Bassetlaw and District Cricket League Official Handbook 2016

i Foreword It is a great personal honour for both myself and my club, Clumber Cricket Club to hold the office of the 99th President of the Bassetlaw & District Cricket League in 2016. I intend to represent the League in an open and honest way and hope to meet as many of you as possible during the year. It is my goal to share your thoughts and opinions with my colleagues on the League Management Committee and also the wider cricket community. Without being too pessimistic, our fantastic recreational game is facing some significant and growing challenges in many areas that are, to an extent, out of our control. The world we live in, the pace of life, the demise of former colliery and company teams, rules and regulations, costs, volunteer fatigue, loss of tradition, discipline and numerous other issues too long to list here, are all impacting on the game in both Bassetlaw and the country as a whole. The legacy I hope to leave following my year as President is a recognition and understanding that we must accept that change is inevitable in the game and that we should attempt to embrace this change and shape it, not just sit back and wait for things to happen, or attempt to cling on to the past, however close it is to our hearts. To this end, I hope to discuss ways of growing cricket in Bassetlaw, kick-starting it back on the road to its former glory. This involves the game at both senior and most importantly junior level and I would ask anybody reading this who shares my passion for the game to let me have their thoughts, however left field or traditional. One thing for sure is, if we all sit back and do nothing we will no longer need a President! Good luck to all teams in 2016 and let’s hope the sun shines on us all. Michael Beard President