So season 2018/19 is well and truly at a close. How did it end? With 1 premiership team – our under 11s – and 2 teams into finals. We had a great run in the T20s, getting to the semi final. We had our first Spotswood representatives playing in an all girls competition, through a combined team with Gellibrand. Sadly, we had no women’s team this year but we’re determined to get back into the women’s comp soon

We said at the start of the season that we wanted to try harder to bring the whole club together, and our “One Club” presentation event was a perfect example of that, bringing together our life members, Coterie members, sponsors, all players, families and guests to celebrate the end of season.

All our award winners for season 2018/19 are below. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to the club this year. We look forward to seeing you in a few months time as we start winding up for 2019/20.

CLUB AWARDS AND THANKS

Trevor Davies – Alfredo Luizzi Memorial Plaque (club person of the year)
For commitment to Thursday evening meals the past two seasons. Thanks also to the rest of the team who are there most weeks to help things run smoothly: Simon O’Brien, Chris Fitzharris, David Gould

Volunteer thank yous – We can’t run this club without the effort of a lot of special people who give their time, energy and talents. Our committee, as always, have put in a mountain of effort. Beyond the committee though, we’re lucky to have a number of volunteers who do heaps around the club, with no fanfare and a lot of modesty. We’d like to thank them for all their work. Special thanks to:

• Lenny Robbins Snr – for practice wicket curation, line marking, grounds management, emptying bins
• Wayne Schwarz – for maintaining the ground at Edwards in fantastic condition, including ground marking and cutting around pitch, cleaning the rooms, and helping with bbqs
• Stephen Jamieson – for scoring mens firsts and managing MyCricket match stats for VTCA teams
• Ann Maree Butterfield – for scoring mens seconds and T20s
• Mark Cranwell and Nick Bartol – for running Junior Blasters
• Stuart Redpath and Chris Mounas – for coaching junior teams
• Mark Grouios and Jason Dunham – for managing junior teams
• Rosemary Wray and Josie Cranwell – for putting on a great spread every weekend for men’s afternoon teas
• Melissa Ramsbottom – for her graphic design work, donating art works for Pink Stumps Day and event photography
• Mary O’Brien – for regular contributions in the kitchen Saturday nights alongside Simon
• Lindsay Gordon – for mixing the drinks to keep our men’s matches well hydrated
• Noel Kennedy – for scoring under 15 boys matches
• Jennifer Robbins – for co-ordinating the juniors canteen for season and Westgate Shield, and for scoring for U13 girls
• Sharon Schwarz – for running canteen for the U17 girls Youth Premier League competition and helping with Westgate Shield canteen
• Chair of selectors John Ross and selection committee
• Junior committee: Leonard Robbins, Jason Dunham, Stuart Redpath, Mark Grouios, Jennifer Robbins, Alison Francis.

JUNIOR AWARDS

Boys under 11s – Premiers: WRJCA Under 11 A Saturday

Congratulations to our under 11s for an outstanding season – they lost only 1 match for the season, were minor premiers and took out their competition premiership with a good win over Yarraville a week ago.

• Batting: William Scothern
• Bowling: Robbie Virk
• Fielding: Harvey Redpath
• Encouragement: Jett Cook
• Coach’s award: Zac Francis

Girls under 13s – WRJCA Molly Strano Under 13 – Girls League

For the first time, we had Spotswood players in an all-girls cricket competition. Congrats to Lizzie Robbins and Zali and Gemma Ferguson for representing the club in a joint team with Gellibrand CC. Spread the word – we want to grow cricket for girls, and plan to field a full Spotswood team next year.

Boys under 13s – WRJCA Under 13B Friday South

Our under 13s had a solid season, finishing 6^th of 11 teams and with promising improvement along the way. We look forward to seeing what they can do next season.

• Batting: Harvey Redpath
• Bowling: Jayvier Virk
• All rounder: Jayvier Virk
• Most improved: Mitchell Jones
• Coach’s award: Blake Gleeson

Boys under 15s – WRJCA Under 15 C Sth competition

Our under 15s gave us one of the highlights of the season, with the video of their wonderful, long-awaited win on social media a few weeks back getting lots of attention.

• Champion player: Nathan Kennedy
• Batting: John Robbins
• Bowling: Mitchell Schibeci
• All rounder: Sidney Dunham
• Most improved: Max Schwarz

SENIOR AWARDS

Men’s First XI – VTCA Kookaburra Sports / Turner Shield Senior Division

Our Firsts had a fabulous start to the season, but couldn’t go on with it, in what became a very evenly balanced competition. They finished 7^th, with 5 wins for the season.

• Batting average: Thilina Masmulla
• Bowling average: Allan Wise
• Achievement awards: Gene Maurice 108 vs Seddon Round 1; Dan Schuppan 5/24 vs Yarraville Club Round 3 and 5/31 vs Sunshine United Round 4

Mens’ Second XI – Semi Finalists, VTCA Patrick Quinn Shield Senior Seconds

Our Seconds fought hard, and very nearly got there. Finishing second on the ladder, with 9 wins from 14 matches, they came up against a stronger team in the semi.

• Batting average: Gagan Sokhey
• Bowling average: Gagandeep Singh
• Achievement awards: Gagan Sokhey 103 vs Sunshine United Round 12; Gagandeep Singh 5/43 vs Sunshine United, in the semi final

Men’s Third XI – VTCA Frank Keon Shield C1

Our Thirds were extremely unlucky to miss out on finals, finishing fifth, and only 3 points outside the four. It was a season of some great performances though.

• Batting average: Michael McCarthy
• Bowling average: Chris Beckett
• Achievement awards: Michael McCarthy 102 vs Point Cook Round 4 and 106 vs Craigieburn Round 5; Richard McCarthy 112* vs Aberfeldie Round 13

Men’s Fourth XI – VTCA Ken Eastwood Shield C3

Our Fourths team gave a valuable opportunity for juniors to get a taste of senior cricket, with 4 under 15s stepping up this season. It also gave our older players a chance to have a run, and with nearly 40 players taking part over the season, the team’s reach was broad. One match we had four father-son combos in action – something we love to see. The team finished 6^th of 10 teams.

• Batting average: Greg Musarra
• Bowling average: Stuart Stanford
• Achievement award: Charlie Barnes 5/13 vs St Andrews Pascoe Vale Round 14

To our Spotswood Cricket Club members

You are invited to attend the 86th Annual General Meeting of the Spotswood Cricket Club Inc. to be held at W C Couch Pavilion, Monday 20 May 2019 commencing 7.30 pm

Spotswood CC 86th AGM Agenda

I appeal to all members to make this season’s AGM a priority. There are many ways, both large and small, in which each member can help with the massive task of running a large club such as ours. Please give some serious thought to taking a place on the Committee to help meet these challenges.

I’m certainly looking forward to seeing you all at the Annual General Meeting. A light supper and liquid refreshments will be available at the conclusion of the meeting.

Yours in cricket
Peter Young
President, Spotswood Cricket Club Inc

P.S. Non members are welcome to attend – remember we offer social memberships too, so why not join and play your part in making our club stronger?

_______________________________________________________

If you are unable to attend, an apology and nomination of a proxy would be appropriate. Please note that in accordance with Section 19 of the rules, a member is not entitled to vote at the meeting unless he/she is financial.

Proxies
Each member is entitled to appoint another member as their proxy by notice given to the Secretary no later than 24 hours before the time of the meeting. Use the form below.

Nominations Procedures
Section 25a(i) Club Constitution states: “nominations may be made in writing, signed by two financial members of the Club together with the written consent of the candidate.” A nomination form is below and must be delivered to the Secretary not less than seven (7) days prior to the AGM.

AGM nomination and proxy form

Positions to be filled

• President (1)
• Vice President (1)
• Secretary (1)
• Assistant Secretary (1)
• Treasurer (1)
• Junior Administrator (1)
• A minimum of three (3) ordinary committee members
• Delegates:  VTCA (1)    VWCA (1)    WRJCA (1)

It is vital we fill these positions and we strongly encourage you to consider it – how can you make a contribution to the club’s success on and off the field?

MC Tony Schibeci with our special guest for the day, Clare Cannon

Pink Stumps Day returned to Spotswood CC in style, with our sold-out lunch featuring colour, inspiration and fun on the way to blasting away our fundraising target for the McGrath Foundation, with our eventual donation to them a whopping $3,295!

Up to 120 guests piled in on the day and were welcomed by an archway of bright pink balloons and very different looking clubrooms than our usual summer Saturdays. Across the afternoon, they enjoyed lunch, desserts, and a fascinating interview with our guest speaker Clare Cannon in conversation with MC and club member Tony Schibeci.

Auctioneer Peter Young hard at work

The charity auction and raffle then got to the heart of the reason for coming together, and together raised a phenomenal amount of money – way beyond even our most ambitious hopes. The fabulous “fight like a girl” painting by Mel Ramsbottom, a pink wicketkeeping glove worn and signed by Adam Gilchrist, a 5-star resort holiday to Thailand and many wonderful prints of iconic images were among the items keeping our auctioneer (none other than President, Peter Young) busy. The raffle, featuring donated prizes from a huge number of generous local businesses and individuals, including Spotswood Cricket Club players, was a great hit with the crowd too. We’d like to extend a huge thankyou to them all our prize donors – see our list below.

Rumour has it they had to send out for more Prosecco as the event wore on… And once the music started, it was on for old and young, with the afternoon turning into an impromptu karaoke session and our singer Kat getting most of the room up on their feet or at least tapping their toes.

Our super popular muso Kat was joined by many guest singers as the afternoon wore on!

An event this successful doesn’t just happen by magic – there are a lot of people to thank. 

Huge thanks to Melissa Ramsbottom, not only for donating a painting and hand-made framed inspirational quotes for the auctions, but also for taking photos throughout the day to capture the event, as she so often has this year.

Social member Margret Dawson once again approached local businesses seeking their support with raffle prize donations, and her persistence and commitment to the task was invaluable  not to mention her fabulous potato salad which received rave reviews from the guests.

Special mention to Deb Barnes and Arianne Spratt for their scrumptious brownies and pink meringues which adorned the lovely dessert towers.

We couldn’t have done it all without co-organiser Sarah Grouios, whose wonderful styling and decorating of the room, and running of the raffle on the day made such a difference.

Final thanks must go to our Vice President, Simon Barnes, who drove the whole event, including making the commitment to McGrath Foundation, setting up and coordinating ticket bookings, bringing the right people into the mix, making sure everyone was fed and “watered”, and much much more.

Til next year then! In the meantime, check out our photo gallery below. If anyone else took photos on the day they are willing for us to share here and on Facebook, please send them to us.

Many thanks to all our generous raffle prize donors below!

Businesses / groups:

Little Bulla Salon, Spotswood
Newport Cellars, Newport
Two Birds Brewery, Spotswood
Terry White Pharmacy Spotswood
Sandra Christakakis, from Pink Butterflies
Priceline Pharmacy, Williamstown
Spottiswoode Hotel, Spotswood
Dukkah Restaurant, South Kingsville
Victoria Hotel, Yarraville
Doyle & Sons Café, Spotswood
Motorino Restaurant, South Kingsville
Mabel & Woods Boutique, Spotswood
Love It, Williamstown
Lux Living, Spotswood
Bunch of Cakes, Spotswood
Candied Bakery, Spotswood
Chase’ Kitchen, Spotswood
Hudsons Road Wine Bar, Spotswood
Rockafella Barbers, Spotswood
Spotswood Kingsville RSL
Angel Nails, Spotswood
Al Nada Bakery, Spotswood
Just Sausage Rolls @ Spotswood RSL

Individuals:

Sharon Schwarz
Karen Minnett
Ian Rickman
Gordon Mutch
Players from Spotswood CC 1^st XI and 2^nd XI teams

Photos from the day – with thanks to Melissa Ramsbottom

World Champion Boxer Barry Michael, with our auctioneer Adrian Butera, from Compton Green

On Friday the 1^st of February we hosted the 2019 Presidents Lunch. Judging by the comments of many guests (even after the event, on Saturday) everyone enjoyed the event and that made it a really great day. It was also an opportunity to showcase our Club and of course thank our many sponsors – without their support it would be difficult to fund our cricket program.

Matthew Campbell hosted as our MC and we gained some valuable insight on the world of AFL Coaches from Mark Brayshaw and an insight into Australian Boxing from Barry Michael. Des Dowling our comedian had the room laughing and the day was rounded off by Julie Haig with some after function music.

Comedian Des Dowling had the room in stitches

The catering was the highlight of the day with the Club using Ben Luckman catering for the first time and I had many guests comment on the quality of the food.

As part of my Presidents speech I spoke about the need to diversify our Club and the need to ensure we have a strong junior program if we are to be around in another 100 years. A copy of my speech is available for you below to read in full.

Of course these events don’t just happen, and I would like to thank John Wheeler for his endless work, Rosemary Wray for helping set up, Anne Marie Butterworth for her tireless work and the senior players who provided the bar/ table service, led by Declan O’ Brien.

Mark Brayshaw, CEO of the AFL Coaches Association, with our MC Matt Campbell

And I would like to thank Melissa my partner for her support on the room design, posters/ tickets design and as our official photographer on the day.

Yours in cricket
Peter Young

President’s Address, by Peter Young

Good afternoon and thanks Matt for the introduction.

Welcome to the 2019 Spotswood Cricket Club Presidents Lunch.

We’ve got an exciting line up for you today and it’s great to see so many regular attendees and of course some new faces into our club.  Welcome to all.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognise our Club Life Members, our Club Patron (Roy Picone), Coterie Members, players and past players, friends and guests.

This event is not possible without the generous support of our Club Sponsors and I would like to recognise our function sponsor Canadian Solar who is represented here today by Hayden Fletcher, a past President and player of our Club.

I would also like to welcome our long term sponsors who are also here today, Compton and Green Real Estate represented today by Managing Director Adrian Butera and his team, Burson Auto Parts, Midas and Autobarn represented here today by Darren Hodgson from Midas Yarraville and Bill Roccella from Autobarn Altona.

I do thank our sponsors, and it is a genuine and sincere thank you, because without your support our ability to fund a sustainable cricket program would not possible.

On field, our senior teams are all vying for contention in this year’s finals series, with our T20 team in the semi-final stage of the VTCA T20 Competition.

But our future truly lies in our Junior Program and we see our greatest opportunity to develop our future junior players through programs such as the cricket academy that we are aiming to set up for the 2019/20 season.

I am also pleased to announce that we are embracing our community and have engaged with Cricket Victoria to offer a social sixes program for women and girls which is aimed at offering a pathway to our sport while also offering a fitness program as well.  We also held our first Westgate Shield competition involving boys and girls teams from local primary schools.

We can also no longer rely on our traditional base of male only players and we therefore must diversify if we are to be around in another 100 years’ time.

As an example we have partnered with the EqualPlay program, which is supported by Hobsons Bay City Council. EqualPlay encourages traditional male dominated sports to open their clubs up for all to join (in particular females).

We see the success of these programs as helping to secure the long term viability of our great club.

I’d like to make a special presentation to a long-serving member of our Club.  Joining our committee for the first time as President this year I was surprised to learn that we had a member of our committee that had served the club in a variety of roles (including club captain) for over 50 years!

It’s important to recognise our history and the people who have helped make our club great.  I would like to present our club patron, Roy Picone with a 2018/19 club shirt as recognition for his devotion to our club.

Once again, welcome to the Spotswood Cricket Club and I hope you enjoy your day.

In season 2018-19, Spotswood Cricket Club will celebrate 40 years of women’s cricket continuously being part of our club. As well as planning some special celebrations, we also have plans to keep growing, including introducing a junior all-girls team to compete in the Molly Strano Cup.

Come and be part of a special year celebrating and growing women’s cricket at our great club!

Want to know more? Contact Yvette on 0433 016036 or hollingsyvette@gmail.com and stayed tuned to our Facebook page.