Portcullis Cricket Club

Portcullis just managed to come out on top last Saturday in a match which saw 484 runs scored in 80 overs.

The friendly match had been arranged at very short notice after our  original fixture at Dunecht had to be cancelled because of a waterlogged pitch.

You hit it there, so you can flippin' well fetch it...

Portcullis will be starting the season in the traditional way, by gathering at the plastic wicket on Duthie Park for a practice session at 6pm on Wednesday 1st April. Chetan and Sony are going to be organising the practice sessions this year and plan to make them rather more structured than they have been in the past, so we'll no longer be aiming rank long hops at bewildered batsmen and then trudging disconsolately after the ball as it bobbles down towards the fine leg boundary.

It's that time of year again where we all sit down talk about club issues and get drunk (well not the last thing).

This years AGM will be held in the bar at Mannofield Cricket ground on Friday 6th March at 6pm sharp. We shall be addressing various issues for the upcoming season so please turn up and voice your ideas. If you have any problems at all please contact me (if you need picked up or anything else), for all the new players that have recently joined us its a good opportunity to meet some of the guys before the start of the season.

We'll also be covering the "traditional start of season" topics, including;

* When will we practise (discuss for two weeks and then decide "Wednesday" again).

* Who has the kit?

* Why do we have so many left handed batting gloves?

Chetan Aggarwal was presented with the David Bowie MVP Shield at Portcullis's Christmas night earlier this week. Chetan's 255 runs, 23 wickets and 6 catches in 12 games was the best all round performance of the year, narrowly beating Rahul Narula into second place. Congratulations to both for a very solid performance - one that we hope they'll repeat next year as we fight to return to Grade 3.

Portcullis also said farewell to Bret Dodds, who will be returning to his native Australia after many years of loyal service. Doddsy's explosive batting, threatening bowling and solid fielding skills have made him an important part of the tea, and he will be sorely missed next season, both on and off the pitch.

Last week we had a no opponents and no pitch. This week we have opponents but no pitch. Huntly's new wicket will not be ready in time, so we have agreed yet again to postpone the game in the interests of making sure we keep our whites clean for another week.

Next week's postponement will be against Stonehaven.

2nd Mannofield are not able to raise a side for the opening game of the 2008 season so, in the interests of playing cricket, we have accepted a postponement instead. A date for the rearranged fixture has not yet been set.

Regular outdoor practice sessions will be starting again after the clocks change. They will be on Wednesday evenings on the plastic wicket in Duthie Park, starting at 6pm. Vice skipper Dave Cox is going to be running the sessions and is planning to make them rather more structured than they have been in the past. We don't have much light at this time of year, so please be prompt so we can get a good session in before it gets too dark.

Venue : Duthie Park

Time : 6.00pm prompt

Day : Every Wednesday, starting on 2nd April

The Mighty 'Cullis has a new skipper. Paul Brown bravely stepped into the breach at last night's pre-season meeting, with Dave Cox volunteering to be Vice Captain. Paul is an experienced cricketer and one of the longest serving members of the club.

Mike Horrocks and Bob Adie are continuing as Secretary and Treasurer, although they indicated that volunteers to fill both these posts will be needed next year. I'm going to continue to run the web site.

All Portcullis members are invited to a meeting to discuss plans for the coming season. The meeting will be at 6.00pm on Friday 14th March at Mannofield (in the upstair area on the far side of the bar).

• Club Finances
  
• 2008 Office bearers - Captain, Secretary, Treasurer and Web Site Admin
• Practice Sessions
• Provision of Teas
• Equipment
• AOB