#Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Bath University Venturers Cricket Club, 2003.#

The AGM of Bath University Venturers Cricket Club took place at the Ram, Widcombe, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14th. Present were Mike Whittlesey, Adrian Wolstenholme, James Dutton, Gregory Sankaran, Rob Branston, Luke Turner and, eventually, Paul Snow: also, nearby, a large number of large blokes shouting about rugby and, everywhere, an inordinate quantity of acrid cigarette smoke.

1. Review of the season.

   It was agreed to have been %#$!. More precisely, we won 3 matches, lost 13, and 13 more were cancelled or drawn, the latter being in fact washed out during the first innings. The large number of abandonments was partly caused by the weather, which, apart from the August heatwave, was not especially dry: May and the second half of July were very wet. We were better at raising teams than we have been in recent years: relatively few of the matches that were cancelled were cancelled because we did not have a side. However, not all of the sides we put out had as many as eleven players.

   It was impossible to say with any certainty how %#$! individual performances had been, because of the haphazard way in which the scorebook was often filled in.

   It was agreed that we should search for more players, especially a wicketkeeper; and the Secretary should write to the Right Honourable Member for Pontypridd, whose brother once played for us to spectacular effect, and ask him to ask his brother if he would like to do it again.

2. Team-sharing with the Civil Service

   It was agreed that this had worked well for us as a side, although there had been occasional problems of communication leading, for instance, to two batsmen at the same end. Neither club felt that its identity had been threatened or diluted. It was agreed to continue the arrangement if the Civil Service were willing. We hear, however, that their need this year was rather for players for their Saturday 2nd XI league side than for Sunday friendlies.

3. Election of committee

   Gregory Sankaran was elected Secretary, James Dutton captain, Adrian Wolstenholme treasurer and Rob Branston webmaster. There was an inconclusive discussion about the role of the captain and where the kit bag should be kept.

4. Fixtures

   A few fixtures should be replaced. Chapmanslade folded in mid-season. The evening match against Bill Owen was unpopular as their ground is too far away. A weekend match against them, however, would be a possibility. Winsley is to be dropped: last year they did not contact us, nor we them, until the morning of the day on which they for some reason thought they were playing us. Bathford cancelled at short notice: so did the Star’s evening side. We have had two approaches from touring sides seeking fixtures next year. One of these wishes to play at the second May Bank Holiday, which is to be considered. The other, Queens’ College Oxford, is much to good at cricket to be suitable.

5. Finances

   We have a small deficit of indeterminate proportions: we await a bill for teas. The procedure for collecting match fees must be improved: at present many people are not paying. It was agreed that match fees should be collected at the start or (on Sundays) at the tea interval, not at the end of the match as at present. As the price of teas has risen it was agreed that the Sunday match fee should be £5 but that the evening matches should still cost £2.

6. Nets

   Polly Hawker had sent an email about indoor nets, suggesting 07:15 on Tuesday mornings. It was felt that this was unlikely to be popular. An alternative was a shorter session at 12:15 on Tuesdays and it was agreed to settle for this.

7. Any Other Business

   Luke Turner was asked why he had circulated half a megabyte of image files labelled “Amsterdam” to the club mailing list. He was not able to give a really coherent answer but assured the meeting that the pictures were fit for public consumption and in fact showed members of the club standing around in whites on the boundary.

   There was a general feeling that the club was lacking in unity and Team Spirit, as well as being no good at cricket. There is not much that can be done about the latter, although a wicketkeeper was suggested as a possible improvement. Of our regular players, only one is believed to be leaving before next season, however. To improve Team Spirit it was suggested that we should all arrive half an hour before the matches were due to start: considering that the proposer had himself only arrived at the AGM during the previous item, this did not attract much derision, but it was felt to be impractical on the whole. Other suggestions included a match report to be circulated by email after each match; a few annual awards such as Duck of the Year, Wolstenholme Prize for Running Between the Wickets, etc.; filling in the scorebook; kit bag to be packed by the lowest scorer; and more beer. It was proposed to implement the last of these soon, using the impending (we think) departure of Tom Carney as an excuse to go to a, probably Indian, restaurant in early December.

The meeting closed at 9:15 p.m.