West Country Sport

CRICKET: Paul Short re-elected Wellington skipper

8:00pm Friday 27th January 2012

Paul Short was elected as Wellington CC's Club and 1st XI Captain for a fifth season at the club's annual meeting that was held at Wellington Arts Centre on Tuesday.

Changes were also announced in respect of personnel and strategy as the club enters 2012 with the primary aim of achieving promotion for the 1st XI to the Somerset Division of the West of England Premier League.

Club Chairman Duncan Short welcomed all present to the meeting asked all those present to stand and observe a period of reflection in respect of two club members who had died recently.

Ernie Wells, who passed away in November, had been the head groundsman at Wellington Playing Field from 1975 until his retirement in 1993. After this he was a supporter of the club and a regular at matches.

Ralph Buttle, who died in December, was one of the group who re-founded the club after WW2 and had been a Life Member of the club. He had held the role of the auditor of the club's finances since 1954.

Duncan Short's opening remarks were based on the securing of three sponsorship deals for the 2012 season.

In addition to the current deal with Tiverton Carpets and Suites, which continues for another year, Thatcher's Cider and local philanthropist John Grace have agreed to sponsor the club in the coming 12 months, providing a level of financial security.

Club secretary David Derrick reviewed 2011 season and reported that it had seen the 1st XI finish fourth in Division One of the Somerset League and end over 100 points short of the title.

The team had not chased down totals that it should have done in a couple of games towards the end of the first half of the season and this ended realistic hopes of taking the title. Availability had seen 21 players used in 2011 and this was too many for a sustained assault on the title.

The 2nd XI had recorded its best finish in its near 40 year history of Somerset League cricket as it ended fourth in Division Four. The side had combined youth and experience excellently and this was applauded. Outgoing skipper Simon Rudd was thanked for what he had delivered over two seasons from 2010.

The Sunday League XI had achieved a second successive runners up spot in the Taunton and District Sunday League and this was testament to a successful youth policy.

The club's non league sides - one on Sundays and a midweek side - enjoyed good seasons too with a competitive fixture schedule on Sundays and the 20/20 matches proving to be popular.

Junior cricket had flourished in 2011 as a direct result of the work put in with a second winter of youth coaching as the Under 11s - under the management of Mark Salter and with coaching from Les Reed - went from not winning a single match in 2010 to being divisional champions for the Western Section of the Taunton and District Youth League at their age group.

The Under-13s had enjoyed an extended cup run and ended in mid table in their division; the Under 15s had struggled relatively following on from their predecessors appearance on the national stage in 2010, but it should be remembered that this side was more of an Under-14s side than a true Under-15s side and would prosper for being a year older in 2012.

All the club's work off the field of play was also reviewed and the completion and opening of a clubhouse and bar for the first time was a proud moment as well as taking over the management of the square at Wellington Playing Field too.

Social opportunities were plentiful as always and July's Club Day and October's end of season dinner were quality events; adding WEPL status for the 1st XI would be the icing on the cake.

Treasurer Marc Holloway reported on a season when the club had seen income and expenditure rise to levels never seen before as the possession of a bar and the new social membership option saw receipts in rise, but to get to this level the club had spent a large portion of its cash holdings on the construction of the facility.

That said, there was a small profit returned on the 12 months December 30 and available cash reserves were not too dissimilar to how they had been at the start of the project.

Thanks were extended for the diligent way that expenditure had been managed and for the control shown at a busy time financially.

Paul Short gave a talk on the 'way forward' as he looks to find the formula for 1st XI promotion and he delivered some core values and strategies that he will be employing in 2012 with changes to practice and training at the centre of this and building a squad ethos.

A new structure will see some of the non-playing aspects of captaincy been devolved as well.

A £5 increase in the senior membership subscription was to be applied for 2012 with all other subscriptions and match fees remaining at their 2011 levels.

Club Officers officers elected were: President and Financial Verification Officer - Roy Hutchings; Vice Presidents - Re-elected en bloc; Chairman - Duncan Short; Vice Chairman - Simon Spalding; Secretary - David Derrick; Treasurer - Marc Holloway; Fixture Secretary - Steve Symons; Management Committee - Adrian Lee, Amanda Moysey, Mark Salter, Thom Trott, Tony Rudd and Richard Short.

Team Officias: Club and 1st XI Captain - Paul Short; 1st XI Vice Captain - Thom Trott; 2nd XI Captain - Richard Henwood; 2nd XI Vice Captain - Kevin Crout; Sunday League XI Captain - Rob Moysey; Sunday League XI Vice Captain - Alex Sparks; Sunday Non League XI Captain - Steve Symons; Sunday Non League XI Vice Captain - Max Capaldi; Midweek XI Captain - Simon Rudd; Midweek XI Vice Captain - Julian Jones; Under 11s Manager - Mark Salter; Under 13s Manager - Paul Rowlandson; Under 15s Manager - Des Campbell.

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