SECRETARY'S REPORT 2018 - A BUSY YEAR

Date: 27th December 2018

New Management Structure to be introduced

Looking over my report to last year’s AGM I had obviously not then thought it at all likely, but 2018 surpassed the load on Management Committee by some margin.

This led to a unique End of Season meeting in October and to a specially convened SGM in November at which the L&DCC clubs agreed with Management Committee’s detailed proposals for a root and branch re-think on L&DCC governance. The changes made at that meeting are reflected in the papers to AGM 2019 and will resonate in the pattern of the meetings of the Management Committee and the six sub-Committees. These changes are the first major ones to our structures for decades.

It is our hope that we shall be able to “hit the ground running in 2019” and run these new systems so that the changes will spread the load and make the running of the L&DCC less of a full-time job for a small number of individuals. We welcome the influx of so many fresh minds and new people into positions of responsibility.

I particularly thank the many people who continue to be so helpful to me personally and am very mindful that we must not take good-will for granted, the L&DCC runs on it. As part of that I am sorry - but pleased for him personally - to see Alan Bristow retiring after a long, highly decorated career in cricket administration going back decades and wish him many happy hours on the boundary away from spreadsheets and audited accounts! He helped save the Comp in its hour of need and I will always respect him for what he did. I also thank our indefatigable Disciplinary sub-Committee, our Legal Advisor and our Sponsors for quietly making it possible for the L&DCC to run smoothly in an un-noticed way.

At the AGM 2018 we decided not to use a deduction of points rather than impose a fine for transgressions, we rearranged Sunday League cricket into four small fully regional structures NW/NE/SW/SE and we revisited that concept in great detail at the November SGM.

We were particularly grateful to the MCUA for their in-depth preparation meetings given as support for the implementation of the new MCC Laws of Cricket.

In the Pre-Season SGM 2018 we tidied up the 2^nd and 3^rd XI T20s Regulations post AGM 2018 but little did we know how much the uniquely heavy rain would disrupt the start of our season and the consequences of the cascade (pun intended) of re-arranged games that flowed from that.

Management Committee has kept its promise to clubs to revisit 2^nd and 3^rd XI start times on a Saturday at this AGM and has also listened to and acted on the feedback from clubs on the thorny issue of player eligibility in the 2^nd and 3^rd XIs. This AGM contains detailed proposals to make league and cup eligibilities identical in 2019.

We tried and failed to change the format of the Annual Dinner which very much remains work in progress. We congratulated all our winners at the October End of Season SGM and were particularly pleased with the way that the newly introduced concept of a Dual Registration scheme with our Feeder League the Southport & District Amateur Cricket League had worked in 2018.This AGM gives the opportunity for clubs to extend this scheme.

I say again that, as is usual, it is not proposed to duplicate here most of the issues that would normally be covered in the Hon. Secretary’s report as these continue to be reported to clubs on a monthly basis in the ‘summary of minutes’ via the website, the workings of the M/C and the Cricket Committee remain there for all to see, as is the contribution of all the clubs at the various meetings through http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/admin_docs.php?id=14and also http://www.lpoolcomp.co.uk/admin_docs.php?id=11

The L&DCC continues to demonstrate recreational cricket of the highest possible standards coupled with widely admired levels of participation and I wish 40WL30 a personal and seasonal Bah-Humbug!

Chris Weston

Hon Sec LG L&DCC