to continue that fine form over the next few weeks if we are to maintain our run of recent results.

It would be remiss of me this week to not pass comment on the recent Test Match at Lords this week. After arriving to England after the successful ODI series against New Zealand and then winning comfortably at Cardiff, Trevor Bayliss the new England Coach must have thought it was all a breeze. However, the team came crashing down to reality at Lords, and the Aussie now has his work cut out to repair the damage done to the confidence of that crushing defeat at the home of cricket. It is amazing in cricket how important the toss can be. I don’t think in any other sport it carries as much significance. Imagine back to day one of the Lords Test with England riding high in confidence, the pitch flat, not a cloud in the sky. It would have been quite likely had England won the toss they would have gone on to set a solid score. Yes there are clearly problems in the top order, and I am glad that the selectors have opted to make a change (I am always amazed at how long some batsmen get when they are out of form). However, if the toss had gone the other way, I expect England would have been going into the next Test at Edgbaston with their 1-0 lead intact. England now need to clear their minds and bat with the confidence and positivity that saw them play so well against the Kiwi’s and down in Cardiff. In sport, we always get a pummelling every so often. Any team is defined by how they respond. So its over to you Trevor and Alistair to keep the new found optimism in English cricket alive.

Consistency is the key

Well what a fabulous weekend we had at Kimberley Institute. Firstly, we were able to beat Nottinghamshire Academy, who we have struggled to get the better of over the past few seasons. Then on Sunday, we put in a sparkling performance in the last 16 of the Royal London Club Championship to defeat Kidderminster Victoria, one of the top sides from the Birmingham League.

After a solid and composed bowling and fielding display, restricting the hosts to 223 on a good wicket, Sam Johnson and Tom Rowe proceeded to play probably the best partnership I have witnessed in club cricket.  The pair batted with remarkable maturity and control, to ease us to victory well within the 45 overs and without looking in trouble at any stage. It was a very special day for the club, and as a player it was a massive boost and also made me very proud to see the large number of Kimberley supporters who had made the trip over to the West Midlands. To send them home happy was a perfect way to repay their wonderful support over the last few seasons since I joined this special club.

Kidderminster were at one stage in danger of not putting up much of a fight on Sunday, and had it not been for the brilliant innings of Richard Kimberlin, we could have been chasing a score closer to 150. Kimberlin, rode his luck at times, but his clean striking at the end, and his use of the reverse sweep allowed him to assemble an impressive score for his team.

Kimberlin played the reverse sweep well but I did feel sorry for Alex King who bowled very well, and was unlucky not to dismiss the Kidderminster batsman on a number of occasions. It is becoming a bit of a bugbear of mine that everything down the leg side is called a wide, especially for an off spinner. There were a couple of times on Sunday where Alex bowled a delivery which pitched in line with off stump. The batsman had every chance to play the ball which then spun sharply and slipped down past leg stump. I really do not feel this should be classed a wide. The main argument that comes back on this one is it allows for consistency, but that really is a non argument. You could just get rid of LBW to improve ‘consistency’ of umpiring, but we wouldn’t because we are happy to let the umpire interpret the delivery. That is exactly what they should be allowed to do with regard to ‘leg side wides’.  At one stage, Kimberlin moved early to reverse sweep and effectively changed his stance, and this is where there should definitely be a caveat for interpretation.

Anyway enough of me moaning, after all it has been a good week!