The latest Club Newsletter includes updates on:
- Outdoor Nets
- Fixtures and Availability
- Club Membership
- Matchball Sponsorship
- Rule Changes
Outdoor Nets
Practice nets will be held every Thursday evening during the season, from 6.00pm onwards. The first session will be on Thursday 24th April.
Following on from his coaching sessions at indoor nets we are hopeful that Jan Stander will be able to attend on a regular basis throughout the season.
Fixtures and Availability
With the league campaign starting for all three XIs on Saturday 27th April we hope that the weather and pitch conditions will allow some friendly cricket before then, starting with the match in Perth this Sunday.
The full fixture list for the season is now available on the website.
It is extremely important that all players answer any teamer invites promptly. This will ensure that all teams can be selected every Thursday evening and players notified as quickly as possible.
Club Membership
Annual subscriptions are now due, with the fees as they were in 2012:
- Full Membership – £60
- Under-25 Membership – £45
All regular players should ensure that membership fees are paid as soon as possible.
If you would prefer you can setup a Standing Order of around £10 a month to cover subs and match fees. Please speak to one of the Captains for more details.
Matchball Sponsorship
Matchball sponsorship is always vital to the financial health of the club, particularly as we are now running three XIs and will have to pay for pitches away from Rubislaw.
Companies and individuals can support us by sponsoring any match at £25 per game.
All matchball sponsors will be mentioned on the website fixture lists and match reports, with banner advertising if this can be supplied. Please make every effort to approach anyone who you feel is in a position to support us in any way.
Rule Changes
A number of changes were agreed at the Grades AGM, most significantly the introduction of the “activated draw”. This is intended to provide more incentive for attaching batting after a large first innings total has been posted.
In summary, if the team batting first has batted for 42 overs or less then the team batting second must score at least 75% of the first innings total before the game can be drawn. If the 75% target is not reached then the team batting first will gain the full 30 points and the team batting second will gain no draw points.
Captains and vice-captains will, of course, be fully versed with the tactical nuances that this will introduce to our games before the start of the season!
There were also changes to player eligibility for cup games and the make-up of the grades in future seasons which will have some bearing on us. Full details are available on the ACA website.
