Help Needed – Land Contamination, Ecology, Biodiversity Assessments for our Club House Rebuild Project

I’m leading on a project to rebuild the club house at Stretford and we are at the stage of applying for planning permission. However, pre-planning advice from the council says we need to conduct a land contamination assessment, ecology assessment & bio-diversity assessment to submit with our application. If anyone knows any consultantants or companies that might be able to help with some social value related activity or volunteering/pro-bono please contact me. The club is located on an old landfill site and is part of the green belt therefore the cost just to get to planning is considerable. And I mean considerable. Especially for an open access community cricket club that is already paying £6000 per year for electric (and thats with solar panels covering a third of our use)

exisiting clubhouse at Stretford Cricket Club
blue solar panel board

SCC Powered by the Sun

We are delighted to announce that the club has secured £10,000 funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to install a solar array at the club.

The club has chosen Solar Xpress – Solar Xpress to supply and fit it’s system, they come highly reccomended and have given the club an exceptional price and have been ultra kind while our funding bid went through the process. Any members who are interested in exploring a solar install for themselves contact Tom directly on email addess T.Smith@solarxpress.co.uk

In December, the clubs fixed tariff electricity contract ended. Renewal quotes were quadruple the old rate. Had we not secured this funding from the National Lottery Community it is not an exaggeration to say that the club’s future would be insecure. There is no way the could absorb £12,000 per year in electric without raising prices substantially. The award of this funding and the installation ensures we can keep membership and prices as low as possible for everyone in the community.

We hope you will join us at the club this summer to celebrate our continued development on and off the pitch

Bonfire Night 5th Nov @ SCC

Remember, remember, the 5th of November.

Bonfire Night has come round once again. Join us along with Family and Friends at Stretford CC for a renowned evening with food & drink both hot and cold. Along with two spectacular fireworks displays brought to you by Chorlton Fireworks.

Cash and Card payments available at the gate.

Please arrive in plenty of time. There are no advance sales

We look forward to seeing everyone!

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday 10th November from 7.30pm. Please ensure nominations for positions and seconders are received no later than 3rd November. Unfilled positions may be nominated on the evening. We will update this list as and when nominations are received. You can nominate/second here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSddmqfjwwCTZBgNcuWsHne9YuGYTAq0m7fulF37gM-h8Bppng/viewform

Agenda

Review of 2022

Officer Reports

Election of Officers

AOB

Role/Nominee/Proposed by/Seconded by

President
Chairperson RUSS CARSON (R Renforth/P Spencer)

Vice-Chair

Secretary

Treasurer CHRIS SHARP (R Carson/R Renforth)
Press & Publicity* ADAM SAYNOR (C Sharp/B Evans)

Fundraising

Fundraising Committee*

Director of Cricket
Cricket Secretary

Club Captain

1stXI Captain THOMAS COULSON (B Evans/A Saynor)

1stXI Vice-Captain

2ndXI Captain

2ndXI Vice-Captain

3rdXI Captain

3rdXI Vice-Captain
Junior Manager RUTH COTTON (R Carson/M Foulkes)
Junior Committee*

Child Welfare Officer

Ground Chairperson

Ground Committee*

Social & Events Chair
Social & Events Committee*

Bar Manager ROBERT RENFORTH (B Evans/R Carson)

Bar Treasurer*

Bar Committee*

House Chairperson

House Committee*

Auditors*

Trustees*

*none-management/sub-committee role

Urban Surveyors and Stretford Cricket Club announce new partnership

Stretford Cricket Club are constantly searching for sponsors and we are delighted to announce that a quality benchmark has been reached with our newest partner.

We are proud to inform you that local company, Urban Surveyors, have agreed to sponsor the club.

The Urban Surveyor’s kind sponsorship will go towards providing essential equipment to the club. Their logo will be emblazoned on all new club caps and are available now to buy from behind the outdoor bar. You will also see their advertising board located near the scoreboard.

Now enough about us and a bit about US

Local businesses help keep clubs such as our running by continuing to donate funds. Urban Surveyors are committed in helping improve Stretford CC and our local community. 

Urban Surveyors are a vibrant, Chartered Building Surveying practice based in Stretford covering the South Manchester area and beyond. They specialize in RICS Building Surveys, HomeBuyer Reports and Specific Structural Reports.

Moving house? Give Urban Surveyors a call on 0161 327 1505 

​ Your survey will be undertaken by a highly qualified and RICS  Chartered Surveyor with extensive knowledge of the residential property market.

red meat with chili pepper and green spies

Mid-term Review: Are We Hungry for Success?

Have you ever been halfway through eating a horse and thought to yourself “maybe I wasn’t as hungry as I first thought”?

With 50% of the horse in your gut it’s time to decide whether you are going to pick up your fork and attempt the Hind Shank or just fling it in the green bin and hope One Trafford eventually collects it after a couple of phone calls.

We have reached that point with the cricket season.

Our teams are sitting comfortably in the saddle with the 1st XI placed 5th at the time of writing and four points off a promotion spot, only behind four big spenders. The 2nd XI sit in second place four points behind leaders Flixton; a team defeated only a week ago. The 3rd XI lead the Sunday Central League tied with Ashton.

There have been some sumptuous individual and team performances while others that have been harder to stomach.

Munir Khan (317) Ryan Williams (278) Ajay Shah (184) Jamie Cotton (178) and Josh Julius (198) have all been consistent with the bat. The team have consistently compiled scores over 200 hundred but there hasn’t been an individual who has really cashed in with a big score. That will hopefully change.

The team have been formidable defending scores with evergreen Ryan Williams (32) the dependable Tom Coulson (34) and firecracker Jack Blackwell (15) the leading wicket takers.

Excellent victories against Monton, Swinton and Dukinfield have been offset with defeats by Friarmere, West Leigh and Mottram however we are sitting comfortably in mid table. Injuries and availability could play a part in the second half of the season.

The second team have picked up that winning habit, 8 in 11 to be precise. They are definitely in contention for promotion despite the loss of homegrown Ethan Page who was leading wicket taker. Robert Renforth (16) young left arm seamer Adam Taylor (11) Mark Bevan (14) and Ben Riddle (11) have all filled the void.

Mark Bevan (209) Nasir Ghani (175) and Robert Renforth (129) have scored the bulk of the runs but there have been some outstanding performances by James Watford and Adam Prescott who both scored big match winning half centuries against Winton and Flixton respectively

Usman Hasan has been typically prolific for the thirds scoring 188 runs in four matches including a brutal 137* against Denton but young wicket keeper Waqas Mahmood is not far behind amassing 149 runs from 6 matches (even if he has incurred the wrath of the groundsman for scratching his fielding positions into the outfield). Pav Aqueel has taken 7 wickets and scored 128 runs and is the leading all-rounder.

In the current day and age where some very average cricketers receive brown envelopes perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the season is that we have picked up some very good new players. I honestly don’t remember a time in my 30 years playing at Stretford where 5-6-7 new players have joined who are capable of providing such competition for places in the Saturday teams. My hope is that they settle in quickly and enjoy the culture in our hard-working club. We need to continue to recruit players and I am sure a combination of good league performances, development of facilities and work on our digital profile will do just that.

[BURP} Excuse me, apologies those Short Ribs are repeating on me!

Now it’s time to decide how you want that Sirloin cooked?

We have a top Senior Head Coach in Mike Murphy; his group sessions twice per week are quality and included in the price of your membership. Players need to attend training. There is room for improvement in every team. Every individual should feel suitably prepared to be able to step up to the plate when needed. Give yourself the best chance by practicing.

As mentioned above, availability is also the issue that could affect the remainder of the season. I hope team performance and team spirit will make you want to play as much as possible in the highest standard we possibly can. Rump anyone?

Finally, we are selling advertising space around the ground and on our newly designed website stretfordcricketclub.co.uk so if anyone is a business owner or would dare to ask their boss please direct them my way. If you would like to get stuck in on a subcommittee for ground, events, fundraising again please see Russ Carson, Benjy Evans or me, if you can offer more time in a lead role again please let us know.

Good luck and go well in the second half

Stretford in 6 point raid at Crime Lake

Daisy Nook is a country park in Failsworth. The park runs through the Medlock Valley in an area once called Waterhouses. Waterhouses was once of three “houses” in the Failsworth area, the other two being Mill Houses and Woodhouses.

 “Daisy Nook” was actually a fictional place created by Benjamin Brierley in his poem “A Day Out” which was written in nearby Waterhouse; however, the name stuck for the country park located on the southern edge of Failsworth.

Within Daisy Nook likes Crime Lake. It was formed in 1795 as  result of the blockage of a canal culvert which spilled into the Crime Valley.  

Centuries later it was Crime Lake providing inspiration for Stretford as they raided Woodhouses in a sting operation. 6 points were taken away and it was the opposition left in floods of tears.

Woodhouses won the toss but failed to take advantage of a hard batting track in patchy sunshine with Stretford’s key all-rounder Ryan Williams missing with injury.

Evans and the exceptional Coulson (4/17) shackled the Woodhouses openers with tight spells which were backed up by Marshall (3/17) and Saynor (2/12). Spender provided resistance with a patient 38 and McGarry (22) entertained briefly but could not get the home side out of jail and were all out for 94.

Adam Prescott (49) was in imperious form backing up his knock of 94 a week earlier and Munir Khan (31*) ensured justice took place as Stretford recorded a comfortable 6 wicket win.

A passionate clubman with time for all- Pete Fildes passes away

It is with great sadness the club can announce that Life Member, Pete Fildes passed away on Monday in hospital surrounded by his family.

Pete was the quintessential clubman and served Stretford in various roles over the years both on management and on the field. He was a passionate supporter of Stretford and one of his proudest moments was becoming Club Captain in 1974-75.

Pete was always good value and when his playing days were over he was an avid watcher. He would often be found in sunshine corner passing on his various cricket theories while walking the dogs. Pete was a masterful storyteller and I enjoyed talking to him about Stretford Cricket Club history or tactical nuances of the game. Pete’s love for the game was immense, however one of his amusing tendencies would be to omit the occasional key detail ” they bowled first and they got what they got, Vinny got five wickets and they were all LBW; well Vinny is Vinny”

Despite his ability to remember even the most average Stretford team performance, he was never one of those “in-my-dayers” He relished seeing the new boys down at Stretford doing well and putting in committed performances. He was a passionate clubman and would make time for anyone.

It became almost a weekly ritual that Pete would ask me with that broad smile, while playing Badminton at Broadoak School “are you going to get any runs on Saturday, are you going to dig in?” “I’ll try my best Pete” I inevitably replied. “I know I know I know” laughed Pete.

Pete would’ve been so proud to see the 1stXI win the league last week.

We would like to express our condolences to Christine and family. Funeral details will be made available soon.