Merstham Cricket Club is sorry to be informed of the death of David Loader, a much loved player and umpire. David passed away on 14th June after struggling with Parkinson's for seven years. David played for Merstham in 50 consecutive seasons from 1965 to 2014 and continued to umpire once he could no longer turn his arm over. David bowled leg breaks and took over 100 wickets in a season on several occasions for Merstham, having moved from Kent in 1965. He held the majority of committee positions during this time, and also coached juniors. He enjoyed the Merstham tours to Devon, managing one of the North Devon tours in the 1970s and had fond memories of those, and all his times at Merstham. David made many long-lasting and special friendships during his long time at the club.

Merstham is one of four clubs in Surrey which will host a dedicated Disability Cricket Day this summer, in association with the Surrey Cricket Foundation, the Berkeley Foundation and the Lord's Taverners.

Statement from Richard Feist, club chairman It is with great regret that I need to let you all know of the sad passing of Mark Wicks. Mark has been a great asset to the club over the past few years. He has pushed the girls and ladies section at the club, which has gone from strength to strength. For those who don't know Mark, he was always to be seen on a Friday night first of all helping with coaching the now under 13 team and also the girls. He had a great reputation with the kids in both teams who could look up to him, not only in his height but because of the way he helped them and the way he treated them. Secondly you would find Mark enjoying a well earnt drink (or five) in his corner of the patio. He would always be smiling, which with everything he has gone through is amazing. I would like to thank Mark for teaching me to always live life to the full and be grateful for everything and to never stop pushing for what you want and to work hard. Lastly I wish to thank him, from all of the juniors who he has helped and members he has made smile. I wish the family the best and will keep working to make sure Mark's dream of a strong ladies/girls side at Merstham thrives and keeps him smiling. Our thoughts are with Mark's family who we will still see at Merstham for hopefully years to come. Richard Feist Chairman, Merstham Cricket Club

Our season might be up and running, but we continue to think about those less fortunate in our community with another collection for the local foodbanks and Stripey Stork, whose wishlists are detailed on the poster.

This time it is on a Saturday morning, 9-11am on June 12th. The public are welcome. Just drive into Quality Street, follow the one-way system and a volunteer will open your boot and take your donations in a Covid-secure way.

A spectacular display from returning batsman Noman Javed saw Merstham rediscover winning ways in a rain-affected Saturday 1st XI Surrey County League Premier Division fixture at home to Godalming.

Dark clouds and a chilly day greeted the U9s at Quality Street at 8:30am last Saturday, but it was all worth it as they secured a victory over local rivals Salfords.

With memories of a victory against Salfords in a friendly game last summer, the team were eager to see if they could achieve a repeat.

Merstham U15s111-2 (12.4 overs) beat Salfords U15s 110-5 (15) Under 15 Tier 2 Cup An unbeaten 41 off 20 balls in an innings which included five huge sixes by James Pieters helped Merstham beat local rivals Salfords in the first round of the U15 Tier 2 Cup. Cup rules limited each team to 15 overs and a retirement score of 40 to create a playing experience to mimic existing short form cricket competitions and the new 100 in particular. With this in mind, Merstham put Salfords in to bat. A no ball off the first ball resulted in a free hit six and Salfords were off the mark. However some impressive bowling by Flynn McRobbie (2-17) and Max Yates (2-18) with catches by wicket keeper Josh Kenny and a great run out by Max limited the opposition to 110. It was the second wicket stand of 57 between James Pieters and Tanay Patel that put Merstham well on the way to their win. Tanay, eventually making 24, almost saw Merstham to the end of the innings, but it was Roman Cameron on his debut for the U15s, who hit the winning runs. Merstham now face Newdigate in the second round.

Our efforts to support the community via our Alternative Cricket Tea foodbank collections have been much appreciated over the winter - and they will continue now the season has started, with some slight alterations.

Ray Pescud's involvement with Merstham Cricket Club in the 1960s might have been short, but it was in a time of great change for the club and the area, predating the M25 and the neighbouring golf club. It was either side of the club's centenary in 1964 and coincided with the progression of two colts teams.

In 1962-63 I was in my fifth year at Reigate Grammar School - there now as a sportsman and not an academic! Peter Tharp had just left after being head boy, captain of rugby 1st XV and captain of cricket 1st XI. Merstham was basically in three areas. There was the original village on the A23, then down School Hill under the railway bridges was South Merstham based mainly on Nutfield Road, and further east was Merstham Newtown based mainly on Bletchingley Road.

A new Vice President was elected at the AGM of Merstham Cricket Club on Sunday evening.

Chris Lowe, who served the club for several decades in various roles - as a coach of juniors, club captain and fixtures secretary - was nominated by Dick Mantell in advance of the meeting. Meanwhile, in the club's first online AGM, Chairman Richard Feist announced that his father, Bernard (himself a former chairman), would be stepping down as estates and new projects manager at the end of the year. The chairman indicated that this would be a "massive loss" to the club and urged members to be thinking of how they could step up to replace the many aspects of work that Bernard had taken on during his time volunteering for the club. Among his workload has been to look after two grounds as groundsman, as well as redeveloping the clubhouses at both grounds plus managing the club's achievement of "clubmark" status, plus mastering successfully the processes of applying for many grants which have benefited the club over the years. The club is also seeking a sponsorship manager and league representative. Richard highlighted that although many things were thrown at the club last season for Covid restriction reasons, Merstham still managed to put on a substantial number of games both at Quality Street and the Ring - and in fact many more games than other clubs managed. Looking ahead to this season, match fees and annual subscriptions will remain the same, with the exception that the "pay for an entire season in one fee" annual subscription will be suspended. This is because no teas will be served during the season and therefore the match fee per game will be £5 not £10. Richard also thanked people who had turned out for Cricket Force to help prepare the club for the season, the day before the AGM. (Initially, until Covid restrictions are fully listed, the booking of nets for practice will again be done online, with the process likely to be available within a week. These will be open only to fully paid up members, so registration is key.) The adult captains remain the same list of people who took charge of teams last season, with the exception of George Corrie stepping up to captain the Saturday third XI instead of James Lowe, who became a father just a few weeks ago. The date of the next AGM was set for January 16th, 2022, with the fervent wish that this will be held in person at the Quality Street clubhouse, rather than online.