AGM of Bath University Venturers Cricket Club - 17th October 2024

The AGM was held on Thursday 17th October at 18:30 in the SU Bar, where the lights change from purple to green to red to blue, like alien traffic lights.

Present were, eventually and in no particular order, Jaideep, Bruce, Siddhant, Imran, Dan, Dinesh, Joji, Gregory, Jonathan and Ghulame.

There was an informal discussion of car parking, visas, the Indian batting collapse, and the Multan Tests. Newcomers were given the explanation of why we canʼt change the Treasurer.

1. Captain’s report

Overall we did very well: Joji has stats to prove it. We made a nervous start and were better at weekends than midweek. Shreyas and Parth were especially good: next year, once again, we shall need a wicketkeeper. The most disappointing thing was the unfortunate Bradford incident (the nature of this was explained later in the meeting). The best thing was that we finally beat Hinton Charterhouse, and started winning regularly after that. On the other hand, the match against the Bell was a bad loss. We had one good win and one bad loss against both Allsorts and the Star. We also had good wins in two other Bradford games, one after a fixture mixup which was not the Secretary’s fault. We did not play Bratton because of another fixture mixup, which was entirely the Secretary’s fault. The fielding was broadly all right, especially if the ball wasn’t in the air. A curious and perhaps problematic feature was that we nearly always didnʼt win if either Imran or Gregory got wickets.

1. Treasurer’s report

We have a balance of £1373.45, which pretty much represents breakeven over the year. There is nothing outstanding: these are final figures. In particular, all match fees have been paid, and we are not being fined for destroying the Sulis padlock (we shouldn’t be). No change to match fees is proposed, and it was agreed that the current policy that new players get one match free should continue.

In view of the padlock, it was suggested that we should have a set of stumps. In fact, we have: so probably they should be kept in Gregory’s or Bruce’s office during the summer, so that they can be fetched if necessary. Agreed yes.

1. Fixtures

There was some discussion of other possible grounds, as facilities at Sulis remain rudimentary. Glasshouse was mentioned, but it is heavily used. Some features of other grounds that we play on were discussed, irrelevantly, including a comparison of the Failand tree with the Canterbury one.

It was suggested that we could try to play Hinton Charterhouse earlier in the season, but in reality their ground is understandably in high demand and we have to take what they offer us. We should aim to start the season in late April, the 23rd or 27th, in 2025. Easter Day is the 20th. The month of Ramadan is no longer a problem for the cricket season, and won’t be for another twenty years or so. A few possible opponents were named.

1. Officers

We got drinks, moved to somewhere with less eccentric lighting and elected:

Imran Captain, Bruce Treasurer, Gregory Secretary, and Joji, Jonathan,Jaideep and Dinesh to the committee.

The lights dimmed.

Dan is managing the indoor league team, and the web page says so.

1. Selection

There was a lengthy discussion of this, often fragmented as we couldn’t hear one another very well. It was agreed that we didnʼt have very clear criteria about what to do if teams had to be selected, and that this had in some cases led to arbitrary, wrong or unfair decisions. This was especially so at the start of the season, when none of us had been doing it and we didn’t know what we were doing. We also lost track of who had actually played matches, as distinct from signing up for them: if it rains, those can be very different things.

The club is intended for memabers of the University and they should have some precedence. However, several ex-members and non-members have played important roles for the club in the past and do so now, so a rigid rule would be undesirable. We are not trying to put out the strongest possible team, but once we get on the field we are trying to win with the team we have. Sometimes, though rarely, selection does have to be influenced by team balance: early on, we possibly paid too much attention to that. Most, but not all, of those present, thought that we had now more or less learnt how to get this right over the season. In any case, it is a better problem than having not enough players.

1. Kit

We have broadly sufficient kit, but we should get a kit bag or two. Other useful things would be spray, umpire coats, and clickers, although Gregory claims to be able to count to six.

Scoring has been done on paper but we should perhaps score on a tablet, and ideally in a book as well. The technology has improved in several ways, in terms of software being more usable and screens working better in sun or rain. The Treasurer felt that a tablet was affordable.

We should give people some training for this, and for scoring generally. The people who umpire also complained about the scoreboard not being kept up to date, especially towards the end of the match: this is a discourtesy to the opposing (fielding) captain, who should be able to rely on the scoreboard when deciding who should bowl and what fields to set.

Some umpiring training should also be given. This should include remembering to signal; remembering that signals are for the scorers, so it is no good indicating a no ball by silently sticking out the arm away from them; counting to six; and how to give Krish out.

It got noisy: we went downstairs.

There was further inconclusive discussion about scoring, umpiring, scoreboard, stationery and so on.

1. Awards

These are at the discretion of the captain.

• Best Newcomer: There were several, but Parth and Shreyas stood out.

• Best catch: Mizan’s at Hinton Charterhouse was not only good in itself, but also persuaded them that we were better than them, which probably wasn’t true. The fact that it followed a misfield by the same fielder only made it even more effective. There were several other very good catches: by Jaideep, Siddhant and Charlie among others.

• Most improved: Siddhant, but Charlie’s ability to run threes was also commented on.

• Best batter:: Shreyas

• Best all-rounder: Parth

• Best fielder: Joji

• Best bowler: Despite the rule about the captain’s discretion, the meeting generally insisted that Imran was obliged to award it to himself.

• Duck of the Year: Jaideep’s first-baller, caught on the admittedly short square-leg boundary at Failand off a full toss, opening the innings, was simply unbeatable.

• Most IPL-like: Ghulame’s liking for the cow corner boundary won him this.

• The A.J. Wolstenholme Prize for Running Between the Wickets: this premier award is given in honour of a long-serving opening batsman for the club, who reliably made three hundred runs a season and equally reliably ran himself out three times. He seldom ran his partner out. Krish won it: a reason was given, but the Secretary couldn’t hear what was being said any more.

• Most graceful: Charlie. The Secretary couldn’t hear Imran’s explanation of this either. Maybe it wasn’t “Most graceful”. Perhaps it was “Most W.G. Grace-like” or something.

• Champagne moment: Beating Hinton Charterhouse.

• Best dressed: Everybody. The new club kit was a great success.