Greeetings from Canada!

The newsdesk recieved this e-mail from an old Ashfield member Robbie Sutherland, now living in Canada. Nice to hear from you Robbie.

"Hello there Ashfield, and I can see the club has really grown a lot since I left for Canada in 1957. Heartiest congratulations.I expect many of the players of my day, however, are no longer with us. I played 1st X1 - 1949-1956 when A Boyce, then Barry Hands were captains. Before he died, Barry kept me in touch, and I have been back to the club once or twice over the years.If Viv Watts, Michael Edwards, Michael Redding or Robin Shears and many others of that time are still around, it would be great to have a chat again (if anybody can be bothered), either by e-mail or phone if I could have their numbers.Have a great season, and best regards.B. Sutherland (Robbie)"

Any other ex Ashfield players living around the world, drop us a line and let us know where you've got to!

2007 Season off to a great start after excellent launch !!

All 3 men's teams and the women's 1st XI won their first league matches, which is a brilliant start to the campaigns for the club.

This follows an excellent cricketforce effort and a great cheese and wine party at which we all watched the 1st XI beat Coleshill in a freindly. The picture above is of Angela Brown at the party, having been presented with the clubmark certificate.

The fixture cards are out, and the accompanying letter summarises all that has been going on at the club. Here it is....

We hope that you are able to get up to the club to support the many Ashfield sides and events as often as is possible, thereby getting the most out of your membership.

You will see the fixture card has been revamped for this season, and is just one of the many things that have been taking place to ensure the club goes from strength to strength. The club has been very busy this winter, and here are just a few of the good news items I have the pleasure to inform you about:

Clubmark
We are the 730th club nationally to get the ECB Clubmark award. This is a benchmark of safe and good practice in cricket development, especially at youth level, and is testimony to all of those who have been involved in the running of the club over the past few years – Angela Brown has led the drive to getting clubmark and is to be especially congratulated. You can view the certificate, framed (along with many other pictures) for nothing by one of our generous sponsors, Greenhill Galleries – please use your fixture card for a 10% discount on any of their services. The club development plan is available from the web, as are all the policies and protocols that the club operates within – please read them. If you wish to contribute suggestions to the development plan for next year, please contact me.

Natwest Cricketforce
(pictured, the youngest members of the Cricketforce - aged 6, 4 and 2!)
Over 40 volunteers have transformed the clubhouse – members of the women’s sides, youth section parents and players and other friends of the club, as well as the men’s sides, have put in serious effort – it has been wonderful to see the whole club getting stuck in, as indeed all sections did at the very successful dinner organised by 1st XI men’s captain Ian Carey in October (don’t miss this superb event at the end of this season.)

If you were not able to get involved in Cricketforce then there is still much to do ! For instance, Carol Crampton, one of our great youth section parent members has committed to fundraising for new furniture for the lounge, and as an interior designer she is then going to offer her services in sorting the room out – that is what a volunteering club is all about – please support her fully in her efforts !

Sponsorship
We have attracted new sponsors, and will be seeking more throughout the summer and also for next season. Every little helps, so if you would like to sponsor a match as a parent or friend of the club, please contact one of the committee. Boundary boards are still available for 2007 – so if you have a business, or are influential within one, then please support the club in this way by advertising with us. There are well over 100 matches on our grounds this summer – plenty of viewers therefore !

John Bright Trophy
A record entry to our business league this year – 17 corporate sides fight it out for the coveted trophy throughout the summer at the Centenary Ground, Britannic Park, with full coverage weekly in The Birmingham Post – Ross Reyburn must be congratulated for his superb work in making this community dimension to the club so successful, along with the ever hardworking Alan Thomas.

Communication
The website has undergone a major upgrade. Martin Sutton has led this. You will now be able to get match reports and other news, up to date, wherever you are in the world. 1st XI league games will be uploaded with full scorecards, and we ask all captains of all XIs to submit reports for all fixtures. The news section will carry events and other information – make it your homepage and keep up to date.

Email – most communication will be by email and the web – it is absolutely critical, to this end, that you complete the entire attached information sheet, and return it, along with your subscription, to our secretary, Kirsten Tompkins. Please do this, having finished reading this letter, and return it – please do not create work for the club by waiting to do this – you are thanked in advance for doing this.

Subscriptions
As you will all be aware the club costs a great deal to run, and has few income streams – we exist most importantly on bar profit (which we request you always fully support the bar when you are at the club), donations, sponsorship, ground rental and subscriptions – please pay your sub by return with the slip on this letter. We have readjusted, by popular demand, the vice-president (non-playing member) fee back from a chosen donation to a fixed £25 – all fees are listed in the fixture card enclosed. Subscriptions are not donations – they are a payment to have the right to enjoy the club, the facilities, the friendships and the cricket. If you wish to enjoy the club then please do not wait to be chased for your sub.

Accounts
These are available by request in writing from the secretary.

We look forward to a fabulous summer at the graveyard and the centenary ground – we are an amazing club, which is only a sum it’s members. We look forward to success on the field and off it, and to enjoyment for all who cross the threshold of either ground, either member or visitor. Moseley is a great place to be, and Moseley Ashfield is very much part of that for those lucky enough to be involved – enjoy the club, introduce your friends to us as guests, and as members if they like it. If you can do a little bit to help with events, sponsorship or the running of the club then please let us know.