Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union Handbook 2007

2 PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS Another Season approaches and the early Spring weather offers encouragement for a rain free season with plenty of opportunity to play Cricket or at least that is the hope. During my address last year I had a bit of a rant about umpires being abused and asked for better standards of behaviour to be applied and for Captains to exercise common sense and keep any over zealous appealers in check. I am delighted to report that the standards did indeed improve with no reported incidents coming back to the Committee for discussion or judgement. However I was disappointed to note some rumblings in our Leagues about the standard and fairness of the umpiring with one or two moans seeming to be justified if the stories actually happened the way they were described. So for this year can I ask again for Captains and Players to ensure fair play during matches and make sure those who are asked to engage in umpiring duties are aware of the rules of the game and apply them in the appropriate manner. On the playing side we welcome back to the Premier League the First XI’s of Perthshire and St Modans and extend a warm welcome to Almond Valley and Falkland XI into Division 3. All Divisions were keenly contested last year as the Leagues are starting to settle with clubs finding their own level as was expected following the merge of Strathmore and Perthshire Leagues and my own view is that all Divisions will again be open this year with possibly some surprise results as the season progresses. The Union would struggle to survive without the support of our