Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2015

32 twitter: @scloverssociety Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ Society was voted the top cricket venue in 2014 by both our spectators and the mystery shopping company that assesses all venues. Whilst we are pleased to have achieved this recognition there is no complacency at all as we must strive for continuous improvement. Every Chairman has his own style of keeping in touch so Oliver Stocken and I will have a coffee together at 8.30 a.m. in the Harris Gardens before the gates open at 9 a.m. It is a great opportunity to keep the Chairman in the picture and I try to ensure that if anything has gone wrong he is the first to know. Working on a ‘no surprises’ basis is fundamental to a successful CEO/Chairman working relationship. Relationships with the media are pivotal as well and on the morning of the first day there is invariably an interview to do with Tim Abrahams of Sky Sports News outside the Grace Gates to capture the atmosphere which is always so special at Lord’s. Once the gates have opened then there is an hour or so to check emails, attend to urgent issues or meet more staff walking round the Ground. On a major match day we employ over 1,000 staff and I try to meet as many of them as possible. At 10 a.m. I always visit the hospitality boxes run by the CEO and Chairman of ECB to check the guest list and ensure there are no issues. I will also visit our own President who will be hosting his box. I have been very fortunate to work so far with Phillip Hodson, Mike Griffith, Mike Gatting and David Morgan. All are outstanding individuals and hosts with a deep knowledge of the game. The role their wives play in supporting them during their Presidential year should not be underestimated! At 10.45 I will head to the Bowler’s Bar to meet my Media and Communications Manager, Neil Priscott, who will have collected the day’s bell-ringer. One of the privileges of the role is to pick the individual concerned but, just as is the case with the Wisden Cricketer of the Year, an individual can only ring the bell once in his or her life! Ted, one of our Pavilion Stewards, will be on hand to count down to the last second using the speaking clock before issuing the instruction to ring the bell. The most rigorous bell-ringer has been Jeremy Coney whilst the most amusing has been Phil Tufnell, accompanied by live commentary on Test Match Special by Jonathan Agnew. Once play has started there are emails to catch up on, guests to entertain and more staff to meet. During the day, Neil may well have arranged to do a TMS or Sky interview and I will usually visit our Safety Officer, Jeff Cards, in the Match Control Suite. As Ground Safety Certificate holder I take the responsibility I have incredibly seriously. I will very rarely have lunch in the hospitality box as there are invariably issues to resolve but on the Friday of the first Test Match of the summer I always entertain business and community partners in the Committee Room. We are placing great emphasis on our community engagement work and it is so important to thank those partners who are helping M.C.C. tackle some really important issues through the power of sport, cricket and our venue. On that first morning at Trent Bridge, I had no idea what to expect. I have since learnt, quite simply, to expect the unexpected. The key to running a successful Test Match is to have a great team in place. We most certainly have that at Lord’s and it is an absolute privilege to lead so many committed and talented individuals.