Oxford University Club Cricket Club


Minutes of the AGM


Friday 2 November 2001 in the back room of The Mitre.

  1. Apologies from the skipper for being late.

  2. Apologies from all the others who were late.

  3. Attendees.
    1. Present: Lawrence Schaefer, Tony O'Dea, Tony McNally, Nigel Gray, Chris Bumby
    2. A bit late: Martin Booth.
    3. Very late: Raj Narayanan, Sunil Nakrani.

  4. Martin was nominated as Secretary as punishment for being five minutes late. Tony Mac gave him a quick lesson in how to pretend to make notes, lose them, then make something up from memory which in no way reflected what was said at the meeting.

  5. Skipper's Report.
    The season started with various holes (9) in the fixture list. This was exacerbated when fixtures were cancelled due to foot and mouth disease restrictions. A few extra games were acquired with the help of Raj and Rhodri. Most of the matches in the end were played against Oxenford. One match (against King's School) was cancelled by us because we didn't have a team. Although this incident was regrettable, since this was the only fixture cancelled by us we have improved upon last year in this respect. End of season results: Played 10, Won 6, Lost 4. Figures are on the website.

    Following the departure of Mr and Mrs Bill, the Club offered to provide our teas at an incredibly high price. We declined their offer and re-instigated the tea squad. Our initial paltry efforts gave way to quality spreads. The costs of the teas were easily covered by match fees.

    The new groundsman, Dick Sula, accommodated us well and was very responsive to our requests. It was unanimously decided to buy him a bottle of whisky for Christmas. The new covers were excellent and we are all very pleased with them. The netting in the nets was replaced, which was good, although the batting surface still needs replacing and the bowlers run-ups are nothing but dangerous at the moment.

    Winter nets didn't start until spring this year, something that should be remedied next year. Thanks to Steve T for sorting the sessions at Iffley Road. Despite the valiant efforts of the Tour Secretary, the September tour didn't go ahead.

  6. Treasurer's Report.
    Martin, as acting Casper, explained against convention that he actually owed the club money. The compulsory discussion about raising of match fees went by and it was decided that they should stay at £3/£5 for the time being. This may need to be reviewed if we have to use a different ground (see later). Winter nets were self-funding last year, costing £3 per head, and this should continue. However, venues other than Iffley Road should be investigated since they may well be more cost effective.

  7. Fixtures Secretary's Report.
    The skipper read out the report. It was decided that of the relatively small selection of teams we faced this summer there was no one we didn't really like. It was noted that the lack of fixtures early on in the season lead to a lack of momentum, a bit like Raj in the field. Although we quite like Oxenford, it was noted that they probably shouldn't make up the majority of our fixtures list. Raj asked questions about the OBs and their fixtures: Who are they? Am I one now? Where is Bollocktop? How does one become an OB? Do you have to be old, like Tony Mac? Tony Mac filled him in.

  8. Skipper pissed off for a fag.

  9. University Club Committee.
    The Skipper explained that vacancies will arise soon on the University Club Committee and it would be in our interests to have someone on the Committee. We should nominate someone and everyone in the team should vote for him.

  10. Social Events.
    Tony Mac declared that Dave Frame was "woeful". There was no dissention.

  11. Tony McNally went home.

  12. Kit report.
    It was noted that amongst our useful bits of kit we still have loads of rubbish. Lawrence and Tony O'Dea spent some time together in the cupboard at the beginning of the season examining balls and equipment. They retrieved some of our stuff from the Jack Cox cupboard. The Readers balls we used were good so we should get some more at a discount through our contacts. The keeper's tackle is a bit tatty. The speed gun was not acquired since we found out it didn't have a 'quim' setting and hence would be useless in measuring just how slow Tony Mac actually is.

  13. Should we join a league?
    No.

  14. Ground next year.
    It is not yet known whether Manny Road will be available next year. The best guess is that the playing area itself may be available but there will be no pavilion or changing rooms. The option of using College grounds was discussed. It was decided to assume that Manny Road would not be available and explore the College option now. Colleges suggested included: Brasenose, Jesus/Lincoln, Exeter, Wadham. It would be preferable not to have to pay for the ground so we should ask around and beg for special treatment. The new covers are ours so perhaps we could use them as a bargaining point. No mention was made of how we should transport the covers around. It was suggested earlier this year that we could use the nets in the Parks. This option should be explored for next year too.

  15. Nets.
    The nets at Manny Road must be improved.

  16. Election of Officers.
    The "election" results are:

  17. The "Action Plan".
    The AGM was almost over but Nigel got edgy because we hadn't written an Action Plan. The academics amongst us were most confused then realised that Nigel has a proper job where they do things like that. The pen was handed over and Nigel crafted the following:
    1. Winter Nets: Martin
    2. Fixture List: Chris
    3. University Club Committee nominee: Tony O
    4. Voting for Tony O: Lawrence
    5. Balls from Bryan Lawrence via Casper: Nigel
    6. New ground(s): Martin & Chris
    7. Nets in the parks (for summer): Martin

  18. Close of meeting.

  19. Ridiculously late: Rhodri Lewis.
If you have any comments about these pages, please email Anthony O'Dea (odea@physchem.ox.ac.uk).