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ISIS CRICKET CLUB 2012 Ground: Queens College, Abingdon Road, Oxford |
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Last Update: 10/01/2012 © Keith Whiter, April 2003 k.whiter@elsevier.com |
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2005 AGM - FIXTURE SECRETARY’S REPORT (keith Whiter) |
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The 2005 season structure was somewhat different than past years, with home fixtures being spread across the season rather than being concentrated in July and August as has previously been the case. This included games on both Saturdays and Sundays at Queens, which was another departure from normality. With the addition of Stanton-St-John as our Sunday home away from home, it was possible to increase the number of fixtures Isis played in 2005 considerably. Ten games were lost to weather, which for many clubs would have decimated their season. Not so for Isis who were still able o start a record 50 matches in the 2005 season, only one of these going on to be abandoned to rain.
With a record number of fixtures, other records inevitably fell. Nick Wyatt represented the club a staggering 44 times in 2005, picking up an incredible 66 wickets along the way. That is more than some stalwarts have amassed in their Isis careers! In a similar vein, Olly Walter surpassed the previous records for runs in a season by a considerable margin, scoring 1,229 runs in 41 innings at an average of over 34 per innings. Perhaps an even better statistic though is Olly’s catching record at 29 for the season, a total any wicket-keeper would be proud of, let alone an out-fieldsman.
The annual tour saw us play three games in three counties on three consecutive days. By the third, I wonder whether we had any more than three that were fit to play to be honest, but to their credit our depleted forces battled through against good opposition and never disgraced themselves along the way, either on or off the field. At least one of these fixtures was close to home, and in Kempsford, who are geographically this side of Swindon along the Faringdon road, I hope we have a long-lasting opponent. Sadly, a night in Yeovil was any tour-organiser’s nightmare and proved to be the damp squib of the tour in terms of the drive from Kempsford and the lack of any sign of life in the town once we got there. Still, a damned fine curry, a late bar at the hotel, and a damned fine breakfast to boot made up for an otherwise dull venue in some small way. Yeovil will not be a feature of any future Isis tours though, I guess.
The Isis web-site (www.isiscc.org.uk) and growing network of contacts yielded eight new opponents for Isis in 2005. Of these, Evenley and Cairns Fudge stand out as good finds and enjoyable matches, alongside Kempsford as mentioned above. With the eclectic nature of the fixture list came a mixed bag of results though. Fine wins against teams such as OUP, Great Haseley, Astons and United Oxford Hospitals were perhaps tempered by frustrating losses against others such as Wytham and Islip,. Still, it would be boring if we won all the time eh? Nevertheless, there were also some epic contests too, and for me the last game of the season against Kingston Bagpuize stands out, as we lost by just 12 runs against a very good side who had set a pretty good total. There are certainly no teams on the list that I would recommend dropping, save for perhaps Cricketers, who continue to pound us into the ground through a couple of exceptional batsmen.
The 2006 season already looks very promising, and I have already received two new contacts without lifting a phone. The home fixtures are again spread throughout from April to August and we will supplement the dates at Queens with games at Stanton St John so that we can continue to entertain our opposition. From a fixtures perspective, all that remains for the 2005 AGM to decide is: -
· Does the club want to drop any of its existing fixtures for the 2006 season? · Can we sustain a list as long as that amassed fro 2005?, and · Where and when does the club want to tour in 2006?
If the club is happy for me to continue to manage the list for next year, I will be happy to stand for another term of office as Isis fixture secretary. |