Mes que un club

Well we have finally reached the end of what has been a fabulous season for Kimberley Institute 1^st XI. Winning our first Nottinghamshire Premier League title, along with the success in the Twenty20 Cup earlier in the season has been a very special thing to be part of.

Success at a cricket club, and developing winning teams can rarely be attributed to one particular thing. It is normally the sum of many parts which come together to make for a successful environment.

There is no doubt that this year we have been blessed with a number of fine young players who have together blossomed at the right time into outstanding, and perhaps most importantly, consistent league cricketers. That did not happen over night. The work that Sam Ogrizovic and Michael Blatherwick put in over the last few years to assemble much of this side was vital to the success. Both Michael and Sam had the longer term vision to see that by building a young team with a strong collective work ethic, success could be achieved. It is easy to try to chase success by bringing in players who you expect to deliver instantly. More often that not you are disappointed. We had tried that route in the past and been burnt. It takes great determination and a brave confidence to say ‘this is the way we are going to do it, it might take time, but it will succeed’. So to Sam and Michael, I say a big thank you. Not only for having confidence in me, but also in this group that they could perform.

We have also been lucky to have the wisdom and skill of our team manager. ‘Rookie’, takes a lot of stick from the young lads, but he has this great ability to connect with them and get the best out of them. He, like Sam and Michael, has shown unwavering belief in the ability of the group over the last two seasons, and now he has been rewarded. It says something when lads of 21 look forward to going out for a social drink with a man of Rookie’s age! Thank you Rookie for trusting in me and for providing me with council over the season.

Karen Layton, a key cog behind the scenes.

It is not all about the team and management though. Any success is actually as much down to the people behind the scenes as those out on the pitch. Karen Layton does a phenomenal amount for Kimberley Institute Cricket Club. She is Child Welfare Officer and organises the teas (and I do think ours are amongst the best in the league!) along with Tina King, and I was so pleased she was up there on Saturday to share our success. Martin Clarke is vital on match day's running the bar along with our treasurer and his wife Nichola. Without Martin, Colin would not be able to get his match day beers and would be forever grumpy!

We without doubt have the best scorer in the league. Rob Naylor is a voluntary sensation. His scoring is sublime, he knows all the statistics and can be a useful source of information in analysing our performance.

Our outstanding ground staff who have worked tirelessly to provide superb playing conditions all year.

We are also blessed to have the most fantastic ground staff. At so many grounds, you come across groundsman who actually hate nothing more than people playing cricket on their square! Not Stewart and his team. They will do anything they can to help get a game on, and this year we did not suffer a single abandonment at home, our last game a perfect example, with the mangle and sponges out despite it being a dead rubber in many ways.

Geoff Griffiths has been Chairman since 1998
and has overseen both NPL titles.

We have Geoff Griffiths our Chairman, John Parkin the President and the rest of the committee. They do a sterling job ensuring that the 1^st XI can just come along and play without having to worry about the numerous logistical aspects of running a cricket club.

Finally we have our fantastic supporters. They are always our harshest critics, but as Graham said to me, ”it is only because we want you to be better!” They have travelled home and away to supporters over the difficult last few years and been unwavering in their support. I hope they have enjoyed the success over the last few weeks.

Barcelona FC have a motto of “mes que un club” which translates as “more than a club”. I think that befits Kimberley Institute, and our challenge now is to repeat our success in the same vein as our Catalan counterparts.

Thank you to everyone, it has been a wonderful year!