March 1 is the first day of spring “meteorologically”, so I’ll take it as prompt to summarise a few things which you should know in advance of the new season.
I thought you might like to see the view of the Rec this morning. Beautiful, but the ball isn’t going to bounce too much at the moment!

The Sunday 1st XI start in six weeks time and the Fullers League games start in two months.
They’ll be with us quickly enough!

Winter nets
Nets started at Claremont School last Wednesday and will continue each week until Wednesday 28th March. The cost is £5 for adults and £3 for U18. The session includes all
adults and U16 - U18 juniors, and runs from 20:15 to 21:15. Please remember to use the top car park accessed via the Portsmouth Road (A307). After Easter we will move outside to the Recreation Ground. Watch the website for further details.

Fixtures
Our fixtures in the Fullers Surrey County League have now all been confirmed with the 1st XI starting (in Division 1) against Effingham at home on May 5th and on the same day (in the
3rd Division) our 2nd XI start against Esher West End at West End.
Thanks to our very organised Fixture Secretary (!), all the arrangements for the Sunday 1st
XI have been completed and start with a game on Sunday 15th April against Burgh Heath athome and (22 fixtures later) finish the season against Hampton Wick on the 16th September.
Thanks James…and well done!

Cricket week
The opposition and dates for Cricket Week have also been confirmed are:
Mon 23rd July - Meadhurst CC - 11.30 confirmed
Tues 24th July - Carnegie – Start depending on Carnegie preference
Weds 25th July - Old Ashfordians - optional depending on Old A preference
Thurs 26th July - Stoke D'Abernon - optional depending on Stoke preference
Fri 27th July - Internal 20/20 match or maybe a charity 20/20 game
More announcements will be made as we get closer.

An update on the Clubhouse…
The CRGT have just made the following statement.
‘It’s been some weeks since we have commented on progress on the rebuilding of the
Claygate Clubhouse after the disastrous fire which destroyed the building at the end of 2016. Revised plans for extending the building to a second floor were submitted to Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC) before Christmas and discussions are continuing between Claygate Recreation Ground Trust and EBC as to the best way forward regarding community expectations, meeting the interests of all stakeholders, current financial resources and the demolition and building timeframe. These discussions are progressing satisfactorily and a further statement will be made as soon as practical’

Whilst taking longer than we originally anticipated, there is a benefit as this means that there will be no building work during the season and should mean that a new clubhouse will be open in summer 2019. We look forward!

One junior change you should be aware of…
The juniors will continue this summer with training and a full fixture list for all sides up to
U15. For the Over 16’s we have decided not to put a team in the West Surrey League as last
year we felt overstretched with regards to both players and pitches and there have been
some changes to the league structure. This year we will set up a number of 30-over
friendlies for this age group. Importantly this should help us bring through a number of the
younger players into the Sunday side…and possibly the 2nd XI league side on a Saturday.

Pitch perfect….
After re-laying the pitch a year ago, we played on the new track last summer. Whilst we were pleased with the flatness and grass cover, it was always expected to play with a low bounce as these things take a while to ‘bed in’. That’s exactly what it did!
Damo has been busy in discussions with the CRGT and contractors Burleys and they will
draw up an annual plan for us, so we know what work should be done and when.
Pitch repairs will be carried out in late March at the end of the football season and that will
also include scarification of the pitch. A heavy roller will be brought in when the ground is
firmer probably in early April. The experts then advise that around a day’s worth of rolling will be required! Phew! All of which we hope will produce a pitch with more bounce!

Recruitment
We have launched a recruitment campaign for both adults and juniors with flyers and posters around the village. Thanks to those who posed for the photo a couple of years ago!! Half a dozen new players would really help our overall playing strength. Introduce a new player to the club and if they play half a dozen games for us this summer we will deduct £25 from your annual subscription. So ask around and see who has some latent cricketing talent!!

The Ashes Café
Pam has done a brilliant job in organising and running the Ashes Cafe, which is run from the club’s temporary cabins. It has proved popular with members of the football club, parents and pupils of Claygate Primary School together with dog walkers on the Rec. Currently hours are restricted to the busy periods but as the weather improves they will be extended.
Check out facebook / twitter - @TheAshesCafe for more details and please support this
when you can.
All profits go to the club’s fundraising.

See you on a pitch (without snow) before too long!

Russ
Club Manager

Follow this link
http://www.claygatecricket.co.uk/d/documents.html?group_id=9883
to see the pdf version, including extra photos