I would like to wish all our members the very best for the year ahead and thank you all for the contribution you made to the Club in 2024.
I hope by now that many of you are aware of the upcoming changes to the Club’s structure for 2025, which you can read about here. The modernisation of our organisation and decision-making processes are, in my opinion, long overdue and I hope that members will quickly see the benefits of these changes.
For those who are not up to speed, it is proposed that the Club will be structured along four distinct working areas from 2025: Administration, Cricket, Facilities, and Finance. As such, I felt that for this year’s report I would reflect back on how the Club has been performing in these areas over the last twelve months and look forward to the progress we hope to make this year.
Administration
As you may have noticed, the Wellington CC website has recently moved across to a new platform called Pitchero. This change will in time have a big impact on the way that we administer an increasingly large and complex organisation. It will be rolled out steadily, but the website, and its accompanying app, has the capability to manage fixtures and availability; collect memberships and match fees; sell tickets and merchandise; and handle our internal communications. We have made this move in response to the feedback of our members, but primarily for those who currently help run the Club. Too much of their time is spent communicating fixtures and chasing match fees across various platforms. This new system will help to streamline this. We ask our members to buy into the new system as it becomes the platform for the whole club this summer.
The new Administration Team, which I will lead, will also be reviewing many of the other areas of the organisation before we get underway in April. There will be an emphasis on streamlining and modernising the Club to reduce the amount of volunteer hours required behind the scenes in areas like communications and social media whilst increasing our impact and our engagement with members and the wider community. We also need to ensure that the Club’s structures support and protect an increasingly diverse and changing membership base, so our Safeguarding Officers and EDI Officer will have a big role to play here. I believe the Club has made big strides in both areas in recent times, but there is much more to be done.
We appeal to any members or volunteers interested in joining the new Administration Team to get in touch if they would like to be involved in this “back-end” modernisation of the club. Here, as elsewhere, we are crying out for fresh ideas, so please don’t be shy if you think you have something to offer.
Cricket
The Club’s 1st XI returned to the BDPCL in 2024 after their play-off success in the previous season, but it was a difficult year on the field. Our build-up was far from ideal with the Club’s overseas professional dropping out in early April due to injury. His replacement, Dhruv Parashar, was just finding his feet when an international training camp forced him to leave in July. Coupled with some poor fortune in terms of the timing of rain interruptions, and a season-ending injury to Dan Lloyd, it did feel like things were conspiring against us. However, our young, mainly homegrown team, under the stewardship of Daniel Vaughan, continued to compete at the higher standard and record some memorable results, albeit not enough to stave off relegation.
In any honest assessment, the experience of last year did expose a gulf in terms of resources and professionalism at 1st XI level between Wellington and its opposition. If the Club is to return to the regional competition - and compete - it must up its game in several key respects. Pleasingly, work has already begun to address this. The support of our generous sponsors Wilson Heat Pumps has allowed us to employ the coaching services of Cookie Patel, a Level 4 coach who has been working with our 1st XI squad this winter and will lead our Academy in the new year. It is clear to the Committee that without the luxury of a large playing budget we must develop the talent we already have at youth level.
It should be added that there are wider challenges for the Club outside of the top team. Matt Stinson completed his tenure as 2nd XI captain with a solid mid-table season in Division One, but there were relegations for both the 3rd and 4th XI. In general, the Club has enjoyed a period of relative strength across the last five years but this season a lack of experience in some teams did seem to have an impact. Addressing that issue seems to be key to reversing our fortunes there.
Meanwhile, our Sunday 5th XI enjoyed a good season with several experienced players performing well. The challenge for the club is finding the right balance here and ensuring that the next generation come through and benefit from this experience. Paul Willis did a terrific job with the Sunday friendly programme, which is as strong as it has ever been; if this demand continues to grow, we may be able to consider reinstating our 6th XI in future season.
The Ladies XI had another great season, finishing second in their league; however, there are some challenges to be overcome if the Club is to make its desired leap to the next level and enter an elite hardball ladies team in the West Midlands competition. Over the last few seasons our female playing base has continued to expand and it is time for the Club to support and facilitate their development by investing in the facility and off-field improvements this will require.
Junior cricket continues to be a fertile area for the Club. Last year saw us enter a record number of teams at junior level, including three at U13 level. Whilst this posed logistical challenges, the Club is committed to offering the maximum playing opportunity for our youngsters. Given the number of Wellington youngsters who have recently been selected for county and district squads, the Club can continue to take pride in its large and successful junior section. The challenges are ones of capacity and resources, especially coaching numbers. We can never have enough help in this regard so I encourage any players or parents interested in starting their coaching journey to get in touch. It is one of the most rewarding things you can do.
The Committee’s nomination for the new Head of Cricket role is Warwick Vaughan who has been formulating plans for the new season over the last few weeks. Under his leadership, it is hoped that a re-energised and streamlined Cricket Committee will be able to lay the foundations for future success for our Senior, Ladies, and Junior teams.
Facilities
I think it is fair to say that as we move into 2025 the Club continues to set a high standard in terms of its on-field and off-field facilities; however, it is also evident that in some areas modernisation is required.
Improvements were made in 2024, particularly the installation of solar panels on the pavilion which will dramatically reduce our energy costs and impact on the environment; and in the jetting and clearing of several drains across the fields. We do unfortunately have a very old drainage system which will require constant attention (and investment) over coming years as we continue to experience wetter winters. In this respect, the help and support of SP Hire and Pryce Builders over the past year has been invaluable.
With regards to the playing facilities, it is fair to say that new groundsman Alex Brasenell was dealt a difficult hand after the wettest winter on record in 2023/24. Soggy conditions saw widespread disruption to the start of the season, but he and his dedicated team of ground volunteers battled through and the standard of pitches was high across the board. I don’t think our members should ever lose sight of how lucky we are to play our home matches at Orleton Park.
Looking forward, one area in particular that we wish to look at is the permanent construction of two additional changing rooms adjacent to the second field. This has become a priority to help the Club properly accommodate female cricketers, who regrettably do not have adequate facilities at the moment, especially when playing in mixed teams. It will also help us offer accessible facilities for cricketers with disabilities. The proposed development will also include a permanent outdoor bar facility, building on the success of our outdoor marquee bar last summer. There will of course be planning and financial challenges to overcome on this project, but once realised it will become the biggest facility development at the club in a generation and I hope members share my enthusiasm to see it come to life.
Elsewhere, our tight financial position means that in many areas we need to look to our members to drive efforts to maintain and improve our facilities. One thing the Committee would like to encourage is members who might not have the time or flexibility to commit to a formal role instead taking ownership of a certain part of the facility and organising its upkeep. Examples might include the patio area, the picket fencing, sight screens, scoreboards, or hanging baskets. If anyone is keen to take on one of these limited roles, they should speak to Steve Oliver who will be our acting Head of Facilities this year.
Finance
Our Treasurer, John Wardle, will be sharing our financial results at the AGM in a couple of weeks time and figures should be met with measured concern by our members. Whilst major events like The Big Blast Fireworks, and the new Wrekin Eatin’ Festival, both expertly led by Dan Squires, Ladies Day (Jo Woolley and Rachel Mullard Wilson), and VP Day (Steve Moules) saw welcome growth, the Club’s spend on facilities continues to grow. It often seems that the next unexpected invoice is never too far away. The Committee believes that we need to grow our revenue by another £20,000 in future seasons in order to move away from the current period of close stewardship and be in a position to invest in wider facility improvement.
In this respect, getting the foundations in place to expand our commercial activity is a huge priority; however, the Club has yet to find a candidate to become our new Head of Finance. Until this happens, the Management Committee will administer these matters, but it is accepted that we will not fully reach the commercial potential of the Club until we have a dedicated team concentrating on this.
Elsewhere, one of the big wins last year was a drive to grow our sponsorship base, helped by the launch of our new Hawk kit, which resulted in a 33% growth in sponsorship revenue year-on-year. Whilst the Club has the resources to manage its existing sponsorship portfolio, it does not at the moment have the volunteers to get out there and find new sponsors in the area. It is one of the Committee’s key priorities to find candidates interested in doing this role for us in 2025.
Likewise, we also saw the benefits that can be brought by successfully acquiring external funding when a £10,000 grant from Cricket Shropshire helped to underwrite a large part of our solar panel project. We know there are similar grants and funding opportunities out there, but we need to find someone in the background to explore these schemes and manage our applications. If you have the skills or temperament to do this, please get in touch.
Final Thoughts
I have written seven of these reports since I became Secretary, but this is the first one that has focussed more on the future of the Club than the past twelve months.
I think that reflects an acknowledgement by the Committee, and I think the membership at large, that the Club requires some significant change. I know that we have good people in posts who can deliver this, but we have not yet fully realised our new management structure. Several key roles require filling over the next twelve months and if we can achieve that, the future looks very bright.
I will end by extending my thanks, on behalf of the Committee, for the efforts of everyone in the Club who has helped us to deliver what we do over the last twelve months and our generous sponsors who are so crucial behind the scenes.
Thank you for your support and I hope to see you at the AGM on Monday 27th January 2025 when I will submit this report.