Season 2020 Round-up
The cricket season which did not go according to plan! Back in early March 2020 our plans for the season ahead were well underway with the word ‘new’ preceding almost everything. New sponsor (well, two actually), new kit supplier, new website and new 1st XI captain. Everything was shiny new and ready to go, and then a very nasty little fellow started his world tour. Lockdown 1 came into force in late March and we all know the rest. Covid 19 affected everyone and everything and unfortunately continues to do so. As I write in January 2021 we are in another full lockdown. April, May and June were spent watching the sun shine and dreaming of glorious off drives, spectacular catches, the magic 100 and any number of five-fors.
By the beginning of April we had signed up two new partners, namely Gen!us Brewing, who had agreed to sponsor the Senior Club (Gen!us Grange CC) and Close Brothers Asset Management who were supporting our Junior Stags. Their signage was up on the ground by the middle of July, just in time for the Neighbourgoodmarket which ran for seven weeks and attracted more than 30,000 visitors. A sponsor’s dream! New sponsors meant new branded kit was required and we took the decision to move to Gray-Nicolls. I think it looks very good. Visit our webshop using the link above. We had also commissioned a new bespoke website and this was unveiled in late July. It is designed to be informative. Neil Leitch, our club historian, is gradually adding our history and interesting statistics – the sort of thing we talk about in the bar after a game!
With respect to our Junior Stags we were unable to do anything until mid-July, by which time all junior League and Cup competitions had to be binned. Our annual tour for the U11’s to the Shrewsbury School Cricket Festival could not go ahead and we were not able to have any visiting sides up from the South to play. There was a danger that we would lose a generation of young cricketers, which we certainly wished to avoid. Disaster! Come July there was a lot of pent-up energy to be burned off, and saving the parents’ sanity was also important. We were well prepared, thanks to some good planning by our Director of Cricket (John Blain), the Coaches and the Cricket Committee. The acknowledgements shown and thanks from the parents has made it all worthwhile.
Again, due to Covid restrictions there was no Cricket Scotland or ESCA Leagues, Scottish Cup or Masterton Trophy. However, the senior teams managed to pack in a huge amount of cricket from early August to late September by joining the especially created Edinburgh Super League. By playing a shorter format, arriving to play changed, no long tea breaks between innings, early starts (10.00 am for some games!), we were able to have two sides playing at the Grange on the same day. I particularly appreciated not having to arrange over thirty teas in a normal season!
About five years ago we recognised that we needed to get more of our juniors moving through to the senior teams as early as possible. This season I counted about twenty-five senior cricketers aged under twenty-four. Five-year plans do work!
In the end, it turned out to be a very satisfying and rewarding cricket season with everyone seeming to appreciate the effort put in. There was a lot learned from the problems we had to overcome and if we can return to a normal season this year, the dividends will be huge. When you have been unable play or watch a sport you enjoy for a period, then you really appreciate being able to do so again.
Finally, my thanks to everyone, who by their efforts made play possible; scorers, umpires, coaches, ground staff (Tom and Kevin), the committees (Junior, Senior and General), team captains, Robin Pollok, Chris Murphy, John Blain, Justin Lyons (Club Manager) and our bar staff (hope to see more of them this season!). I think we are now all the more aware of what the Grange Club has to offer, especially in difficult times. I know I am.
Rawdon Hesketh
Hon President
“April, May and June were spent watching the sun shine and dreaming of glorious off drives, spectacular catches, the magic 100 and any number of five-fors.”
“By the beginning of April we had signed up two new partners, namely Gen!us Brewing, who had agreed to sponsor the Senior Club (Gen!us Grange CC) and Close Brothers Asset Management who were supporting our Junior Stags.”
“There was a danger that we would lose a generation of young cricketers, which we certainly wished to avoid. Disaster! Come July there was a lot of pent-up energy to be burned off, and saving the parents’ sanity was also important.”
“I particularly appreciated not having to arrange over thirty teas in a normal season! ”
“The acknowledgements shown and thanks from the parents has made it all worthwhile.”
“This season I counted about twenty-five senior cricketers aged under twenty-four. Five-year plans do work! ”
“In the end, it turned out to be a very satisfying and rewarding cricket season with everyone seeming to appreciate the effort put in.”
“I think we are now all the more aware of what the Grange Club has to offer, especially in difficult times. I know I am.”
