Welcome to the Old Parkonians Cricket
Club - 2011
It is traditional for the Chairman
to write a “Message” in the Fixture booklet.
I’ve decided to break with tradition this year, partly to focus the
booklet on the fixtures but, more importantly, to give you this to you personally.
I also urge you to also study our
website; not least the brief history of the Club.
Who are the Old Parkonians? Well, we
are not an ‘Old Boys’ cricket club. Established
in 1906, I think the ‘Old’ must now refer to the age of the Club rather than
its members – especially as we have members under 11 years of age and the
majority of members are under 25. Nor
are we all ‘boys’ since we encourage women to join and are getting more ‘girls’
involved throughout the Club. However,
there is an ethos in the ‘Parkonian’ part of the name which becomes clear as
you read on.
I would like to welcome you to the
Club if you are new to us, and re-welcome you if you have been with us for a
time. The Club feels ‘on the up’ with several
new features this year. Physically, we
are now fully ‘ring-fenced’ which provides more security for members and
valuables. This year we are adopting the
NatWest CricketForce approach and will have new scoreboards, a freshly painted
second pavilion, new seating around the ground and additional trees.
We have strengthened our
Constitution and Codes of Behaviour, befitting a Club that is achieving
Clubmark accreditation. On the playing
side, we have a Cricket Committee in which all the captains, vice captains and
team / age group Managers are represented.
They deal with the day to day running of selection and the playing side
of the Club.
Together with an extended group of
qualified coaches for our Colts section, the leadership of the Club is, I
believe, stronger than ever and is capable of taking the Club onto its next
phase of development. Your Executive Committee is taking our Development Plan forward
vigorously.
Development Plan
The development plan is intended to
drive the Club to become the best we can be – as a club and as
individuals. In essence there are two
parts to the plan: our understanding of our general mission and vision as a
cricket club, and our specific aims and objectives.
There are too many action steps under
way to list here. The summary below will
give you an idea of where we are heading.
Mission &
Vision
Our Mission is to involve all members and enable them to excel by:
·
inspiring and nurturing their passion for cricket;
·
building on our expertise, heritage, culture and facilities.
Our Vision is a welcoming, inclusive, ambitious, well organised cricket
club that:
·
combines
success with enjoyment;
·
promotes
excellence in cricket with:
o a care for all members
in a culture of
o camaraderie and competence.
Aims &
Objectives
I have highlighted some key words in
our plan.
We
will focus on:
i)
Strengthening our reputation as a leading club in the Essex league through the quality of our cricket,
coaching, facilities and performance.
ii)
Promoting excellent team working, personal skills and sporting
distinction.
iii) Attracting and retaining members
who will participate fully in the Club.
iv) Expanding the colts section,
supporting their talent and personal development.
v)
Competing tenaciously for promotion; playing honourably and
competitively; upholding the spirit the game and maintaining the highest sporting
values.
vi) Developing
senior playing teams, providing positive role models to all club
members, leading achievement and success.
In short,
we must expect every senior player to be a role model. Nothing less is consistent with our mission,
vision and plans.
Role Models
Being a good role model simply means following the
accepted codes of behaviour in cricket. The
ECB’s Code of Conduct is more or less ‘common sense’, at least for those who
know and care about the game. For
example, the codes say that:
Players
must not:
·
attempt
to intimidate an umpire, another player or a spectator;
·
use
crude or abusive language nor make offensive gestures or hand signals nor
deliberately distract an opponent;
·
make
racially abusive comments / actions against fellow players, officials, members
and supporters.
The
ECB insist that Clubs take adequate steps to ensure the good behaviour of their
members and supporters. We do this
mostly by quiet persuasion but also, when necessary, through disciplinary
action including suspension and withdrawal of membership.
Our captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is
conducted within the spirit of the game as well as within the Laws. We ask you to support your captain not just
fully but gracefully.
The spirit of the game involves RESPECT for opponents, umpires and the game’s
traditional values. For example, it is wrong to dispute an umpire’s
decision by word, action or gesture, to direct abusive language towards an
opponent or umpire. Nor may you distract
an opponent either verbally or by harassment with persistent clapping or
unnecessary noise even under the guise of enthusiasm and motivation of one’s
own side.
Please
read our codes of conduct carefully.
I
make no apology for stressing again that our codes include requirements such
as:
- Displaying high standards of behaviour,
including no bad language.
- Promoting fair play. We will not accept
intimidation, aggressive behaviour and deliberate distraction of our
opponents.
This applies at all
levels, including junior members.
Play Your Part
The OPCC Constitution says, “The
club colours shall be maroon and silver.”
We expect all players to wear our colours! In fact it is a minimum requirement.
Go further – do participate fully in
all the activities of the club. We are
NOT, repeat NOT, merely a cricket ground where people pay to play for a bit of
recreation. That is not enough; that is
not a club!
We ask everyone to engage fully in
all the activities of the Club.
Belonging here is not about buying a ticket for a ride. It is about making and sharing the journey.
The potential we have as a
Club is as high as it can get, both in terms of the talent and the fundamentals
of location, facilities and support. The
challenge is to realize our potential.
We cannot be complacent. Everyone is needed to help, especially the
senior players to whom we all look for inspiration and example.
No doubt you
want the Club to go forward, to improve year by year and be the best we can
be. I ask you therefore to be serious
about your personal responsibilities as a team player. Play to the captain’s game plan. Behave ‘professionally’ at all times on and
off the field, in your body language, the way you in dress, the language you
use and the way you talk to team mates.
There is no
doubt that the Clubs that are most successful are those with the best disciplinary
records. Without doubt, the League stats
confirm this. Consequently, it is your
personal behaviour that makes or breaks the results as well as the reputation
of the Club.
Up the Parks!
Finally
I wish you a very enjoyable and successful
season ahead, both personally and for your team. Taking a full part in the Club will bring you
a sense of purpose and friends for life.
Chris Nutt
Chairman, OPCC
April 2011
