The Twelfth Man 2019

A nother year has gone by since my last report - how time flies. The Society has made a small profit this year even though  there has been a busy schedule of speaker meetings through the winter. Again I would like to thank Ron Firth for his hard work in running successful functions and all his help over the winter. He has decided to reduce his workload next year but he has been a very hard working Committee member for a number of years. I wish to thank him on behalf of the Society. Ali Saad, Membership Secretary, has also help me again through the winter to keep a watch on subscription income and is a vital member of the Society, so thank you very much. The Society has some hard decisions to make next year but financially the Society is in good health. I look forward to seeing a good turn-out to next year’s meetings. More recently, I have encouraged my Committee colleagues, and they have accepted, that we should undertake a fundamental review of the future of the Society to address the issues of an ageing membership; the need to attract new blood; a lack of succession planning for the key posts on which the Society depends; and the steadily increasing costs of our activities. Thankfully, the Society remains financially sound at this time, so there is no immediate pressure there, but this cannot be assumed in the future unless these issues are tackled. In July, I delivered a report to the Committee on options to address these issues and this is currently under active consideration. Simply because we are only at a very early stage in this review at the time of writing, I cannot really say much more. But I do anticipate that we will want to reveal a good deal more to members at our Annual General Meeting on 26 September. Like most voluntary organisations, attendance at our AGM is usually poor but I do urge that in this year, with the need to address our future as a Society, you should come along to hear what we have to say. Finally, back on a personal note, the AGM will mark my first year in post; I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to make the acquaintance of quite a number of our members. I am looking forward to the next. T he membership list continues to remain at approximately the same number (300) as last year. Unfortunately, we have lost several members who have passed on and we send our condolences to their families. We have several new members, two from Australia so it is good we are known world- wide and I have been notified of one resignation (only the second while I have been Membership Officer). I attend several other cricket societies throughout the winter and apart from The Cricket Society, we have the largest membership of the many belonging to the Cricket Societies Association. Hopefully, this cricket season, we are hoping to try and spread the good name WCLS around the club cricket club grounds of Yorkshire. I would also ask our members to consider taking out a standing order/direct debit as it makes it a lot easier for administration. I hope we continue to have a flourishing membership this year. 46 47 Membership Officer’s Report Membership list holds steady Ali Saad Treasurer’s Report Small profit in a busy year Brian Sanderson