Agenda

1. Apologies for absence
2. To accept the Minutes of the 2023 Annual General Meeting
3. Matters arising from the 2023 Minutes
4. Chairman’s Statement
5. Treasurers Report 2024
6. Proposal to Amend Annual Subscriptions 2025
7. Report from the Club Captain
8. Womens Cricket Report
9. Juniors Cricket Report
10. Safeguarding
11. Century Club Update and Draw
12. President’s Statement
13. Proposal of Officers and Vice Presidents for 2025 Season. Nominations for Hon VPs.
14. Any other Business

Chairman’s statement

Welcome everyone and thanks for coming this morning to the WGCC AGM.
To start with I would like to thank all members of the WGCC committee very much indeed for all their hard work to enable cricket to be played by girls and boys from the U5s to the U16s and including five senior sides (1st XI, 2nd XI, Women, T20 & Sunday XI). All the committee members, groundsmen, captains, junior coaches, administrators, scorers, umpires, BBQ chefs, tea makers and other volunteers should be proud of what has been achieved to enable so many players of all ages to enjoy the great game of cricket across the Club. More cricket was played on the Green in 2024 by the Juniors and Seniors than in any other season.

The junior section had another record season with over 190 registrations from U5s to U16s. Many thanks to all the junior cricket coaches and other helpers, scorers, umpires etc who put in so much time for the benefit of the players. Highlights include that our U14s mixed side were champions of their league and also earnt a place in the final of Sussex Junior Cricket festival Bowl losing to Horley in a close game. On behalf of WGCC I want to thank the Parish Council for their generous offer of using the open space at Songhurst Meadow for Junior training on a Friday evening in 2025 which will help to alleviate the pressure on the Green. We are delighted to welcome Phil Maggs to the committee in 2025 serving as the Head of Junior Cricket. Phil has been a committed Junior coach over the last 5 years and played regularly in the 2nd XI with his talented son Harry for the first time in 2024.

The women’s senior team, orchestrated by Bex Samuelson and Sarah Meurer played their second season in the softball league and continue to develop and improve as players. The enthusiasm and camaraderie within team goes from strength to strength with new players joining and more expected in 2025. Well done also to Sarah with Peter’s support for organising an amazingly successful and enjoyable Girls and Women’s cricket tournament on the Green in July.

The men’s senior section had a good season with the 1st XI ending up mid-table in Division 5 and the 2nd XI vying for promotion in Division 10. Many thanks to Dan Vickery for co-ordinating the senior section and leading the 1st XI to some impressive performances, Tim Palmer for his abundance of positive energy to almost leading the 2nd XI to promotion in his first season as captain and to Sunday Captain Chris Marshall once again responsible for the best tea of the season. It was great to see so many of the older juniors playing in and performing well in the 1st XI, 2nd XI, T20 and Sunday fixtures. As you may well be aware of there was an unpleasant incident in the final 1st XI league match vs Rustington at home where a few of our players were attacked by a Rustington batter after his dismissal. We believe that the Sussex Central League were unfair in their assessment of the incident and despite a robust appeal, where one of the charges against our player was downgraded, WGCC still received charges against two of our players.

Thankfully, last season there was minimal interruption from the drainage channels due to the wet summer. The cricket square once again played extraordinarily well and many thanks to Lee Farquar, Tom Wood & Mick Hollands and his team of Wizzy Rollers for all their efforts in making this so.

Ahead of next season we are planning a recruitment drive during this winter to attract more players to the Club with more promotion on social media as well as through schools and colleges. In addition, we want to build on the coaching and training that goes on in the Club so that we are providing high level coaching across the junior and senior sections as a matter of course to continually improve skills development and performance for match situations. To this end the Club is supporting a professional coach, Tim Van Noort, to help with both junior and senior coaching during the season. Winter nets for juniors and seniors are booked and we will be looking to provide more structure to training and communicate this more effectively and encourage more to get involved.

WGCC would like to fondly remember Peter Vallis who passed away earlier in 2024. Peter played for Wisborough Green man and boy, he was a Life Member of the Club and amazingly still playing, and competitive with bat and ball at the age of 70. His contributions to the Club as a talented player and official have been extraordinary over many decades.

I would like to thank our generous sponsors for their continuing support including our main sponsor AJW, Infrabalance NewEnergy, Penfolds Estate Agents, Objective Wealth, Rockbourne, and West Sussex Antique Timber. Without their support we would not be able to invest back into the Club for the benefit of the members. Many thanks to Dan, who set up a 3-year deal from 2024 with all these sponsors. Many thanks to Bex who is managing and expanding Club200 with well over 200 tickets sold. Significant funds were also raised in 2024 by the BBQ team who were ever present on a Friday evening throughout the summer skilfully led by Mark Meurer. I would like to thank Mark and his team very much for all their time spent cooking and collecting valuable funds for the Club. I would also like to thank Sarah for her outstanding efforts in fundraising for WGCC with proceeds from the 2024 Sports Ball which allowed investment into professional coaching for the girls and a new bowling machine for the Club. She has also raised a significant sum for WGCC during the enormously successful and enjoyable 2025 Sports Ball on 4th January.

Our President, James Sadler, in his first year has re-energised the participation and contribution by the Vice Presidents of the Club as well as hosting a remarkably successful President’s Day on 23rd June where the whole WGCC family were brought together. Many thanks to James for all his support.

Looking forward to 2025 we are pushing for at least the 2nd XI to be promoted to Division 9. We are investing in equipment to provide live streaming of home matches for the WGCC membership to enjoy. As already stated, we will be providing professional coaching for the juniors and seniors. The women’s team are keen to take on the challenges of hard ball cricket and we are organising a tour for the women’s and men’s teams in Dorset from 12th-14th September.

Finally, all of what we do at WGCC is not possible without the time, effort, skills, and dedication of the many volunteers who get involved and I would like to thank you all for all you do for WGCC and the community of the village. I look forward to collaborating with the Committee and others to ensure that WGCC continues to thrive into 2025 and beyond.
Tarni Dixon

Junior’s Report

The 2024 season saw 191 registered players in the Under 5 to Under 16 age group, 75 of the players were in the U5-U9 (Reception to year 3) age group. This was slightly up on last year.

Eight sessions of winter nets were organised from February through to April 2024 and were attended by boys and girls from the U10-U14 age groups.

As a club we have been incredibly lucky to have had Alen Lang as coach of the U5-U8 group for the last ten years. At the start of the 2024 season he had given us notice that this was to be his last season, the club can consider itself very fortunate that he has agreed to carry on for another five years. Alen’s contribution to the club and to junior cricket cannot be understated. Huge thanks to him, Ella Lang and all of the other girls who have helped give local juniors a fun and positive start to their cricketing journeys.

The U8’s and U9’s were coached by Dan Vickery, Tarni Dixon and Hugo March. This is an essential time in player development as they go from playing fun games to learning the fundamentals of cricket. Thank you to all the coaches involved in this, a challenging time with mixed abilities.

The under 10’s (mixed) had a fantastic introduction to League cricket – learning about the game and what the Spirit of cricket is about. Every player had an opportunity to captain the team during the season and the team had some memorable victories. The parents played a major role in the success of the season by fully supporting the coaching sessions and learning how to score. The season finished on a high with 4 players being selected for the Sussex Pathway. Ashley Roberts helped organise this age group, very many thanks to her. This age group was tirelessly led by Peter Klein, his relentless enthusiasm for the game translated to the players and parents.

Sunday 14th of July saw a wonderful tournament of U11 girls on the green, six teams entered including two from WGCC, the tournament was won for the second year in a row by Haywards Heath. Thank you to Sarah Meurer for her organisation and to the many other helpers who made this happen on the day.

The U13 girls continued to make progress in their cricket, thanks to Katie Waters who took on not only the Friday night coaching but also the league games, she has been a very welcome addition to the club. The most memorable moment was a league victory against West Chiltington. Thank you to Peter Klein for umpiring the games and to Sarah Meurer for being the energy behind girl’s cricket at WGCC.

The U12’s (mixed) had a good season, and the squad was a combination of some seasoned cricketers with some who were taking their first steps in hard ball cricket. Some mixed results in the league depending on player availability and some very noteworthy results. Several players also played regularly for the U14’s. Thank you to Darren Hunter for his contribution to this group having been with them since they were U8’s, his talents will be sorely missed in 2025. Suzana Braddock grabbed hold of the organisational side of this group and her contribution has been immense. Thank you to Tom Dawson and Peter Klein for umpiring.

The U14’s (mixed) had a successful season winning promotion in the league from division 3 to division 2, they also made the final of the Sussex Junior Cricket festival Bowl losing to Horley in a close game. The squad is made up of a competitive and capable group of boys and girls, some of their away victories were down to character as much as ability, including the game at Horsham Trinity which came down to the last ball of the match. Thanks to Dave McCullagh who has guided this team of young adolescents with calmness. Thank you also to Suzana Braddock for her organisation throughout the season and for scoring. Thank you also to Tom Dawson, Peter Klein and Pete Aspdin for umpiring and guidance and also to Kirsty Dawson for scoring.
The U16’s (boys) is always a challenging age group with most of the players facing a summer of exams. Thank you to Jon Finn and Ben Reed for all of their efforts in giving this group a real summer of cricket to enjoy culminating in an enjoyable festival week with some outstanding performances.

At this point we would like to acknowledge the contribution Suzana Braddock has made to the junior section, she has moved us into the 21st century in terms of organisation and worked tirelessly to make the season run as smoothly as possible for all of us. Massive thanks to her.

2024 saw Peter Klein receive the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Coaching’ award from the Sussex Cricket Foundation. Peter’s contribution spans the club from junior to senior cricket and we were all thrilled to see his boundless enthusiasm for this game recognised by the County.

Friday night training continues to be a focal point of junior activities and despite constraints of space; by using the mobile net on the square we can use the club’s good level of equipment. There has been an improvement in the standard of fielding and match craft throughout the junior section.

Several junior players made their transition to senior cricket this year. Thank you to the senior players for making them so welcome, in particular to senior captains Chris Marshall, Tim Palmer and Johnny Farmer who all play an important guiding role in this transition.

There are currently eight players at the club on the Sussex pathway, four of them in their first year. The eight are made up of four girls and four boys.

Winter nets for U10’s – U14’s boys and girls have again been organised for 2025 with six sessions planned at Billingshurst, starting on March 2nd.

The club has taken the decision to hire a professional coach to help with the club’s technical needs and we will look forward to welcoming former Sussex coach Tim Van Noort on Monday and Thursday evenings from April of 2025 as he works with both Junior and senior players.

In 2025 Wisborough Green will compete in the Junior Sussex league in the following age groups, U10’s, U11’s, U12’s and U14’s mixed, and U13 girls (to be confirmed). No U16 team will be entered this year due to a lack of players but we will look to arrange fixtures and pool players with other local clubs.

It is quite clear where the challenges lie with Junior cricket. There is a need to recruit more parents as coaches and administrators and have better overall engagement from all of the parents. Thank you to all those who helped this year.

WOMEN’s report

• The women started the year with indoor nets, combining with the senior men and bringing in a coach for some of the sessions.
• 2024 was our second season bedding into the Sussex softball league.
• Coaching and practice in the winter nets showed in both batting and bowling development across the squad. This season also saw huge improvements in fielding and gameplay.
• Together with more consistent availability for matches, this has meant a more competitive season in the league.
• Overall, we didn’t progress to the knockout stages, however this doesn’t reflect how close we were to winning many matches, losing by 1 or 2 runs on several occasions.
• Wisborough Green hosted another hugely successful Women and Girl’s tournament, and after a day of matches Wisborough Green women were tournament winners!
• The team continues to gather momentum, thriving on great camaraderie, team spirit and increasing talent.

Some highlights:

• Great bowling stats from Nadia Pettett (best bowler award), Nat Ayling, Hannah Williams, Ann Wells and Jo Spiers.
• A great first season for newcomers Hannah Vickery and Maggie.
• Impressive battings stats from Sarah Meurer (best batter award).
• Jen Cambell taking the team’s first LBW wicket!
• Outstanding catch at wickie from Fiona Green (aka Fluff)!
• Smart fielding and gameplay from Tessa Finger, Jilly Corby and Fluff.
• Hannah V and Jo Spiers joining the men and holding their own in the Vickery vs Spiers memorial match.
• Fielding two teams in the annual Wisborough Green Women’s tournament and bringing home the trophy!

Onto 2025

• We already have four new members joining the squad this season and will continue the recruitment drive.
• Winter nets scheduled, adding coached sessions with Tim Van Noort and Chris Douglas.
• There is enthusiasm across the squad to start playing hardball. Wisborough Women have entered a team into the hardball Sussex Slam league, combining with Billingshurst Women.
• A third season in the Sussex softball league with plans to make it further in the competition.
• We are bringing our sponsors on board, funding new playing kit and equipment.

Huge thanks to:

• Sarah Meurer, for your vision and energy, thank you.
• Peter Klein for umpiring every match, and your unwavering support.
• Junior players Fizz and Jas, joining us for a couple of matches.
• Mostly, to each and every one of the women’s squad, whose commitment and great company make this a hugely enjoyable and increasingly successful venture.

Here’s to the next season

Bex Samuelson (Women’s Captain)

Safeguarding report

All teams Seniors, Juniors and Ladies teams are compliant with Sussex Cricket with DBS in place. Attendance on a Friday night for Juniors has been very popular and parents have listened to coaches requests and are far better at collecting their child and being “present” during training  which is a positive move. The move to training at Songhurst Meadow for some teams will alleviate some of the pressure on the Green in terms of numbers

There have been no significant safeguarding concerns this season with the Junior section and any concerns that have been raised have been dealt with at club level and have not required reporting to the Sussex Cricket Designated Safeguarding lead.

Reviews of all DBS are currently underway to ensure compliance and the safeguarding of our young people.

It is good to see that some of the Juniors are now playing for the senior teams. Reminders at the beginning of the season will be given in terms of changing facilities and transport of these players. They should not be changing in the same area as the seniors and only travel with a DBS player unless there is parental permission to travel with a family friend who plays for the team and this is in writing. Reminders will also be given that mobile phones should not be used in changing rooms and the content of social media chat is related to the club. Under 18’s must not be part of this chat unless their parent is also part of the chat and permission has been given.

A reminder to all that any safeguarding concern or query, whether that be for an adult or a young person under 18, should be raised with myself no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. It is the duty to report any concern, not to make personal judgements, which is then reviewed by myself and then if required passed onto Sussex Cricket. I would far rather have a number of conversations which result in no further action than have the potential for a concern to be overlooked.

Lesley Price

Presidents report

It has been a great pleasure and honour to take the role of President for Wisborough Green Cricket Club and have really enjoyed my first year.

One of the most exciting developments for me is to see how the club has developed under the leadership of Tarni, Dan and the committee. The committee is like a well-oiled machine and functions so smoothly in so many key areas be it: Cricket matches – Saturday and Sunday, end of season Dinner, helping me with Presidents Day, raising money at the fete selling burgers – there seems to be no end of people who put their hand up to help, and the committee should be congratulated.

In 2024 As President – I concentrated on 2 areas:

1. To reinvigorate the Vice Presidents and try to connect them back to the club. And I am delighted to say the response has been tremendous with people like ‘Ed Bowes and family, David Vallis and his family, all of whom visited the Club on Presidents Day. Byron Napper also played on Presidents Day and Byron has expressed an interest to play a few league games in 2025.

Ian Poysden kindly made a £500 donation, plus other Vice Presidents generously gave donations, either in their time in time or financially. I will continue to develop the Vice Presidents into a loyal group of Club supporters who will always be there to support the Club in the years to come. The new Vice Presidents announced in 2024 were a mixture of former players, and current committee members, and there will be a number of new Vice Presidents announced shortly.

• The second area I wanted to develop is Presidents Day. I wanted to make it a family day, with a great lunch, fine wine and a place where old and young can mix to enjoy the hospitality of Wisborough Green. With the help of a few key members like Jenny Jones, Bex Samuelson, I believe we achieved this. I hope Presidents Day in 2025 will be an equal success.

I love seeing the Juniors play cricket and the way the section is thriving is absolutely massive for the future of the Club.

The Ladies section is ‘just fun’. They seem to have the best time on and off the pitch this is a testament to Sarah, Bex and all of the Ladies section. Well done to all and please continue everything you are doing.

The Club 200, started by Ray, continued by Steve and further developed by Bex is an amazing way to raise funds and I will do all I can to keep promoting the Club200.

I look forward to summer of 2025, watching the cricket and enjoying a glass of something with friends ‘old and new’.

James Sadler

President of Wisborough Green Cricket Club