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AGM 2025

Minutes of the 2025 AGM

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The 76th AGM of the Durham Colleges Staff Cricket Club took place in Grey College SCR at 7pm on Tuesday January 28th 2025

Present: Patrick Card (PC), Ashish Chauhan (AC), Tony Cleaver (TC) – Chair, Aidan Duffy (AD), Vinay Kopnar (VK), Joanne Fulton (JF), Theo McCarthy (TM), Nigel Metcalfe (NM), Guy Paxman (GP), Eckart Wrede (EW).
Apologies for absence:  Ian Boothroyd, Jill Cartledge, Kris Cartledge, Chris Cowie, Amit Dua, Phil Nathan, Benedict Smith, Phill Hancock, Raj Malik, Hilal Misgar, Jolyon Mitchell, Liam Randall, Rich Root, Peter Swift, Amitabh Trehan.

  1. Minutes of 2024 meeting: Accepted without issue.
  2. Matters Arising: Situation with MC2 – It was brought to attention of the members that MC2 will be unavailable henceforth. Match reports – TC sought volunteers for writing match reports in his absence. TM volunteered. Missing scorebooks – NM and GP noted that 1 scorebook from 2019 has been found. There’s still 1 missing and asked to let them know if anyone finds it. Also, it was noted that brass is better than normal staples to preserve old scorebooks.
  3. Chairman’s Report: Last year marked our anniversary year, which was a great success. We welcomed many new players, although we also saw some departures, including Rory and Sid. The season began with two captains, and despite a wet start, we managed to field two teams and even played an intra-staff match, which was a positive outcome. One of the highlights of the year was the 75th Anniversary Game against DCCC, a truly memorable occasion. Additionally, the 75th Annual Dinner, attended by 33 guests, brought together many former players, and the venue [the Royal County Hotel] proved to be a great choice—one that we may consider using again in the future. It was also encouraging to see strong participation at nets throughout the season.
    Tony Cleaver 
  4. Captain’s Report: In 2024, the club entered a new dawn of sensible work/life/cricket balance by electing two captains for the new season, partly influenced by the concerning premature ageing of the previous captain. Despite this shared workload we now have a much fuller appreciation of the work that goes on in the background to keep the club running smoothly. So, many thanks to our secretary Vinay, treasurer Chris, webmaster Nigel, Eckart our kit-bearer and of course to Tony, our chairman.
    The club saw excellent growth in playing membership in 2024, with 40 players making an appearance over the course of the season, with 10 debutants. The abundance of available players was healthy enough to justify the club originally planning to enter two teams in the college league. This plan, however, fell victim to the poor early season weather and the need for the competition schedule to be condensed. There remains the possibility of the club entering two teams for the 2025 college league season.
    The club’s growth was impressive enough to facilitate a staff vs staff game, two full teams of staff players – with some special guest appearances from former players. This match was part of the club’s 75th Anniversary celebrations, with the main event being a 40 over match at the Racecourse ground vs a Durham City CC XI. The entire day was a wonderful celebration of the history of the club, the many contributions to the success of the day typified the ethos of the club.
    The outstanding level of participation shown throughout the season is testament to the welcoming atmosphere of the club and the efforts of various members, particularly former captain Chris Cowie, in cultivating the inclusive and friendly environment that we enjoy presently. The club played 28 matches in 2024, winning 13 and losing 13, plus the staff vs staff match (both a win and a loss) and one abandonment (away at York University) due to rain.
    The club conducted itself excellently as always throughout the season, establishing new connections with clubs all over the northeast and beyond.
    The club performed admirably in the college league, winning two and losing two, the second loss being a tightly contested match vs St Mary’s which sadly ruled out any chance of automatic promotion.
    Some notable performance highlights were:
    • The club achieved its highest ever batting total of 239/2 from 40 overs away to Whitley Bay CC.
    • Vinay Kopnar hit the 7th highest score for the club, 93* against the Victory Blasters CC.
    • Max and Phill Hancock each claimed 4-wicket hauls vs. Kimblesworth CC and Sunderland NAS, respectively. A big thanks are also given to Phill and Max for hosting the excellent summer BBQ.
    The 75th anniversary dinner at the Royal County was an excellent occasion (superbly organised by Tony Cleaver and with an excellent account of the club’s history provided by Nigel Metcalfe). The following awards were presented: Player of the season went to Vinay Kopnar, top run-scorer to Guy Paxman, top wicket-taker to Theo McCarthy, spirit of cricket to Raj Malik, fielder of the season to Sid Manavalahan, and champagne moment to Chris Cowie.
    As for the co-captains’ assessment of each other’s performance, we are satisfied that our respective counterpart was successful in enacting two separate strategies: Guy’s role being to win games and Patrick’s role being a slightly trickier task of losing exciting matches, as part of the club’s drive to secure new regular opposition.
    Patrick Card and Guy Paxman

    GP added a couple of quick thanks for the social events (Phil and Max), organisation of the annual dinner, Nigel for record keeping.
  5. Secretary’s report: The last season did not start off well due to challenges in organizing fixtures. The main challenge was MC’s limited availability and late intimation. Due to the limited availability, we were unable to host several teams, including Hunwick, York University, and E=MCC. Late intimation caused delays in finalizing home fixtures caused difficulties in scheduling. Unfortunately, in the coming seasons, we may need to operate under the assumption that this situation will not improve and might need to explore alternative ways to host visiting teams, especially for longer-format games. Despite these setbacks, we managed to play against 25 different teams across 44–45 fixtures on five home grounds: MC, Racecourse, DS, Littletown, Kimblesworth, and South Hetton. This was only possible due to the support of my four co-secretaries, to whom I am deeply grateful. Of the 25 teams, 7–8 fixtures were arranged thanks to PC. The Racecourse fixture was secured through the efforts of Chris and RMG. GP stepped in to cover for me whenever I was unavailable. Looking ahead, there were several promising ideas such as an inter-university staff cricket tournament and a cricket tour to the South or Alicante that couldn’t be realized last season but could be pursued in the coming season.
    Vinay Kopnar
  6. Treasurer’s report: I am pleased to begin this year’s financial report as I began the last: by announcing that the club’s accounts are still in a good place. We began two seasons ago season with a balance of £1171. We began this year with a balance of £1676. We ended with a balance of £1001. The £1676 can be explained by the fact that we were just about to pay out a large bill. Equally, the £1001 comes immediately after paying a bill for £200. So the general trend is that we’re hovering around £1000, or slightly north of that.
    The question is where we will find ourselves next year… For the past year we’ve been charging £3 for nets, £1 for students and the unwaged, and £6 per home game, £3 for students and the unwaged. I suggest that we up this, just a bit. The reasons for this are:
    • Despite our general financial solidity, we did still make a loss of a couple of hundred pounds this year;
    • Were it not for a few donations over the course of the year it would have been more;
    • Were it not for my decision to use my discretionary powers to charge a small fee for away games, it would have been even more again;
    • Especially at nets, we make a loss of on average £8-10. This is the case even though for the past year net attendance has been very good;We don’t know yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me if MC’s prices went up (last year they were £80 for 20 overs, £100 for more;
    • Our bank, Lloyds, is going to start charging small transaction fees (and before anyone asks, yes I have looked at alternative banks, and no there are not better options that I’m aware of).
    I therefore propose we move the nets fees up to £4 and £2 at a minimum. That should bring in approximately an extra £10 per net session. We should be able to keep match fees unaltered. I hope not to have to charge for away games at the season’s end, but it is important to retain this power in the eventuality. Considering we have recently lived through one of the most dramatic periods of inflation in modern history, I think hiking the net fees to £4 and £2 respectively is not too bad a cost to transfer to members. Over the course of the next year – assuming that I remain DCSCC Treasurer, more on which below – I will work on rectifying the costs of raw materials, oil production levels, and global monetary policy; these being the primary drivers of inflation.
    Finally, I should add that the accounts – including the details of all transactions – are all fully accessible online through Lloyds. So, aside from the small matter of them introducing a charge, that’s all working well. Nigel has access to this, and so acts as a check on my power. Or an accomplice in my misdemeanours. Second finally, I won’t be in Durham this year (world-leading research won’t write itself) so I’m grateful to you all for maintaining spreadsheets of attendees at nets and games over the course of the year. Though I don’t know for sure, my suspicion is that this responsibility will fall on the Captains. If someone could help them out, please do. They spend a lot of time sorting stuff out to make games possible and don’t need more on their plate. Pat’s already close to the edge.
    Chris Cowie

    The 2024 accounts may be viewed here.

    Concerns regarding recent losses incurred at nets and outdoor matches raised in the report were discussed – NM noted that increasing net and match fees is a concern however, also noted that the club should try and breakeven on nets to keep club account healthy. EW queried the turnover during the last year. TM noted that the sources of losses from the previous season could be analysed. NM proposed having an annual membership fee. GP noted all the proposals and will be discussing them with Chris.

  7. Election of Officers:
    President: TC to ask Peter Collins if he’d be available to serve as Honorary President. The President position to remain unfilled (NM suggested Peter Swift to be consulted for suitable members of the University hierarchy).
    Chairman TC re-elected as Chairman.
    Secretary: VK resigned. TM elected to serve for 2025.
    Captain: GP/PC happy to continue in their joint role as captain.
    Vice-Captain(s): Ian Boothroyd to be the only vice-captain. With a dual captain’s role it was decided that only one vice-captain was required.
    Treasurer: Chris Cowie happy to continue (remotely) as treasurer.
    Kit Man: EW retained as kit man.
    Auditor: NM retained as auditor.
    Webmaster: NM happy to remain in this role for the present.
    Scorer: The position of scorer was left unfilled. Scoring would be done on an ad-hoc basis.
  8. Constitution: NM proposed various amendments to the current club constitution. In particular:
    • The roles of president and vice-president to be removed from the list of Officers of the club (accepted).
    • A new clause to be inserted allowing the Officers of the club to appoint a president or vice-president as required (accepted, but replacing vice-president with honorary president – the post of vice-president to be removed).
    • Membership to be widened to be open to all current and retired employees of Durham University, all postgraduate students at Durham University, and ex-employees or alumni of Durham University (accepted).
    • The fee clause to be amended to reflect the fact that we currently no longer charge an annual membership (accepted).
    • Explicitly state that at the AGM the positions of Kit-bearer, Auditor, Webmaster, and Scorer for the forthcoming season will be elected and that reports shall be received from the Chairman, Captain, Secretary and Treasurer, and that the Treasurer shall present the financial accounts (accepted, with the removal of the formal requirement for a Scorer and inserting the words ‘and any other roles deemed necessary by the Officers of the Club’).
  9. Kit: EW noted that the club needs a bat, pads, match balls and score book. PC might have spare wicket-keeping pads which he is happy to share with the club. Regarding match balls, GP, and TC recommended Gray Nicholls rather than Readers. Some of the items such as old bats and thigh pads which remain unused could probably be discarded to clear up storage space. It was discussed that roughly 150 GBP would be needed for a new bat.
  10. AOB: Racecourse (TC): TC suggested we should let MC know about the poor quality of the Racecourse pitch that was used for the 75th Anniversary game. The club would be keen to have more fixtures at Racecourse if the quality of the pitch offered would be adequate.
    Social Media (JF): JF suggested reviving Instagram, as it is often the first point of contact for new members. PC agreed that social media could help boost participation. JF volunteered to manage Instagram.
    Euan Squires Trophy (GP): GP noted that Grey SCR is struggling with numbers, threatening the fixture. PC suggested rebranding the match as a Staff vs Staff game, allowing keen players from Grey SCR to participate. AD and TC seconded the motion. GP mentioned interest from the Maths department in playing cricket.
    Indoor Cricket Match (AD): PC confirmed this is planned, but it may not be the Boothroyd Cup. Tentative date: End of March or first week of April.
    Participation in the Indoor Cricket College League (AD): Too late for this season – it was agreed to discuss it at the end of the season.
    Beamish Tournament (TC): The officials could get in touch with Beamish.
    Potential Club Tour (TC): There was an interest in the tour. TM will be looking into the possibility. VK suggested that it could be arranged on the weekend following the Friday fixture with Sheffield.
    Hosting long games (VK): NM suggested getting in touch early with MC to look into booking some dates, and also to consider persuading MC to let us use the week immediately after the students have left.

Nigel Metcalfe, February 2025