The second half of the season is well & truly upon us now, and congratulations must go to our 2^nd grade boys who had a fantastic victory over Cockburn in the 1 day final last Sunday @ Davilak Reserve. The old adage of runs on the board was again proven with Phoenix making 136 and bowling Cockburn out for 118 off about 38 overs giving us our first silverware for season 2011-12, and I am sure it won’t be our last.

The other pleasing aspect from a club perspective was the number of club members, wives, parents, friends (etc) who came along to support our boys on Sunday – I am sure all the players appreciated seeing & hearing everyone who came along & cheered them to victory.

Looking at the various ladders it would seem all grades, with the exception of 6ths, are either in the top 4, or are in a position to challenge for a finals berth at the end of season. Now it is more important than ever that we all make the effort to get down to training Tuesday & Thursday nights so we can finish off the regular season as strongly as possible. Just remember that the selectors & captains will be making note of who is & isn’t training, and this, along with the players financial status will be factored in when the teams are being picked every week – this is not the time of year you want to be left out of a side.

I would like to bring to light a serious off field issue that needs to be URGENTLY addressed by all club members, and this is the attendance back at the clubrooms after training & after games. Saturday nights used to be an opportunity for captains to stand up & talk about their teams performances for the game, and highlight any individual performances that warranted special mention – but the past few seasons have seen numbers on Saturday nights decline drastically.

As an incentive, the committee has decided to award a best player award for each grade, in every game which entitles this player to free drinks for 1hr – but you have to be at the club after the game to receive your award & it can’t be used by anyone else in your place. If any of our members has other suggestions as to how we can encourage people to patronize the club after training/games/functions, you are more than welcome to come & talk to me about your ideas – we really need to find a solution fast.

As with all amateur clubs, Phoenix Cricket Club lives & dies by the support we receive from our members after training nights, after matches, and at the 3-4 official club functions we arrange every season. The 2 functions we have held this year had only moderate support, to the point where our quiz night had more people who don’t play at the club, than actual registered members – it is fantastic to see outside people supporting our function of course, but we should have more club members at these nights. We see the same 15-20 guys every Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday nights, and again at the various club functions – you know who you are, and you know which players in your team are not making the effort to support the club. I encourage you to speak to your team mates about this, because in the long run we all want to be part of a strong club but we need everyone of our members to take ownership for this to happen.

The basic fact is that if people don’t support the club then our only option as a committee is to increase membership fee’s next year – this is something we are loathe to, but unfortunately we don’t have any other options available to us.

We have the following function remaining for this season, and we ask all members to make every effort to get along.

Saturday 31st March 2012 - Phoenix Cricket Club Annual Wind-up @ Swan Yacht Club (Click Here for Details)

Thanks again to all those who do the right thing, wishing all grades every success for the remainder of the season.

The Pres.   

 

The Phoenix Cricket Club would also like to welcome Mayor Logan K Howlett, JP as patron of the cricket club for the season 2011/12. Logan and his wife have lived in Cockburn for over 35 years and have volunteered in the community for most of that time. They are passionate about Cockburn, its people, its history, cultural diversity and its future as a place where dreams can be realised The Phoenix Cricket Club looks forward to working with the Mayor as it looks at the relocation of its grounds for the season of 2012/13.