Members

News and Events

A message from the chairman

When John Kay, the legendary cricket correspondent of the Manchester Evening News, told me to join the CWC in 1968 (he didn’t do invitations, just instructions), I would never have believed that 40 years later I would become Chairman of a Club which has bloggers and podcasters in its ranks.

It is to the credit of my predecessors that we have moved with the times and I am sure that none of the others will be offended if I single out Graham Morris for his tireless efforts over the past three years. He has achieved so much, most notably in the provision of WiFi at most grounds (even David Green has a laptop now), the upgrading of facilities, the encouragement of sponsors to support the Dinner and other social events and the development of the website.

I will try to build on his work in association with our dedicated Sub-committee Chairmen - Mark Baldwin (Dinner), Brian Scovell (Facilities) and Colin Bateman (International) - with particular emphasis on developing our relations with the ECB and the counties. I owe my career to county cricket and so does just about everybody else in the game and I believe it needs our support more than ever in view of what is happening in India and what will inevitably happen here.

Finally, if anyone wants a chat about what we should be doing, mine’s a pint..........

Pat Gibson

Young cricketer of the year

Members are asked to start considering their nominations for Young Cricketer of the Year. He must have been under 23 on 1st May, 2008 and eligible to play for England. In recent years members have asked if a previous recipient can win the award if he is still eligible. The answer is there is nothing in the rules to prevent this. The last time your committee discussed this issue, it was felt the practice of players receiving the Award just the once should continue. However, Members are, of course, free to vote for anyone suitably qualified and if the result of the final ballot is a break with tradition, then so be it.

The closing date for nominations is Friday, 30th August and these should be sent by post or e-mail to Wendy Wimbush.

The scenic route

Webpages have been set up to for anyone wanting to donate towards the charity cycle ride by CWC members.

Colin Bateman (The Express), David Lloyd (Evening Standard) and Ian Todd (ex-Sun) have decided to cycle between The Brit Oval and Lord's.

But they've decided to go the scenic route. They will stop at all 16 of the other first-class county HQs on their way, cycling over 1,000 miles and raising money for two cricket related cancer charities (Hugh Morris' Heads Up and the Laurie Engel Foundation) as they go.

Any publicity or donations you are able to provide will be much appreciated. Anyone wishing to cycle a leg of the journey is also welcome; Steve James has already agreed to take part in the Cardiff leg.

They plan to start on September 13. Contact Colin (colinjbateman@hotmail.com) for more details.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so by visiting these webpages:

www.justgiving.com/colinbateman
www.justgiving.com/davidtofflloyd

Ties

Club ties are available for just £4 from Wendy Wimbush. They are silk and available in either navy blue with broad green stripes or navy with the CWC logo in green and gold.

Hotel offer

MCC is pleased to announce a special rate for media staying at the Marriott Regents Park hotel around non-major matches. This deal can also be used when media are staying in town for dinners and other events such as the CWC dinner. It does not apply around Tests, ODIs and finals as they are already fully booked.

This special rate for 2008 is £119.15 Bed and Breakfast plus Vat (single occupancy, £10 supplement for two in a room). This rate offers a considerable saving on the benchmark rate of £185 room only plus Vat.

Please phone reservations on 0800 221 222 quoting code YMMV or Marylebone Cricket Club. Media ID is required on check in. Check http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lonrp-london-marriott-hotel-regents-park/ for details.

Wisden

We have once again been offered a 50% discount on the price of the new Wisden Almanack. CWC members can buy the 2008 edition for just £20, plus £2 p+p. This special price applies to both hardback & soft cover versions. The large format version is £25, plus £2 p+p.

Payment must be by cheque, made payable to John Wisden & Co, and sent to:

John Wisden & Co Ltd

13 Old Aylesfield

Froyle Road

Alton

Hants. GU34 4BY

Any queries regarding this offer should be directed to Chris Lane at wisden@direct.co.uk.

No copies will be sent out before the week of publication in April.

Cricket book of the year

The CWC's cricket book of the year is More Than A Game by John Major. The former Prime Minister's epic work, sub-titled The Story of Cricket's Early Years, published by HarperCollins, was the narrow winner from a strong short list of five books.

It is the second year that the prize has been awarded, as part of the National Sporting Club's sports books of the year competition and was announced at a luncheon held in the Cafe Royal.

The runner up was Grovel by David Tossell (Know The Score), an examination of the seminal West Indies tour of England in 1976 and its enduring effects. The other threee were Fatty Batter by Michael Simkins (Ebury); Shane Warne, Portrait of a Flawed Genius by Simon Wilde (John Murray) and Tom Cartwright: The Flame Still Burns by Stephen Chalke (Fairfield Books).

The books were judged by a panel convened by Stephen Brenkley and included Peter Baxter, Murray Hedgcock, David Rayvern Allen, Lawrence Booth and Paul Coupar. At their first meeting they discussed more than 20 books and emerged with a long list of nine before trimming that to five.

In summing up the panel said: "There was an array of splendidly conceived and written books about cricket in 2007. Any of the five might have won on another day and two or three more on the long list were within a whisker of the short list. More Than A Game tackled a huge subject with enormous enthusiasm and style. It was engrossing throughout its 400 plus pages and was the first choice of four of the panel. Grovel told the riveting story of Clive Lloyd's 1976 West Indies side and placed it evocatively in a social context. It is a book that will endure. Simon Wilde's extensively researched and finely crafted volume reached a balanced judgement on one of the great cricketers. Fatty Batter is one of the funniest and most poignant books ever written about cricketing ineptitude and in a market hardly short of contributors over the years was quite outstanding. It was about time that Tom Cartwright's story was told and in Stephen Chalke it found the perfect narrator, always admiring, sometimes sentimental and properly recognising one of the great men of cricket.

"Supercat, the biograpjhy of Clive Lloyd by Simon Lister; George Lohmann, Pioneer Professional by Keith Booth; My Turn to Spin by Shaun Udal and Young Wisden by Tim De Lisle were all well liked by the panel. It was a good year and it was also heartening to note that the so-called small publishers - Fairfield, Know The Score, SportsBooks - are matching the big houses in terms of quality, both of writing and production."

It is hoped that the CWC will be able to secure a small cash prize from one of cricket's sponsors to award the winner at the annual dinner.

Handbook

Please advise amendments to: Chris Florence (chrisflorence@gmail.com) & WW (wendy@audley-house.freeserve.co.uk)

Club dinner

This year's annual dinner will be held on Monday, September 15th at the Plaisterers' Hall (www.plaisterershall.com).

Tickets for individual members cost £45 (including unlimited house wine), or £35 (excluding wine). Media tables of ten cost £795, while sponsor's tables cost £995. The bar will close at midnight, with diners encouraged to leave by 12.45am.

With no first-class cricket on September 15th or 16th, it is hoped that more CWC members than ever are able to attend.

CWC cricket team

Brian Scovell has added a prestigious fixture to our summer programme. A CWC XI will take on an ECB Chairman's XI in a Twenty20 game on the Nursery Ground at Lord's on September 1st from 2pm.

A declaration fixture against npower will be played at Shenley on September 16th, the day after the annual dinner, starting at 1pm.

Canterbury

Paul Millman, Kent's chief executive, has requested that members of the media phone with parking requests a week in advance. Building work is expected to start shortly at the ground and spaces will be limited.

The Parks

Anyone who might be attending matches in The Parks at Oxford should be warned that there is a clamp-down on car parking. To park in the parking area inside the lodge gates you need to contact OUCC in advance and obtain a red car parking permit. An ECB car parking pass will not be enough to save you from being clamped by university staff.

Message Board

Full and Honorary Life Members can now post messages on new and existing topics via the website's Message Board. To register, please email cwc@cricketpix.com with your proposed username (this is the name you wish to be known as on the Message Board) and password (which you can change after signing in) plus your name and email address.

Thanks to our website supporters Brit Insurance.

Thanks to our Media Guide supporters Cockspur Rum.

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