As most will know it has been a challenging season for the club, but I would like to take this opportunity to focus on the positives and convey several thank you’s.

The re-creation of a Youth section thanks to the hard work and dedication of Dave Hiscocks, and able assistance and support from Mark Jeffery, Steve Tayler, Scott Cameron & Ian Jeffery, has been a marked success for this season and is just the start of building a secure future for the club.  They have had 30+ youngsters turn up on Sundays throughout the season and the feedback  we’ve received is that all have had a great time.  We hope to build on this and continue the good work next season in 2011.

The emergence of players like Scott Cameron,  Matty Hemmings,  John Wiltshire & Ian Jeffery have been important factors in the games won throughout the year.

The addition of the hugely experienced and ‘legend’ of the local Cricket scene Steve Perrin and the talented Siad Ibrahim have made a huge difference and both players have gelled fantastically well with exsisting members of the club.

On the fundraising front Darren Perrin has once again organised some key events not least the sponsorship of the Adult XI Teams by Melksham Tandoori Restaurant to whom we are hugely thankful for their support.

On Friday the 27th August members of the club enjoyed a Golf  Day and Presentation evening both of which were very well attended and very much enjoyed by all, with presentations being made to the following:-

Club Person of the Year -  John Wiltshire nominated by the majority of club members for the huge amount of effort and dedication he put into his role as Groundsman for the club.  Without John’s effort its fair to say we would of had a pitch with a minimal level of consistency week on week.  John also walked away with the MTCC Golf Day ‘Nearest The Pin’ Award.

Our 1st XI Player of the Year Award (as voted for by the 1st team players) went to Matty Hemmings for his consistent and at times sparkling bowling performances throughout the season.

Our 2nd XI Player of the Year Award (as voted for by the 2nd team players) went to Steve ‘Jonty’ Tayler, for some notable performances on the pitch, the commitment shown to the club and assuming the role of second team captain in difficult circumstances.

Finally and most importantly the thank yous.......

Thank you to the Committee for the hard work and time given through the winter and during the season in ensuring the club continues to move forward.

John Wiltshire for his efforts on the pitch.

Dave Hiscocks, Mark Jeffery, Steve Tayler, Scott Cameron and Ian Jeffery for their work with the Youth section.

Darren Perrin for his efforts on the fundraising front.

Steve Perrin & Siad Ibrahim for the way they have intergrated so well with the other players in the club.

Our Umpires Jack Woodward & Mick Perrin for their support on the umpiring front.

Our tea lady Bev Jeffery for her amazing home made Pasties, Quiches & Cakes – to Jenny Perrin and Suzie Hutton for again keeping up the standard of great teas whilst Bev was on holiday.

To my better half Debs for the huge amount of effort put in behind the scenes on behalf of the club.

And last but by no means least all of the players who have remained with the club throughout the year and contributed to what is probably the best comeraderie – and social scene! - of any club in the Wiltshire League.

Heres to next season, enjoy the rest!

Your Chairman

GB.

MATCH REPORT DIVISION 2 WILTSHIRE LEAGUE 26 06 2010

Melksham Town hosted Collingbourne and ran out winners by 14 runs.  Having won the toss the home side chose to bat on a sweltering hot day.  Openers Mark Wiltshire and Ian Jeffery fell cheaply and after skipper Hiscocks fell for 32 new signing Syed Ibrahim came to the crease but was undone 1^st ball for a duck to leave the home side teetering at 70-4.  Darren Perrin then joined John Wiltshire at the crease and these 2 changed the game sharing in a partnership of 103.  Perrin’s score card had the unusual sight of a few 2’s due in some part to the fact Ibrahim was needed to act as a runner. Perrin was eventually out for 22 whilst John Wiltshire went on to make a fine 74 containing 4 sixes and seven 4s.  The tail added a few more leaving the home side on 193-6 at the end of the innings.

Opening bowlers Matt Hemmings and Dave Hiscocks kept Collingbourne under pressure and Hiscocks made the first breakthrough after a catch from Ian Jeffery who went on to take another catch and a run out to complete a good day in the field.  Ibrahim’s bowling proved to be more successful than his batting and he took 3 for 40 off his 11 overs.  Scott Cameron also took a couple of wickets and Collingbourne struggled to keep up with the run rate. Indeed coming into the last over they needed 32 runs so Darren Perrin was introduced to the attack in an attempt to buy a wicket or two.  However after the first 2 balls were deposited in the grave yard for 2 sixes a few anxious faces questioned the wisdom of the decision.  However Perrin responded well coming off his full run and the extra pace he generated meant the game ended comfortably for the Town.

Mark Jeffery

MTCC 2nd XI v Trowbridge WCCL Div 6

An understrength MTCC 2nds XI were comprehensively beaten by Trowbridge at MTCC grounds on 6th June.

The home side started with only 10 players and due to other commitments ended the match with only 8, but put up a brave show.  The home side won the toss and elected to bat first and that decision seened vindicated with an opening partnership of 40 before the first wicket fell.  Andy Mackay, Matt Peglar and Steve Taylor quickly followed and when opener Steve Peglar was out for 21 the home side were tottering on 66-5.

Scott Simmons opened his account for the season with a quick six but fell at 73-6. Wes Frith smashed a four only to be out soon after and this brought debutant Luke Rudman to the crease to join Mitch Burton at 82-7 and a target of 100 seemed a long way off.  However Luke Rudman due in for a battling one and thanks to some explosive batting by Mitch Burton who hit 45 these two put on 44 runs to bring the score to 126.  Mike Coll came and went without troubling the opposition and MTCC were left to defend 126.

Opening bowlers Steve Taylor and Mitch Burton bowled superbly well and with a little more luck and a few more fielders would have taken more than the one wicket each they did take.  Andy Mackay chipped in with a wicket but Trowbridge reached their target with the loss of 3 wickets.

Mark Jeffery

MTCC 1st XI V Urchfont (Away)

MTCC 1st XI picked up thier first win of the season with a comphrehensive victory at Urchfont by seven wickets.

Acting skipper Darren Perrin won the toss and took the decision to insert the home side.  Urchfont got to 47 without loss before Dave Macey produced a fine throw to run out the opener.  Opening bowlers Matt Hemmings and Scott Cameron kept a tight line and were rewarded with a wicket each.  Melksham's sharp fielding brought two further runs outs.  Change bowlers John Wiltshire 2-20 and Rob Trudgeon 3-9 ripped through the tail to leave Urchfont all out for a mere 106.

Melksham's reply reached 20 before Mark Wiltshire was out for seven which meant Steve Perrin coming into the crease.  Steve Perrin and Ian Jeffery then took the score to 97 before Ian Jeffery fell for 21.  Straight away Jon Helps went for 0, falling to an unplayable delivery. 

The hot conditions seemed to have an effect on Steve Perrin who found it difficult to run singles and therefore relied on hitting boundaries with some nine fours and two sixes in a classy 59 not our taking Melksham past their target with little trouble after 17 overs.

M Jeffery

Match Report 22-05-10

It was a case of "What if" for Melksham Town who missed out on the opportunity to secure their first win of the season at home to Burbage.

Home skipper Dave Hiscocks won the toss and opted to bat and his decision was vindicated by openers Mark Wiltshire and Ian Jeffery who put on 90 for the first wicket after 25 overs and a score of 200 plus looked on the cards.

However Mark Wiltshire was out for 40 and Ian Jeffery followed soon after for 43 the rest of the order collapsed mainly through ill disciplined shots.  Darren Perrin went for 0 wafting at a straight one and Dave Hiscocks spooned a catch to midwicket.

John Wiltshire and Jon Helps looked like they might put on a partnership but after smashing a 6, John Wiltshire was out next ball, leaving the home side on 115-5.  Keeper Chris Shearn added 13 and looked set but he also got out to a poor shot.  Scott Cameron, Steve Tayler & Rob Trudgeon also fell cheaply, leaving MTCC on an under par 153 all out.  For Burbage Nick Cook bowled well with 4-28 off 11 overs.

To stand any chance MTCC needed early wickets and needed to field well.  Matt Hemmings and Dave Hiscocks dismissed openers to leave Burbage 20-2.  The slow off spin of Darren Perrin and Scott Cameron brought 2 more wickets and the game was in the balance as Burbage were 79-4 after 28 overs.  The dangerous P Lavis was still in but he was dropped twice in one over off the bowling of Darren Perrin and after another catch, was spilled off Rob Trudgeon.  The home side heads dropped and Burbage cantered to 154-4 with Lavis not out 55 and a 6 wicket victory.

Melksham Town 2nds secured a comprehensive 138 run victory at Highworth. Melksham were put into bat and after Steve Peglar was out to the first ball he received  Mark Jeffery went on to make 68 and was ably supported by Ian Jeffery with 48 and a quick fire 36 not out from Ian Garlak leaving the visitors on a competitive 241-7.

Highworth had no answer to the pace of Rob Trudgeon who took 5 for 27 and he was supported by the gentle off spin of Jon Helps who took 2-22 leaving the home side all out for 103

Mark Jeffery

MATCH REPORT 1/05/2010 Melksham Town CC 2^nd XI v Swindon Nalgo

Swindon Nalgo batted first on a damp wicket at Melksham and their openers found life difficult against some testing bowling from Rob Trudgian and John Wiltshire who were unlucky not to take a hatful of wickets. However the introduction of the slower pace of Dave “magic” Macey and Jon Helps brought an immediate breakthrough and Macey finished with 5 wickets for 31 runs helped by some outstanding wicket keeping by Matt Peglar which included 2 stumpings. Helps battled bravely into the wind and despite an obvious lack of fitness took 3 wickets for 48 runs .Melksham‘s fielders supported their bowlers well and a special mention must be made for the efforts of young debutant Michael Paine who produced a couple memorable pieces of fielding. Swindon finished with a respectable 156 all out with a painstaking 54 from opener Steele Davis and 33 from P Richards.

The Town openers of Mark Jeffery and Steve Peglar set about their chase well and the score reached 27 without loss when Peglar holed out to mid wicket. Jeffery followed soon after for 16 and Helps completed a mini collapse when out for 1 leaving Melksham at 30-3.Wiltshire and Macey then steadied the ship and took the score to 64 before Macey’s concentration waivered and he was caught. John Wiltshire continued to take the attack to the opposition and a couple of towering 6’s were followed by a loose shot which saw him depart for 27.Ian Garlak continued where Wiltshire had let off and batted with some authority finishing on a fine 37. At the other end however wickets continued to fall and debutants Scott Simmons and Luke Brailey fell in quick succession without troubling the scorer. Teenager Michael Paine featured in a mini revival for the last wicket to take the final score to a disappointing 109 all out and a 47 run win for the visitors with P Huckin finishing with 5 wickets for 20 runs.

Mark Jeffery

Welcome to MTCC's first blog, with the aim of updating you on the clubs progress throughout the coming season..

So, what have we been upto since the end of last season...........

First of all the decision was taken at the AGM to change the name of the club from CATCC to Melksham Town Cricket Club.  One of the reasons for making this change is the clubs aim to forge stronger links with the Melksham Community across all age groups.

Captains..... Dean Wallington stood down from the post during the off season and the committee voted for Steve (Jonty) Tayler & Dave (Hissy) Hiscocks to be the 2010 seasons joint captains.

Groundsman..... John Wiltshire Jnr is taking on the role of groundsman. Thanks John !

Youth section..... We are also looking to increase our focus on Youth cricket this year, led by Dave Hiscocks and supported by several players.  Training sessions will be held throughout the Summer on Sunday mornings at Melksham House. 

Race night...... Once again we held another very successful race night and raised a fantastic amount of money for the Club.  I wish to pass on a big thank you to those involved in it's organisation, Melksham House for the provision of their main hall and bar staff and most of all to all who attended and supported the club.

Finally I would like to thank our main Sponsors for this year, Melksham Tandoori and we look forward to the development of a successful partnership as the season progresses.

I look forward to seeing you all at training in the coming weeks

GB