Can I take this opportunity to wish you a belated Happy New Year and to bring you up to date with what has been happening at Thongsbridge Cricket club over the last few months. I am delighted to say that we have secured the services of Australian, Haydn Slodecki and New Zealander, Jack Cassidy as well as two very talented local young cricketers, Rory France and Ben Balmforth for this coming season. I believe that there are exciting times ahead at the club in what will be our second season back in the Premier League.

We have already looked at upgrading our practice facilities, adding to the quality of our Senior and Junior squads, looking at some new training and playing kit and are undertaking a Clubhouse Development Project all of which will help us to achieve our mission to be one of the best clubs in the league who will be challenging for league titles and cups at both a Senior and Junior level.

As you will know The Cricket Club has asked me to take on a new role of overseeing the development of cricket at Thongsbridge with a particular emphasis on Senior Cricket and managing the 1st XI. I am delighted that Ben Raven-Hill will captain the 1st XI and Richard Wagstaff the 2nd XI with Paul Metcalfe as 2nd XI Vice Captain.

We start winter nets on Thursday 8th February for 7 weeks and will hopefully be able to go outside from Tuesday 3rd April. Further details of these nets to follow in the next "A View from the Bridge" at the beginning of February. We are hoping to arrange a practice match on Sunday 8th April at home against a similar level of opposition, with a full senior squad session on Sunday 15th April in addition to our practice sessions on Tuesday 10th and Tuesday 17th April before the season starts on Saturday 21st April, 12 weeks time!

As I said to many of you at the end of the season personal fitness is your own responsibility. We will be playing high quality cricket against talented oppositions and everyone needs to give themselves their own "extra edge" in what I am sure will be a very competitive senior squad to secure places in the 1st and 2nd XI's.

Tony Robery