Elford Cricket Club Season Review 2000

Elford Cricket Club entered the millennium on a wave of expectation after the previous seasons victory in the Elford 6 a side tournament. Although the 1999 season had seen disappointing league positions for all three sides, the club had been encouraged by some outstanding individual league victories over higher opposition. The youth section, however, was the club's shining point as the youngsters were producing some very good results against bigger clubs. Some of these younger players were also starting to prove themselves in senior sides especially on Sundays.

The 2000 season saw the expectation turn to reality as the club achieved far more than it had even expected. The Saturday 1 st XI achieved promotion albeit, through teams dropping out from leagues above. However, the 1 st Team did finish 4 th , the highest position for the club in a long time, and only just missing out on automatic promotion slot by a few points. The 2 nd XI finished a disappointing 10 th in Division 3 but once again call take solace in that they produced some positive results against a few very good and experienced sides. The Sunday side had an amazing season as they lost the Championship by 1 point to a very strong Walton side. The climax of the season came on the last match as Walton needed to beat Elford to win the league, and for a while Elford's young side matched Walton. However it wasn't to be and Elford lost the League by 4 runs! This shouldn't take the gloss off a season that saw the side lose only 2 league games and produce some outstanding results against strong opposition.

The reintroduction of the Wednesday side also produced much to cheer. Elford found that it was the weather that was the biggest threat as 4 out of the 10 games were washed out. However Elford did manage to win every other game to take the Championship and win promotion to the highly competitive Division 1.

The club has also seen a massive expansion off the field. A club strip has now been introduced, a new tool shed has been erected as well as renovation to the clubhouse exterior. A desperately needed new scoreboard was kindly donated by Abacus Building Supplies, new grounds keeping equipment was purchased and with the efforts of club members the whole ground looks smart and well maintained. The club website was up and running by July and has proved to be very popular.

The 2001 Season offers even more if the club can continue to build on the steady successes and achievements of the last couple of years.

Danny Haines