Dear Members,
Just a note to update you about the exciting developments that have been taking place at our Club over the winter
Overseas Professional for the 2018 Season
Thanks to a lot of hard work and perseverance by Club Captain, Dave Rai, we have been granted a Tier 5 sponsors licence by the Home Office enabling us to recruit a professional overseas player through a professional cricketer visa.
As a result we are delighted to announce that we have secured the signing of our overseas professional for the 2018 season. His name is Dwaraka Ravi Teja and is a current First Class Player from India. Ravi is a front line batsman who bowls very handy leg spin. He is 30 years old and Represented India A, played IPL for 2 different clubs in Deccan Chargers and Sunrise Hyderabad. Ravi is playing currently for the Andhra state team. Ravi has scored over 3800 First Class runs and over 2000 runs in the limited over format. He averages over 40 in the longer format and over 40 in the limited overs format with 14 tons in total.
He has played on many occasions before in the UK before with great success, so is familiar with the UK and its cricket. He is also a UKCC Level 2 coach. He will be playing both days on the weekend and be at Thursday nets and coaching Fridays.
We feel he is an exciting addition to the club and look forward to welcoming Ravi at Oakfield Parkonians as he will bring much quality and experience to the team. Ravi is also keen to engage in the coaching set up here, we feel he is a great fit for our club.
You can see his cricinfo profile using the link below
New Nets
The containers have now been relocated and work is due to start on Monday, 19th February to install the new nets, taking two weeks to complete. Andy Holland and Nav Kalley have put in a lot of effort and time to ensure this much needed new facility will be ready in good time for the start of the new season.
The nets will be within a secure fenced-off area which will also store our covers and sight-screens out of season.
Main Scoreboard
The replacement for the new main scoreboard has now been agreed and this will be in place before the start of the new season. This will be larger than the existing and will incorporate space for the rope winder and storage. The scorers will also have their own dedicated viewing area which will benefit from being elevated above ground level. Indi Bhatia has our gratitude for all his hard work to ensure this project comes to fruition.
These improvement projects are only possible due to the generosity of individual members, sponsors and grant funding and we will like to thank all those who have given freely to ensure our club has the best facilities.
Looking forward to the new season
Regards
Keith Varnes
Secretary, OPCC