CHAIR’S REPORT AND REMARKS / SECRETARY'S REPORT AGM 2020

Date: 26th January 2020

....from the AGM Minutes 2020.

CHAIR’S REPORT AND REMARKS SEASON 2019

Every year when writing this report I stop and wonder why? Why do I, like every other Cricket League and Cricket Club Chair, do it? Why do our brilliant Executive Committee members do it? And this year, perhaps more than most, I have asked myself why?

The answer is of course that we all love the game of cricket. But to be involved as volunteers in Clubs and Leagues, i.e. the bodies that actually manage and provide the game of cricket for players to play, requires more than that. Above all it requires the support of others. So for me, following the events of mid-summer the vote at the Special General Meeting on 13 August provides the answer. Thank you to the Clubs for your support, it is much appreciated.

Congratulations to all the teams having success in the Leagues and Cups in 2019, all listed on the published roll of honour:

http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/news.php?id=3399

One of the great strengths of the Comp is the three divisional structure at 1^st and 2^nd team level. Promotion and relegation between the divisions creates competition, drives up standards and makes for exciting season finishes. So in applauding Firwood Bootle as Champions of the Comp in 2019, congratulations to Wigan on finally achieving a long held ambition of playing in the Premier Division and a welcome back to Sefton Park who join them after an absence of 13 years. Well done also to Liverpool and St Helens Town on their promotion to Division 1. Well done and thank you to Ormskirk for flying our flag on the National stage and to Northern for being awarded Lancashire’s club of the year.

http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/news.php?id=3397

2019 has seen the meteoric rise of Women’s and Girls Cricket in the Comp, due to the hard work of Paul Bate, our Women’s and Girls Cricket Officer and the tremendous interest and take up in our clubs. Together with great support from the Lancashire Women’s and Girls section the numbers playing the game continues to increase and Paul and his committee of helpers have put together an impressive programme for 2020. Natalie Brown, Laura Jackson and Ellie Threlkeld were all members of the Lancashire Women’s Team in 2019 with Ellie playing for England A in two matches against Australia in the Summer. Emelia Lamb is now on the County Women’s and Girls Emerging Player Programme.

http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/management_bulletins.php?id=3419

We continue to field sides at all representative levels, providing opportunities for Senior and Junior players to test themselves at a higher level. Success eluded our teams at Senior, U18 and U14 this year but the U12’s came to our rescue with an unbeaten series of games in the Lancashire U12 Inter League Competition against the GMCL, Wigan Junior League, Lancashire League and Bolton League. Massive thanks to Andy Grice, Chris Laker and Mark Boyns (U14 Manager) for their contributions this year. (Did I say that I managed the U12s?)

http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/youth_cricket.php?id=3400

The League continues to provide cricket at all levels for all those who want to play the game, with eleven senior divisions and a growing junior league. Inevitably though we often focus on the development of the players at the top end of the game, recalling the original premise of ECB Premier Leagues. This year Liverpool Competition Clubs have produced a fair share of players now on the County Pathway including most notably George Lavelle, Tom Hartley and George Burrows, all of whom have signed full contracts with Lancashire. Three players Alec McLaughlin, Matthew Hurst and Josh Boyden have been included in the Lancashire Academy, Darren Low is on the Emerging Player Programme and amongst those in the County Age Groups five of our Comp youngsters played in the U10’s. (See below).

http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/news.php?id=3417

Thank you to all the umpires and the MCUA for their support throughout the season and thank you to all members of the Management Committee and the members of the newly established sub-committees for their commitment and hard work.

Finally two individuals with long-standing affiliations to the Liverpool Competition as players and officials, both having made substantial contributions to the League, are retiring at this year’s AGM and I thank them both.

Richard McCullagh is stepping down from his position as Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee. Richard, with a love of cricket and a career in the Judiciary, brought a fair-minded, meticulous and reasoned approach to the often difficult issues involved in the Disciplinary process and the League will miss him greatly.

Eric Hadfield has held the position of League President since 2008 and believes that it is time for someone else to fulfil this role. In thanking Eric for his valuable work in this position we are delighted that he is to continue on the Management Committee as the Fixture Secretary and carry on with all the other valuable tasks he undertakes for the League. We are all extremely fortunate to have a man like Eric prepared to give so much of his time to our League.

John Williams

LG L&DCC Chair December 2019

SECRETARY'S REPORT 2019

As is usual, it is not proposed to duplicate here most of the issues that would normally be covered in the Secretary’s report as these continue to be reported to clubs on a monthly basis in the ‘summary of minutes’ via the website, the workings of the M/C and the sub-Committees remain there for all to see using http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/admin_docs.php?id=14and also http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/admin_docs.php?id=11

You will all be aware that the Management Committee has faced challenges this year which culminated in a Special General Meeting on 13 August 2019 where the Chair of the L&DCC was re-elected. As it stands the Management Committee of the L&DCC face a legal claim which is not yet resolved and, under legal advice, we are unable to comment further at this stage but I would like to thank all member clubs for their cooperation and support.

As usual the Management Committee - with its roots firmly in the grass and not in keyboards, continued its consultations with clubs over what they wanted from the L&DCC in the future. We held four Open Forums in the north, the south, the east and the west of the Comp, lots of people attended and we had excellent discussions with no less than 311 separate suggestions being made at the meetings as summarised in http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/management_bulletins.php?id=3415 - all the comments are available to be seen at http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/uploaded_files/documents/OPEN_FORUM_COMMENTS.docx If a proposal was made three times it was voted on indicatively at the SGM on the 12^th November. There are 15 proposals to AGM 2020 and no less than 8 of these, arguably more, came from the Open Forums and that SGM. Democracy in action!

The Management Committee has also been very pleased at how parts of the new sub-Committee structure - introduced at AGM 2019 after detailed consultations in 2018 - fulfilled their role in 2019. Some aspects of this structure, particularly that of the Cup Competitions sub-Committee, have needed some rethinking but the basic idea of the sub-Committees has been sound and we are very grateful for all the hard work they put in.

We live in exciting times and there are potentially massive changes coming to premier leagues as a result of ongoing changes at ECB but I close by once again thanking the many people who continue to be so helpful to me personally - particularly my colleagues on the Committees - and am very mindful that we must not take good-will for granted, the L&DCC still runs on it.

Chris Weston

LG L&DCC Secretary December 2019