Merstham Cricket Club continues to be guided by the England and Wales Cricket Board regarding health and safety and the coronavirus.
We have now been told by the ECB that all forms of cricket activity - from indoor training to matches and social gatherings - must be suspended. Therefore there will be no further sessions at St Bede's (adults and junior boys) or the Royal Alexandra and Albert School (girls). The indoor cricket leagues have also now closed.
Furthermore, the NatWest Cricket Force weekend, when we prepare both our grounds for the season, is also postponed. We will of course need to hold such an event to prepare for the season in due course. In the meantime, please do not use the club's facilities.
As Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to dominate the headlines, at Merstham Cricket Club we want to share with you the latest set of guidelines that the ECB, via Sport England, has advised us to follow.
We are sure that many of your work places, too, will have adopted and shared the Government's advice.
This is a situation that is moving quickly, and we advise you to read carefully the advice from Sport England, which can be found here.
The latest Government advice is if you have a temperature or a new and continuous cough, stay at home for seven days, regardless of whether you have travelled to infected countries or not and no matter how mild the symptoms.
Updated Government advice, including on hand washing, can be found here and we would ask you to continue to monitor official advice.
In relation to our own activities, it is our intention that indoor winter nets continue as scheduled, but we would ask that you take the sensible precaution of staying away if you are feeling unwell, particularly with the symptoms as explained above.
We hope to only have to cancel these indoor sessions if advised to do so by the venue or other authorities. However, if you do develop the symptoms and have attended a session, we request that you let us know so that we can assess the risks involved in continuing with such sessions.
At present, we are also due to hold our NatWest Cricket Force weekend to prepare the club for the season on the weekend April 4 and 5. We will be confirming details nearer the time and this will be subject to advice taken.
We will continue to update you about these activities with more information as the situation develops and if the situation changes.
We wish you all the best at this difficult time.
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With a question mark hanging over this year's cricket season, Merstham had to take every opportunity they were offered and for the U15s, who got off to a flying start with victory in their Friendly Indoor Cricket competition on Sunday March 8.
Merstham's opposition in the final was South Nutfield CC U16s. Charlotte Gouldsborough, who captains the ladies' Maverchics at South Nutfield CC put the whole tournament together. It was played at Hawthorns School in Bletchingley. Dave Hooper from Ardingly College who controlled and umpired all of the matches, added much to the boys' fun for the 12 qualifying matches over the course of 14 weeks.
Registration for the 2020 season is now open. We require ALL members to register every year to ensure we have up-to-date details in our records and for insurance purposes.
Please note, at the AGM on the 19th January, an increase in membership fees was agreed, you can view the new fee structure on this page.
Also note, for adults and students, the 'late playment penalty' now comes into effect after 3rd May (rather than 1st June as in previous years). This is in a effort to encourage members to pay early.
If you wish to pay the all-inclusive membership fee (including match fees), you should also ensure this is fully paid (or a direct debit setup) before 3rd May.
You can registister here: https://www.mersthamcc.co.uk/register
If you experience any issues, please contact the Treasurer.
Our winter nets at St Bede's School, Redhill, will run for 10 weeks, from Saturday and Sunday February 1 and 2 - and it will soon be time to be thinking about Cricket Force and preparing our grounds for the season.
To all members
In accordance with the constitution, notice is given to all members that The Annual General Meeting of Merstham Cricket Club will be held on Sunday 19th January 2020 at The Pavilion, Quality Street, Merstham at 7pm.
Members must advise the Secretary (ctpearce@ntlworld.com) of any other business to be moved at the meeting at least 14 days before the meeting.
Chairman Richard Feist holds aloft the Club of the Year Trophy as club members celebrate
Outdoor nets should only be used in summer - these have now closed for the winter
Members are kindly requested to note that, after the end of the season, the outdoor cricket nets at Merstham Cricket Club are not to be used for training over the winter.
After a "sad day" in which Merstham's first team were relegated from the Surrey Championship, first team skipper Laurie Nicholson handed his player of the season award to two people - one bowler and one batsman.
Asim Jaffrey, who took 37 wickets in the Division Five season and Ed Dawson, who scored 474 runs, shared the award.
Merstham were relegated after losing, with three balls left, at champions Old Emmanuel, while relegation rivals SinjunGrammarians, to whom the Magics lost the week before and who started the day just above them, won at Egham.
Merstham's bid to stay in the Surrey Championship took a turn for a worse despite a captain's innings 66 from Laurie Nicholson, as relegation rivals SinjunGrammarians took a vital victory.
The visitors to Quality Street leapfrogged their hosts, who were left second bottom of the division after an 85-run defeat, which means they have to beat Division Five winners Old Emmanuel on Saturday to have any chance of staying up.
Sinjuns chose to bat and lost two early wickets - Asim Jaffrey
taking his 2-41 in this spell - before putting on 37 for the third
wicket and, crucially, 82 for the eighth with Robin Mehta (31) and
Ali Almal (38) top scoring.
James Lowe, third team skipper, facing Old Emanuel at the Ring
Amid perhaps one of the most bonkers Ashes Test matches, Merstham Cricket Club's first team had their own heroic performance in their battle against their own dreaded scenario - relegation.
Opening batsman Ed Dawson, like Ben Stokes for England, put in a back-to-the-wall innings of 70 as Merstham's first team dug out another vital victory in their bid to stay in the Surrey Championship.
Victory at Egham lifted them one place out of the Division Five relegation zone after a magical opening innings.
Having elected to bat, Merstham were in trouble at not only 28-4 and 60-6, but Dawson helped Merstham recover twice to post 153, supported by Will Preston (13) Lithon Tarofder (11) and Asim Jaffery (18).
Wicketkeeper-batsman Dawson was the eighth wicket to fall, having taken his season's tally to 465, his best return in a season since the 573 he accumulated in 2011.
In reply, Tarofder atoned for arriving an hour late because of trouble on the M25 by demolishing Egham's top order to 28-5 by taking 4-19 in eight overs to take his season's tally to 30 and his Merstham total to 220.
The Magics, Merstham's disability side, took part in the Essex League tournament at the county ground in Chelmsford, playing matches against sides from Harold Wood and Chelmsford & Basildon.
They set to the task with huge enthusiasm and took the honours in both their games, winning the first eight-over pairs match by seven runs and the second by a massive 58 runs.
It was a real team performance with everyone playing at their best, including the two press-ganged players brought in on the day to make up numbers - thanks, Roseanne and Jess.
Merstham's first team took a vital win to keep alive their chances of staying in the Surrey Championship, by defeating the only team below them - Weybridge Vandals.
On another wet Saturday, winning the toss and inserting the visitors on the Quality Street track was vital.
The toss won, the decision was quickly rewarded when Lithon Tarofder had Steve Hennessey caught behind with only a run scored.
The Cricket Playing Survey is ECB's number one opportunity to listen to the views of players.
Our club's bespoke link to the survey can be found here.
The survey allows players to share with the ECB what they think so that we gain valuable feedback to ensure the voices of players and volunteers continue to be heard and the game of cricket keeps evolving.
We have tickets available for the following two matches:
Sunday 25th August:- Surrey Stars vs Western Storm at Guildford CC (2:30pm start) Tuesday 27th August:- Surrey 1st XI T20 vs Somerset at The Oval (6:30pm start)Tickets are free to all members (including juniors and parents) and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
To claim tickets, please e-mail the club treasurer Chris Clayson.
Zeeshan Murtaza bowling in the third team against Banstead
Defeat at Kempton, who are pushing for promotion, leaves second-bottom Merstham's first team perilously positioned in the Surrey Championship Division Five.
They are 13 points from safety behind SinjunGrammarians, putting huge significance on their home game with Weybridge Vandals this weekend.
On soggy Saturday, the Magics lost the toss and were inevitably asked to bat. Matters started badly when George Neal (1) was bowled, and the hosts were 18-3 with Will Preston (13) and Lithon Tarofder (1) back in the clubhouse in a rain-affected 80 over game.
Merstham slipped to a defeat at Horsley & Send, which leaves them precariously balanced in the Surrey Championship Division Five.
The visitors slipped into the relegation zone, having been leapfrogged by their hosts who overhauled their target of 98 in 23 overs.
Winning the toss, stand-in captain Ben Baker chose to bat at Twinn's Field, where Sean Hunt (2-30 off 14) took the opening wicket with 21 runs scored.
Through our affiliation with Surrey County Cricket Club, we have 50 tickets for the Surrey vs Somerset T20 match on Tuesday 27th August. Play starts at 6:30pm at The Oval.
The tickets are free and will be allocated, on a first come, first served, basis to any member who has registered and paid their membership subs, and are limited to 2 per member.
Tickets will be e-mailed to you as PDFs, so will need to be able to print them yourself (or display on your phone).
If you would like to take advantage of this offer please e-mail club treasurer Chris Clayson.
Merstham Cricket Club has been presented with a certificate to show that it received a grant from the ECB for the Cricket World Cup Fund.
For general information please contact our Information Manager
If you are interested in joining to play adult cricket then please contact our Club Captain
For enquiries relating to Colts (junior) cricket please contact our Junior Co-ordinator
EasyFundrasing offer you a way to raise much needed funds for Merstham Cricket Club as you shop online.
Merstham Cricket Club is now available as a cause on JustGiving, if you are taking part in an event and wish to raise money for the club please use JustGiving to host your fundraising page.
Alternatively, to simply donate money to the club, please do so via JustGiving by clicking here (don't forget to tick the gift-aid button)!
Merstham Cricket Club is proud to be ECB Clubmark Accredited
Merstham Cricket Club now operates an online membership registration form, ALL members (playing members and social) should register annually.
There are a number of easy payment options including Direct Debit, PayPal, Cash/Cheque and Bank Transfer.
Please click here to complete your registration form for the 2020 season.
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