This may not have been quite the second year I signed up to when I became the 23rd President of this wonderful club. I should have kept a diary. So no sitting up on the top deck at Lord’s watching Tim Murtagh’s artistry. No afternoon pint in the Bowlers’ Bar, or pre-match coffee and pastry in the Middlesex Members’ Room. Plenty of time in the garden though ( it’s looking good thanks for asking) ,and I really enjoyed the phone conversations with our older members ( of which I am actually one, and still waiting for my call by the way).
And there have been numerous Zoom calls: Board meetings, staff meetings and others besides, all of which goes with the territory. Yet it has given me a proper appreciation of just how much effort goes into the functioning of Middlesex CCC. Right through the whole Club, there has been a superb effort, from the administration , and Board, right through to all the players and support staff. Just the huge logistical challenge of staging even a limited amount of Covid-compliant cricket at Radlett when Lord’s was shut was met and dealt with by Lorraine (my Middlesex player of the year) and her team (the President was almost ejected from the ground for inadvertently fielding a ball and throwing it back). Meanwhile the Chairman and Chief Executive have spent countless hours above and beyond the call, communicating with ECB and other counties simply to ensure minimal damage to the game, right down to grassroots.
I continue to be hugely impressed by the quality of people and breadth of knowledge and experience on the Board, who I now count as friends, and they have taken the opportunity to put in place a number of very important initiatives that will serve Middlesex well in the future.
I am desperately sorry that our members and supporters were not able to attend our matches, such were the stringent regulations in place, but I hope it is not being too optimistic that we will be able to rectify that back at HQ in 2021.Fingers crossed. But the support we have retained in difficult circumstances has further marked out Middlesex for the great club it is. Truly I thank you for that. It is our job now to justify the faith.
Have a good Christmas everyone, be sensible, stay safe and see you at Lord’s.
Selve (and Bowie)
