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We have the sad but expected news that Russell Woolf died last week - he was at least at home and comfortable, and with friends and family. It is of course a tribute to modern medicine, and the NHS in particular, that Russ got six more years of good quality life after having a lung removed back in 2015 - he even managed one final Remnants game in that time. This was his 164th appearance for the club, spread over two decades since he made his debut in 1997. Of his batting the less said the better, but in his peak years in the noughties he was one of the most deadly bowlers on the Cambridge evening circuit (e.g., 25 wickets at just 13.28 in 2009), and he ended up with 152 wickets (at 19.55), putting him 8th on the all-time list. But these career numbers pale compared to that one evening in 2002 when he took four wickets in four balls, and if his spirit lives on then you can be sure that any other entities in the vicinity will be hearing about this in some detail. Russ was also a great servant of Remnants and Cambridge cricket more generally - everyone in town will have played with him or against him at some point. And when he was no longer able to play he became a regular scorer, supporter and commentator, an absolute key part of the Remnants set up. RIP Russell Woolf (22/9/1960 - 11/11/2021).
Remnants veteran Andy Owen has been awarded the Cambridgeshire Cricket Association (CCA) lifetime acheiver award for 2021. This is primarily for his efforts running Romsey Town CC pretty-much single-handed for four decades, as well as contributions to the CCA leagues more generally, but his contributions to Remnants have been significant as well, both on-field (7th most games, with 312; most fielding/keeping dismissals, 174) and as organiser, with his daughter Catherine, of the six-a-side tournaments which raised £1,000 for charity.
It turns out that Andy isn't the only Remnant to be so honoured by the CCA, as Phil Watson received the same award back in 2017. Again, his Remnants contributions weren't the main factor here - Phil has played for/against just about every club in Cambridge - but he captained Remnants for several seasons and is the 12th most capped player (with 226 games).
Andy's and Phil's award certificates are shown below:
As many of you already know, Remnants stalwart Russell Woolf has been dealing with some pretty serious health issues for some time now. Unfortunately he recently got test results back showing that the tumour on his lung has grown in size and, in his own words, "has a little companion". While this is obviously not good news Russ (and the amazing people at the NHS) are still fighting this every way they can.
The 2017 Remnants annual general meeting will be held at 6:00pm (for 6:30pm) on Tuesday, March 7, at the Fitzwilliam College sports ground bar. Please come along if you can.
We have net sessions booked at Fenner's at 7:00pm on Wednesday evenings from March 29 to April 19 (inclusive). The fee will be most likely be £3.00 once again (but won't be confirmed until after the AGM).
Former Remnants player Barry Dare died on Friday, July 15, at the age of 79. Geoff Hales pays tribute:
Those who played with him in the '80s and '90s will have been greatly saddened to hear of Barry Dare's recent death at the age of 79. He was a competitive and wily off-spinner, once taking 6 wickets for 4 runs against a Jesus College XI too young to have learned wisdom; and he was also a more than useful batsman. At a time of financial difficulty he was a generous (though anonymous) benefactor to the club.
Those of us have toured the Cotswolds with FAS will remember him as a generous and welcoming host, always keen to applaud good cricket. It has been a pleasure and privilege to know him.
Remnants stalwart Russell Woolf has been struggling with a serious illness over the last few weeks. He was admitted to Papworth Hospital with masses on one kidney and one lung; the lung has been removed and the kidney will be. The first operation went as planned and, at the time of writing, Russ is recovering well on the ward. Most importantly, all his other organs are unaffected so Russ's long-term prognosis is good. Updates will be posted here when available, but if you would like more information, or want to pass a message onto Russ, please call Andy Owen on 01223 510357.
Very sad news that Remnants stalwart - or, really, legend - Andy Brown died a few days ago. In his memory there is now a tribute page to which any current or ex-member can contribute. Andy's funeral will be private but there will be an open memorial service some time in March (date and place to be announced).
The 2014 Remnants annual general meeting will be held at 6:30pm (for 7:00pm) on Tuesday, March 25 at the Fitzwilliam College sports ground bar. Please come along if you can.
We have net sessions booked at the Leys School sports hall (entrance off Trumpington Road), at 7:20pm on Wednesday evenings from March 12 to April 23 (inclusive). The fee will be £3.00 (up from £2.00 last year, but the first raise in a decade).
This year's annual dinner will be held on the evening of Friday, November 22, at the Burleigh Arms on Newmarket Road. A club-wide e-mail will soon be going out with details of menus and how to sign up; but for the moment the main thing is to put this date down in your diary!
The club records have been updated, with lots of new statistics, mostly related to season records, as well as individual contributions.
After being hosted by Imperial College London for many years, the Remnants web-site finally has a home of its own, at http://www.remnantscc.net.
This year's annual dinner will be held on the evening of Friday, November 16, at the St John's Chophouse on Northampton Street. A club-wide e-mail will soon be going out with details of menus and how to sign up; but for the moment the main thing is to put this date down in your diary!
An e-mail from one-time Remnants regular Anton Garrett prompted an archival search for the legendary Remnants game in which Sacha Baron-Cohen (a.k.a. Ali G, Borat, Bruno and General Admiral Aladeen) played against us. After some dedicated archive hunting (i.e., calling Geoff) it was established that the game in question was the one time we took on Cambridge Footlights, on May 6, 1993, and a brief report has been posted here.
The 2012 Remnants annual general meeting was held on Wednesday, March 14; please read the minutes to see what was discussed (and, in some cases, even decided).
Nets have now been booked for 2012. They will be held at the Hills Road sports centre from mid-March until late April. We have both nets for an hour from 9pm 'til 10pm on:
Steve Rawlings, Remnants captain in 1988 and 1989, died suddenly and unexpectedly on January 12. In his memory there is now a tribute page to which any current or ex-member can contribute.
Remnants scorer Nicky Mellish, having been doing a correspondence scoring course for the last few years, has just got the results back from the ECB and she's now a qualified ECB Level One scorer, so congratulations to Nicky.
The 2011 Remnants annual general meeting will be held at 7:00pm (for 7:30pm) on Tuesday, March 1 at Fitzwilliam College cricket ground. Please come if possible, but if you can't please send any issues (and apologies) to Daniel.
Nets have now been booked for 2011. They will be held at the Hills Road sports centre from mid-March until late April. We have both nets for an hour from 9pm 'til 10pm on: Tuesday, March 15; Tuesday, Tuesday, March 22; and Tuesday, March 29 and then (at the same time) on: Wednesday, April 6; Wednesday, April 13; Wednesday, April 20. The first matches will be in the week starting Monday, April 25.
The 2010 Remnants annual dinner will be on the evening of Friday, November 26. See here for more details.
Little Paxton has had to cancel their game against us on Tuesday, July 6, so we now have a spare slot that week. If anyone has any ideas for alternative opposition, please contact Daniel Mortlock.
If you want to play for Remnants in the up-coming season, please contact Daniel Mortlock with the dates you would like to play. Previous experience has shown that players are about a 90% chance to play the days they want, but please check the team list (linked from the fixtures list) that will be posted late in the week before any given fixture to see if you've been selected.
The AGM has now been and gone - to see the state of the club and find out about the (minor) changes in its operational policy, see the minutes.
This year's nets have now begun: we have both lanes at Hills Road Sixth Form College (on Purbeck Road) booked from 9pm 'til 10pm every Tuesday evening until Tuesday, April 20 (but skipping March 23). However the first session (on Tuesday, March 2) didn't go so well, due to a combination of poor organisation and poor attendance; this should be rectified from now on, but apologies to those who turned up for the first session and didn't get much/any cricket.
The Remnants annual general meeting will be held in the bar at the Fitzwilliam College sports ground at 7:30pm (for 8:00pm) on the evening of Wednesday, March 17. Please come along if possible to play an active role in the running of the club.
Twenty Remnants and associates have now signed up for the annual dinner (to be held at The Punter, on Pound Hill, from 7:30pm on Friday, November 27), but a few extra bookings can be taken until 5pm on Thursday, November 26. So if you're one of the people rumoured to have been vacillating, please contact Dave Williams in the next day.
Dave Williams has, once again, gone beyond the call of duty by booking nets for the club some six months ahead of the next season. Another reminder will appear here (and be sent out to those who've provided their e-mail addresses) closer to time, but the details are not expected to change: we have both lanes at Hills Road Sixth Form College (on Purbeck Road) booked from 9pm 'til 10pm every Tuesday evening from Tuesday, March 2, 2010, skipping March 23, and finishing on Tuesday, April 20, inclusive. The late start (in terms of the calendar) was decided on due to the fairly low attendances at nets in January and Feburary; the lateish time in the evening was a simple result of limited availability. That said, the venue is excellent, with well-maintained lanes, run-ups long enough for Joe White and ceilings high enough for Dave Green('s deliveries). We also have the option of a bowling machine for GBP 5.00 an hour. So, come March we hope to see lots of Remnants there perfecting their well-honed games for the up-coming seaosn . . . or at least not injuring themselves too much.
As most of you know our scorer Nickey Mellish has been struggling with some unidentified maladies for many years now - aside from diabetes there's been unexplained dizziness and fatigue. After half a decade of tests, there's finally a possibly definitive diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis, otherwise known as chronic fatigue syndrome. This could be seen as just some fancy jargon, but it is a specific condition and does explain the fact that Nicky gets "profound and continued fatigue that does not go away with sleep or rest". The next step, of course, is to be able to use this information to provide relief and, hopefully, a cure. In the meantime Nicky will continue to score for Remnants, but will have to make sure she gets plenty of rest before getting out the coloured pens.
Dave Green has compiled the hundred-odd Remnants photos he took during the year into an automatically generating slide-show to amuse you during the dark winter months.
The Remnants annual dinner now has a place and a time: The Punter, on Pound Hill, at 7:30pm (for 8pm) on the evening of Friday, November 27, 2009. Full details are here but the main message is to contact Dave Williams with your menu selections by Monday, November 23 if you would like to come.
As a side-note, if you haven't received an e-mail about this and think you should have (e.g., you're a regular Remnants player) then please e-mail Daniel. The only regulars from 2009 who are known to fall into this category are Ben Armitage, Steve Attmore, Quentin Harmer, Martin Law, Andrew Lea, Tony Malik, Sarah Pelham, Russell Woolf and Pete Young; e-mail addresses from any of them/you would be much appreciated.)
Romsey Town have a post-season game against NCI on Parker's Piece at 11:30am on Saturday, September 12. There are still a few places left in the Romsey eleven, so if you fancy a game please call Andy Owen on 01223 510357.
Remnants played Sharks (formerly Shape Data) twice in 2009 and several of our players received votes in their post-season poll for the best opposition innings and bowling spells they saw all year. In the batting Dave Williams and Nick Clarke came in at number 4 and 5, respectively, for their great innings in the July 22 massacre and Tom Jordan made it to number 7 for his match-winning innings against the Sharks in May. We didn't do quite so well in the bowling, but Adrian Mellish matched Tom's effort by making it to number 7 for his spell of 4/20 in the same match (although he might have ended up a notch or two higher but for the fact their scorebook had his figures as 4/28). Sadly there will not be a gala presentation ceremony or after-party at Boujis.
We have received the following letter of thanks for our donation to The Gloucestershire Chest Fund:
Dear Mr Owen,
On behalf of Dr John Prior I am delighted to acknowledge receipt
of your recent letter together with a cheque for GBP 240.00 in
memory of the late Mr John Hill.
Will you please pass on our grateful thanks to the members of both
cricket team for their most welcome support of our Fund.
I also understand that Mr Hill was being seen by Dr John Prior.
John has been a Trustee of our Fund for nearly twenty years and is one
of the leading thoracic chest consultants in the area.
I will copy this letter to him and let him know of the generous
support from both Romsey Town Cricket club and
Remnants Cricket Club.
We are currently endeavouring to raise GBP 100,000.00 for special
medical equipment to assist with the early diagnosis of lung cancer
without the need for invasive surgery. I am sure the Trustees
would like to allocate your generous donation to our latest fund
raising project, if you have no objection.
Thank you once again for your support together with your best wishes
for the continued success of the Fund.
Yours sincerely,
Terry Adams, Company Secretary
"They think it's all over . . . they're wrong!" The Remnants seemed to have wound up with only the last few beers to be sunk after the final internal game. But the beers did have their effect, and by evening's end it had been decided to organise a birthday game for our scorer, Sal, on Tuesday, September 1. We got an impressive 14 or 15 people on the night, but there are still spaces, so if you're interested please contact Geoff (which will have the added bonus of not getting off lightly in his proto-retirement).
Remnants legend Steve Gull was seriously burnt when his houseboat caught fire a few days ago (an event recorded for posterity by the BBC), and he had to spend a number of days in hospital as a result. However he has recently been released and should (according to reliable, if third-hand, news) be back to full health in a few more days. Nonetheless, this must all have been pretty traumatic, and the club wishes him a speedy recovery.
Phil Watson will be one of the many Remnants legends returning to Cambridge for Geoff's retirement game on August 18. Given that he'll have come all the way from the West Country, he was hoping that someone might be able to put him up for the night. If that someone is you, please e-mail Phil at philwatson5852@googlemail.com.
Following the visit from John Hill's son in May, Remnants decided to make a donation to the family's nominated charity, the Gloucester Chest Fund. On top of the GBP 50.00 donated through match fees from the charities match on July 7, Remnants was able to donate GBP 60.00, making a total of GBP 110.00. Many thanks to all for helping show respect for all that John has done for our club. The donations have now been put to good use and we received the following thank-you letter:
With the change in the weather as we enter August has come a change in the ability of our prospective opponents to, er, oppose us. The Cavendish Lab weren't able to raise a team for Tuesday, August 5, so that game has had to be cancelled; and Mott-MacDonald have pulled out of their match against us on Wednesday, August 12, citing a rescheduled league game. So that means we're now opponentless for both Tuesday, August 11 and Wednesday, August 12, so if you are a member of (or can raise) a team for either of those two nights please call Geoff.
After three decades of running Remnants CC almost single-handedly, Geoff Hales is retiring as club secretary at the end of this season. There will no doubt be lift-out tributes in all the colour supplements and endless tributes at the post-season annual dinner, but the first actual organised event is a match between Remnants and what, for the moment, is being called A Geoff Hales Retirement XI on Wednesday, August 19. At very least we'll be going out to dinner afterwards, but with a number of club legends already confirmed attendees it should be a great social evening, and plenty of Remnants (apart from the 22 playing) will hopefully drop by. There are also some retirement presents in the works, and so one of Les, Dave or Daniel will be passing the hat 'round at games in the next few weeks. More details will appear here (or in an e-mail) soon, but the main message is: keep August 19 free for your chance to say "thank you" to Geoff for giving us all the chance to spend our summer evenings playing cricket. (And, finally, please do not contact Geoff about this!)
Well not quite, but close: Matt Hughes has one adult and one child ticket for each of the three days of the Australians' match against Northants this weekend (i.e., Friday, July 24, Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26) that he can't use and are free to a good home. If you're interested please contact Matt on 07986 830398, but he's only in Cambridge on Friday (i.e., today).
After recoving well from pleurisy last year, Remnants scorer Nicky Mellish was unfortunately admitted to hospital again last night, suffering from back and chest pains. Hopefully it's just a chest infection and not a relapse, but for the moment she's remaining in under observations. As before, we all wish her a quick and speedy recovery so that she can resume her rightful place next to Sal at the scorers' bench.
On Tuesday, July 7, Remnants takes on A Charities XI in a match which, to pay tribute to the late Fitz groundsman John Hill, will raise funds for a cancer charity. As such there'll be a raffle and also a BBQ during/after the game, so please make sure you work up a big hunger before coming along.
After the web-site's week off things are back to normal, starting with the fact that Remnants lost its last three matches (although these are still lacking reports - any takers?). The next match, on Tuesday, June 30, is the annual Remnants vs. Remnants fixture, for which we already have 24 players and the promise of a post-match curry. The following night we take on FAS (with an already a complete team). But sadly the planned fixture against the Cambridge University women's team on Thursday, July 2 has been cancelled (which may or may not be related to several members of their team being couped up in a minibus with Geoff for a few hours).
The Remnants web-site will not be updated between Thursday, June 18 and Friday, June 27, so for any issues concerning team lists, wash-outs, venues, etc. for the June 23 and 24 games, please contact Geoff. If you happen to be playing in (or just at) one of the games on June 18, 23 or 24, then feel free to send in a match report, in which case you'll get to see your name and prose (or poetry?) up in lights . . . or at least bold face.
Fancy an all-day or afternoon game against Trinity College, complete with lunch, tea and declarations? If so, then Trinity are up for it, with some sort of Romsey/Remnants hybrid team the likely opposition. The probable date is Monday, July 6; please call Andy Owen on 01223 510357 if you're interested.
As a result of i) Geoff's iminent retirement as secretary and ii) the still regular instances of people getting mixed up about which night they're playing, team lists will be posted on this web-site for up-coming matches. This is intended to serve several purposes: it should make it much easier to check that you're playing when you think you are without the need for a phonecall (and Geoff being home, etc.); it should be similarly easy to see if there's a vacancy in an upcoming match so that you can then call Geoff and feel confident that you'll get a game; and, er, well that's it really, but I'm sure you get the idea.
The more astute (or bored at work) amongst you will have noticed the 2009 fixture list filling up; the more proactive of you have already contacted Geoff to express your interest in playing. As a result we already have a full thirteen (!) for the first proper match (against Romsey Town, on Wednesday, April 29); however if you want to play in either of the following week's matches you know what to do . . .
Sad news today: John Hill, one-time Fitz groundsman and perpetual Remnants CC president, died last week. He contributed an enormous amount to the club, providing Remnants with a home for most of the '90s a happy situation that continues to this day with Dave Norman following in John's footsteps at Oxford Road. The club will be making a contribution to John's named charity.
A free umpiring clinic (i.e., a two-hour session with a fully qualified umpire going over the basics and answering all the questions that even Geoff can't answer) will be held at Milton CC on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. If you're intersted please contact Geoff. Moreover, if there's enough interest then it should be possible to hold a similar event locally (most probably at the Fitz bar). For this to happen we'd need about a dozen people to express their interest (providing potential dates). Given that an integral part of playing our evening games is doing some umpiring (and also that the standard of umpiring is usually a bit, er, mixed) this is a great opportunity to give our matches a little touch of class.
If you weren't there (and even if you were) you should take a, er, minute to read the, er, minutes of the 2009 Remnants AGM. Not as much has changed this time 'round, but you should make sure you're familiar with the match fee and twelfth man systems.
Just a quick reminder that nets have, from the start of March, shifted to 9pm on Wednesdays at Fenners.
Nicky Mellish, Remnants substitute fielder and scoreboard operator extrordinaire, is having a rough time of things, unfortunately, and is currently in hospital with a nasty bout of pleurisy. We wish her a speedy and complete recovery.
And now, a week after the above was initially posted, Nicky is back at home and doing a lot better (even if she's still a bit short of breath). Most importantly, it means she's well on track to be doing scoreboard duties once again when the Remnants season begins in late April or early May.
The 2009 Remnants AGM will be held on Monday, March 9 at the Fitzwilliam College sports ground bar (on Oxford Road) at 7:30pm for 8:00pm. The reasons to attend are many: to have a beer with mates you don't see for half the year; to steer the club in the right direction; to attempt to unseat Paul from his stranglehold of the child protection officer role; and so on. Be there or miss out on this and a whole lot more!
The annual dinner was the final Remnants event of 2008, and so Dave Green has compiled the hundred-odd Remnants photos he took during the year into an automatically generating slide-show to amuse you during the dark winter months before nets start (on January 8, as detailed below).
A quick, final reminder that Dave Williams needs to know menu choices (and, indeed, whether you plan to come) annual dinner by Thursday, November 20.
As some of you noticed (and were concerned enough to e-mail about), the entire web-site was down for the first half of October. The reason was a failed disk just when the Imperial College Astrophysics Group (which kindly hosts the site) was between IT managers. The fact that you're reading this message means the situation has now been fixed; as the problem occured outside the cricket season, the only effects were that i) people couldn't find out about the dinner (see below) and ii) Paul Jordan couldn't relive the time he took 7/8 against Unwins back in 1990.
The 2008 Remnants annual dinner will be held at The Red Bull pub on Barton Road at 7pm (for 8pm) on the evening of Friday, November 28, 2008. If you want to come (and how could you possibly not?) please contact Dave Williams. In due course we'll need to know how many seats you want and what you'll be ordering (from a menu something like this) but for the moment the most important thing is to get an idea of numbers as soon as possible.
Nets are now booked for next year. We'll be starting at the sports centre at Hill's Road Sixth Form College (two nets for an hour from 8pm on Thursdays, from January 8 until February 26, inclusive) and then moving to Fenner's (three nets for an hour from 9pm on Wednesdays, from March 4 until April 22, inclusive). Just as last year nets will be GBP 2.50 for adults and GBP 1.50 for students and juniors.
We will also have a coach in residence when we have the three nets at Fenners, with four individual fifteen-minute slots per session (at GBP 6.00 each) that can -- and, indeed, must -- be booked beforehand. To do so contact Dave Williams (preferably by e-mail) closer to time.
Dave Williams has gone above and beyond the call of duty and has already investigated the possibilities for nets next year. The 8pm slots at Fenner's are already gone, but he's made a provisional booking for an hour from 9pm on Wednesdays. However if this is too late a time (or if it's fine) please send Daniel an e-mail with your thoughts on this. Dave has also been investigating hiring a coach to do individual 15-minute sessions with interested players for an extra GBP 4.00 or GBP 5.00 each per session; once again if we're to go ahead with this we need to know that people are interested, so please tell Daniel if you are.
With the season now at an end the only remaining Remnants even for the year is the annual dinner. At the moment neither the date nor the venue has been decided upon -- and it's no use just falling back on what we did last year as i) November 17 is a Monday this year and ii) Kami's no longer exists. So if you have a suggestion for either please contact Geoff or Daniel.
The season is drawing to a close but there are still two games to come: a return match against The Cavendish Lab at Churchill College starting at 5:30pm on Tuessday, August 26, followed by a final internal game, starting at 5:30pm on Wednesday, September 3, to be followed by a post-season curry at The Tandoori Palace. At the time of writing there's a full eleven (and, indeed, a twelfth and thirteenth) for the first game, and half the twenty-odd spots are taken for the final game, so if you'd like one last chance to strut your stuff before winter closes in, please contact Geoff.
This Tuesday we have our annual internal fixture, as captain Russell Woolf and vice-captain Joe White will lead their teams against each other. Even more importantly, there'll be a curry afterwards, almost certainly at The Tandoori Palace, so, to tie in with Twenty-Four/24 format we'll probably be playing, fasting for 24 hours beforehand mightn't be a bad idea.
Luke Perera, one-time Remnants super-sub, lost his watch after the The Computer Lab game on Monday, July 21. If anyone finds a watch, please e-mail Luke's father, Lester, at lester.perera@markiteam.com.
It also seems that Remnants lost a pair of batting pads at around the same time; if anyone has these please return them.
For the first time in a few years Remnants, in conjunction with Romsey Town, is playing an afternoon game -- we're taking on The Woozlers on Sunday, July 6 at Pembroke College. If you're interested in playing please contact Geoff.
In an effort to reduce the frequency with which players turn up on the wrong night (or don't turn up on the right night), team lists will now, when possible, be posted a few days before each match. So if you're at all unsure which night you're playing (or even if you are sure) please take a moment to check the ``team list'' links from the fixtures page to both make sure you're down for matches you're expecting to play and that you're not listed for games you're not expecting to play. If there is any discrepancy, please contact Geoff to sort things out.
Even though rain forced the abandonment of the charity six-a-side tournament, games were played and money was raised. The state of affairs is summarised in this letter from the organisers:
Dear Remnants Cricket Club,
On behalf of Romsey Town Cricket Club, we would like to thank you for taking part in our charity six-a-side competition. The remainder of the competition will take place at Fitzwilliam College's Sports Ground on Oxford Road on Wednesday, August 20, 2008, starting at 5pm prompt. Please let me know if your club is taking part so I can arrange the order of play. There are five games and a final to complete.
I am delighted to say, considering the weather, the total amount raised on the day was GBP 341.65. Our thanks got to the clubs for their efforts to complete the competition under such adverse conditions.
| GBP 129.00 | raffle and donations |
| GBP 124.70 | BBQ |
| GBP 150.00 | entry fees |
| GBP 14.00 | cake sales |
| GBP -62.05 | food |
| GBP -14.00 | BBQ gas |
| GBP 341.65 | total raised |
We will be presenting Macmillan Cancer Support and Diabetes UK Huntingdonshire with their cheques on Wednesday, August 20, during the completion of the six-a-side competition.
Thank you again for your support,
Kind regards,
Andy Owen,
Captain and Secretary,
Romsey Town Cricket Club
After two weeks of glorious weather which might have led us to believe this season was going to be different, we've had our first cancellation, The Philanderers pulling out of Wednesday's game 'cos they couldn't raise a team (and that despite assurances that Dave's got a new TV at the bar and that they wouldn't have to watch The Champions' League final through a haze of static).
Remnants has, once again, entered the charity six-a-side tournament, to be held on the bank holiday Monday, May 26, at Fitz. So if you're interested in playing for Remnants (or just generally adding your support to the day) please contact Geoff.
AGMs and net sessions are one thing; but now it's time for the actual cricket season itself. As such, Remnants needs to put some teams out, which means it's time for you to contact Geoff about your availability for the first fortnight's matches. Before that, though, there's a practice match on Wednesday, April 30; at present a dozen people have signed up, which is already enough to ensure a good evening's run-around, but please contact Geoff about this if you haven't already so we can plan exactly what form the evening will take.
As Remnants (or new players) who haven't paid their subs will now pay an increased match fee, there is now an up-to-date list of fully paid up members.
There had apparently been some confusion about when our net sessions at Fenner's would finish; to be clear, we have our hour-long spot at 8pm on Tuesdays up until April 22 (i.e. that night is the last indoor net). Then there'll be an outdoor training/practice session at Fitzwilliam on Wednesday, April 30, followed finally by our first match of the season, at Fitz against Romsey Town on Tuesday, May 6.
Our very own Brian ``Les'' Collings will be going on a charity bike ride across the USA to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. You can find out more and sponsort Les and Jim directly at http://www.justgiving.com/2oldgitson66 by entering either ``Collings'' or ``Wall'' in the ``sponsor a friend'' box.
A number of important decisions were made at the Remnants AGM: we have a new captain; and definite decisions were made on the issues of subscription payment and the naming of a twelfth man for Remnants matches. Please read the minutes to find out the full story.
Thursday, March 13, 2008 will go down in history as the date Remnants CC held its 2008 annual general meeting. So, get yourself along to the Fitzwilliam College sports ground bar (on Oxford Road) at 7:30pm for 8:00pm on that day to have a say in the running of your club (and to avoid the risk being voted in as treasurer in abesntia).
Just in case you've forgotten, a quick reminder that nets have already started, with a good turn-out to the first few sessions. We'll be rolling our arms over at 8pm on Tuesdays all the way through 'til the end of April at the indoor cricket centre at Fenners (on Gresham Road), so please come along.
Remnants founder Geoff Hales will be turning 60 in a few weeks, and all Remnants are invited to help him celebrate the fact by popping along to Kami's (on Hill's Road, near the train station) from 6:30pm on Thursday, February 7. It's all pretty casual, so there's no need to RSVP, and you can stop by for anything from a quick drink to a full banquet.
The 2007 Remnants dinner will be held at Kami's (on Hill's Road) at 7:30pm on Saturday, November 17. If you would like to come, please contact Geoff.
Unfortunately, however, it looks like being a record low turn-out this year, with only 15 to 20 Remnants (and friends) able to come. Hopefully the reason for this is just bad luck (i.e., people being busy already, etc.) but if that's not the case and you're not happy about the venue/date/time of year, please contact Geoff. In particular, it has been mooted that we might try for a more representative dinner some time in the new year, so expressions of interest would be most welcome.
Dave Williams has gone beyond the call of duty and booked nets for the 2008 season. They'll be held at Fenners (on Gresham Road) on Tuesday nights from 8pm 'til 9pm, starting on Tuesday, Junuary 8, 2008. The net charge (probably GBP2.00) has yet to be decided on, however, so it would be helpful if you could contact Dave to tell him if you're likely to be attending.
Fancy a final fling for 2007? If so there's a pretty casual friendly scheduled between Romsey Town and NCI on Saturday, September 15 at Parker's Piece, so contact Andy Owen on 01223 510357 if you're up for a game.
Even though Remnants didn't carry it's mid-week form through to the charity six-a-side tournament held on the August bank holiday, our participation did contribute to the large sum of money raised for charity, as acknowledged in this letter from the organisers:
Dear Remnants Cricket Club,
On behalf of Romsey Town Cricket Club, we would like to thank you for taking part in our charity six-a-side competition. I am delighted to say the total amount raised on the day was as follows:
| GBP 304.46 | raffle and donations |
| GBP 173.58 | BBQ |
| GBP 210.00 | team entry fees |
| GBP 9.70 | apple sales |
| GBP 3.93 | collection pot |
| GBP -81.67 | food expenses |
| GBP 620.00 | total raised |
We will be presenting Cancer Research UK and The Fen Edge Association For The Leaning Disabled with their cheques on Wednesday, September 5 during an end-of-season match at Fitzwilliam College's sports ground on Oxford Road, Cambridge.
Thank you again for your support,
Kind regards,
Andy Owen,
Captain and Secretary,
Romsey Town Cricket Club
And so our bedraggled season comes to an end, with the six-a-side tournament (on Monday, August 27), a match against The Cavendish Laboratory (on Tuesday, August 28) and a final internal game (on Wednesday, August 29). With the sunsets getting earlier and earlier we want to start the two evening games as early as possible, with a 5:30pm start pencilled in for both; so, if you're down to play, please get there as early as you can. (And also get a signed note from mum or dad to let you stay out as late as you can, 'cos there'll be a post-match curry at The Tandoori Palace afterwards.)
With some ten Remnants games cancelled this season, there's been a chance to indulge in a bit of time-wasting on these suddenly free weekday evenings, the result of which is that every Remnants player, regardless of whether they're a 300-game veteran or played just once and didn't bat or bowl, has their own web-page with a full career summary. The pages are linked from the various averages and records pages.
This is getting ridiculous: for the third time this year we've missed out on a game on a perfectly lovely summer's evening. This time it was an administrative stuff-up by The Cavendish, who'd managed to organise to play three separate opponents at once on Tuesday, July 31. We did at least have enough people in attendance to play a Rem Ditton vs. Remsey Town internal game, but in a summer which has already provided six wash-outs it's all pretty frustrating. Still, we have at least managed to organise a replacement fixture against the physicists on Tuesday, August 28 (with a 5:30pm start planned to make use of whatever light there is).
Unfortunately Coton were not able to get a team together for our Tuesday, July 10 match against them at Coton, so there are now, presumably, eleven Remnants looking for something to do on Tuesday afternoon.
This is almost certainly too late too be of any use, but at about 5pm today I got a call from Dave Norman saying that he'd just found out that our opponents today, Fitzwilliam College weren't putting out a team and that they had considered the match cancelled as of a few weeks ago. Clearly Geoff had heard nothing of this, so lord only knows what went wrong, but the upshot of this is that we have no match today.
After much boring data-entry over the last few years, the all-time Remnants records are finally available. There are a few bugs at present (e.g., some tables are out of order) but the essential ingredients are all there. And, through the miracles of modern technology, they'll be kept up-to-date as the season progresses.
While the more optimistic members of the Remnants and Cavendish teams stood around watching the rain last night, the subject of a possible 40-over Sunday friendly between the two clubs came up. Likely dates include August 26, September 2 and September 9, but this is far from set in stone as yet. The Cavendish are clearly up for this, and the Remnants present last night seemed keen, but before committing to this we need to know that we'll be able to put a side out, so if you are interested, please talk to Geoff at one of the early-season games (which he'll be attending from now on).
You've just had one May bank holiday, but it's the second one, on Monday, May 28, that really should get Cambridge's cricketers excited. The reason, of course, is that the fourth annual Charity Six-A-Side Tournament will be held that day. It is, once again, to be held at Fitzwilliam College's sports fields on Oxford Road, and proceedings will kick off at 10:30am, with the first ball to bowled at 11:00am sharp. There'll be plenty of food (including the all-important BBQ), the bar will be open all day and, after the final, there'll be a raffle, the prizes having been donated by local businesses. This year the proceedings will be going in two directions: half to The Fen Edge Association For Learning Disabled (registered charity 295095); and half to Cancer Research UK. Remnants will be entering a side -- if you want to play then contact Geoff -- but previously the large number of non-playing (but all-drinking) spectators has greatly added to the carnival atmosphere, so feel free to drop by if you're in the area.
You'll all no doubt be relieved to know that normal service has been resumed and, for all matters concerning fixtures, availabilities and the like, you should once again contact Geoff. That said, this is also an opportune moment to mention that there is no ``wet weather'' service: if it looks like a wash-out is a possibility it's up to players to contact Dave Norman (in the case of home games at Fitz) or contact Geoff otherwise. Another useful source of information is the fixture list, which will often list games as ``cancelled'' a few hours before match time (although only if they have, in fact, been cancelled, and not just as a practical joke).
All but a few of you are depriving the club of valuable interest by not having paid your annual membership fees (GBP 15.00 for adults; GBP 7.50 for students, juniors and the like). To do so please contact treasurer Dave Williams, either at one of the early-season games or by sending a cheque to his address given by following the above link.
As I'm sure you already know, Geoff was scheduled for a mid-April hip operation. What you might not know is that the operation (a ``hip polishing'', in case you were wondering) went smoothly and that His Professorship is now recovering well in Addenbrookes, regaining his strength by eating his ward-mates' meals and accepting the attentions of a number of cute nurses. Sal has, understandably, decided to save him from this dire situation and will be welcoming him back home (into a downstairs ``boudoir'', apparently) in the next few days. And whilst you still shouldn't bother him about Remnants matters, it seems quite likely he'll be able to come along to some of the early season games to spectate and get all tense when our scoring rate drops below a run a ball.
At the time of writing there are just two more indoor net sessions to go (at 7pm on Wednesday, April 18 and Wednesday April 25, at They Leys School) but there is also an outdoor practice session from 5:30pm until sunset at Fitzwilliam College's playing fields on Oxford Road. Come along to i) do a bit of running around, ii) do some running between wickets and the like and, iii) even throw your hat into the wicket-keeping ring, if you're keen on learning a new skill and bettering yourself.
The 2007 fixtures are now available, although the list is not completely final as yet. The key point is the first four games: if you want to play in any of them, please contact Daniel.
A brief summary of the 2007 AGM has been posted for your edification; aside from embarrassing photos of the new committee, it includes several important points about the coming season (including a lengthy discussion of a new twelfth man scheme) so please take a minute to read through it. And although not strictly AGM business, it's probably worth restating that, at least until mid-May, you should contact Daniel, not Geoff, about match availabilities and any other Remnants-related matters.
Thought that would get your attention! Don't worry, it's nothing too drastic: Geoff is going into hospital in mid-April for hip surgery and will thus be out of circulation for about four weeks, until mid-May. Aside from saying a nightly prayer for his swift recovery, this means that you should not contact him about Remnants matters during this period. Instead, for both team- and match-related matters please contact Daniel Mortlock. In particular, prompt availabilities for the first four matches -- scheduled on Tuesday, May 1, Wednesday, May 2, Tuesday, May 8 and Wednesday, May 9 -- would be greatly appreciated (and might even result in promotion up the batting order).
This year's much anticipated annual general meeting will be held at Fitzwilliam College sportsground's bar (i.e., at Fitz, as always) at 7:30pm for 8:00pm on Tuesday, March 20. If you can't make it and have any concerns, please raise these with Geoff, but of course a club is only the sum of its members, so please make the effort to come if possible.
And yet more changes on the nets front: it seems we'll be practising our skills not at Fenner's but at The Leys School, on Trumptington Road, at 7pm on Wednesday evenings, starting on January 17, 2007.
More hassles on the nets front: Fenner's Indoor Cricket School will be closed until January 10, so Remnants' first net session of the year will be at 9pm on Tuesday, January 16, 2007.
For those of you who missed the annual dinner (or those of you who were there but have poor memories), the quiz and a fine selection of photos are now available here. And for those of who want to see the whole season flash before your eyes, Dave Green has made a nice little slide-show from the hundreds of photos he took during the year.
As was the case last year, we'll be having shared net at Fenner's with our Saturday friends, Romsey Town CC. However our net times aren't quite ideal: from January 9 until March 27 we have the nets for an hour at 9pm on Tuesdays; then, from April 2 until April 30, we have the hour-long slot at 7pm on Monday nights. It would be very useful to get feedback on whether you can make this times or, particularly, if you definitely cannot; and, of course, please contact Geoff either way.
Martin Parker, who was a Remnants regular up until 2002, died suddenly last week. No more details are available at the moment, but our end-of-season internal game was preceded by a minute's silence as a mark of respect. Martin's family requested that, in place of flowers, donations be made to Cancer Research UK; Remnants' small contribution to this worthy cause was to donate the match fees from the final game, along with the surplus monies left over from nets fees at the start of the year.
As the season draws to a close we thought we'd finish with one final Remnants vs. Remnants fixture, to be on Wednesday, September 6 . . . but then we thought a bit more and thought we'd instead finish up a day earlier, at 5pm, Tuesday, September 5. It will be too dark to play by about 7:30pm, hence the early starting time . . . but that also means we'll get to The Tandoori Palace earlier for the post-match curry as well.
What are you doing on the evening of Saturday, November 18? Hopefully nothing, in which case you can come to the Remnants annual dinner, to be held at Kami's Restaurant on Hills Road that evening. This date has now been confirmed; if you would like to reserve your place, please contact Geoff.
Andy Owen and Terry McKenna will be staging a twelve-hour charity pool marathon from 11am 'til 11pm on Saturday, September 9, at Mickey Flynn's American Pool Hall. The proceeds (from your sponsorship) will be going to Lukaemia Research, the same charity for which Ian Botham did his most recent walk. All are welcome to attend, and both Andy and Mickey will be accepting challenges during the day (and presumably losing more often as 11pm approaches).
We were supposed to be playing UCLES on the evening of Wednesday, August 16, but they could only find six players, so the fixture has been replaced by an internal double-wicket competition. At the time of writing there should be at least ten Remnants present, but the more the merrier (up to a point), so please contact Geoff if you'd like to play.
We were due to play Wolfson College II on Tuesday, June 13. Unfortunately the powers that be decreed that they should play their postponed inter-college cup match that evening, so our fixture against them has been cancelled. And no doubt the weather will be perfect. Bugger.
Once again Remnants CC (in conjunction with Romsey Town CC) will be staging a charity six-a-side competition on the second May bank holiday. It will be held at Fitzwilliam College's sports fields on Oxford Road on Monday, May 29, at 10:30am (for an 11:00am start). All proceeds (team fees, food and drink, raffle tickets, etc.) will be donated to the Cardiac Unit of the Papworth Hosptial.
On Wednesday, April 26, there will be an on-field practice session at our home ground (Fitzwilliam College's, on Oxford Road) so we can translate our silky smooth skills to the real world . . . and probably drink some beer, too.
The 2006 fixtures list is now available -- please contact Geoff with your availablitiy for the first two weeks' matches. (If, as appears likely, there is rain on match day, please don't just asume that it's a wash-out -- Geoff will try and contact you, but the surest course of action for home games is to call Dave Norman to find out whether the ground is playable straight ``from the horse's mouth'', as it were.) And, as usual, there are the standing orders to i) volunteer (and have) your match-fee; ii) help with the kit-packing and iii) do some umpiring (see below).
After several decades of, er, interesting umpiring in Remnants games, Geoff has put together an umpiring guide clearing up some of the more common misconceptions. You should receive a copy with your fixtures list, but you could do worse than spend a few minutes going over it before turning in of a night . . .
Finally, the news you've all been waiting for: the date for the Remnants annual general meeting has been decided upon. It will be held at Fitzwilliam College sportsground's bar (i.e., at Fitz, as always) at 7:30pm for 8:00pm on Tuesday, March 21. Please come if you want to have a say in the running of your club (or make your apologies to and raise any concerns you may have with Geoff if you can't make it). And whether you can come or not, subscriptions are now payable: GBP 15.00 for adults and GBP 7.50 for juniors/students/unemployed, payable to either Geoff or Phil, with cheques to be made out to Remnants Cricket Club.
The 2006 cricket has already begun . . . well, at least in the form of net sessions. Running from 8:00pm 'til 9:00pm on Wednesday evenings at the University Centre for Cricketing Excellence (i.e., Fenner's; enter via the School Of Physical Education) on Gresham Road, there's been an excellent turn-out, up to twenty Remnants (together with a few members of Romsey Town and Fen Ditton CCs) sending down an inviting collection of wides and long-hops before heading off to the chiropractor to work on their wricked shoulders. (And don't worry about not getting a go: with three separate nets there's plenty of room for everyone.)
Geoff has suggested that people ``get their arses into gear'' with regards the Remnants annual dinner on Saturday, November 19, 2005. Thus far there have been disappointingly few responses; please don't leave it to the last minute to RSVP.
Starting on January 11, 2006, nets will be from 8:00pm 'til 9:00pm on Wednesday evenings at the University Centre for Cricketing Excellence (i.e., Fenner's), on Gresham Road. We will be sharing the facilities with Romsey Town CC, although with three nets to choose from there should be plenty of room for everyone to injure themselves before the season even begins.
After the euphoric end to the Remnants season (not to mention what was, for most of us, an even better end to the international season) a post-season fixture has been organised. In what is also a fiftieth birthday celebration for out-going club captain Dave Williams, Remnants will take on The Woozlers at 1:30pm on Saturday, September 17, on Parker's Piece.
Following the conclusion of the 2005 season, the 2000-2005 averages have been updated accoringly.
The Remnants annual dinner will be held on Saturday, November 19, 2005 at Kami's restaurant on Hill's Road.
Having already taken the opportunity to inform the nation of his own achievements at Fitz, Ev Fox has now gone one step further, getting into an in-depth discussion with Christopher Martin-Jenkins about the state of the ground. Don't believe me? Well then listen to this two minute MP3 audio file taken from the BBC Radio 4 broadcast on the morning of Saturday, August 13.
Dave Green has excelled himself: as if it wasn't enough that he's taken more than a hundred actions photographs during the season, he's now done some very clever HTML programming to create a slide-show for your viewing pleasure. Just go to the photographs page, wait a few seconds for the images to load, and then sit back and enjoy four months worth of embarrassment.
After his ``four stumpings in one day'' performance in the Remnants vs. Remnants game, Ev Fox saw fit to mention this fact in his early morning weather report on BBC Radio 4 a week later. You can either ask the man himself for a retelling, or listen yourself, the snippet having been recorded for posterity in this 50 second MPEG audio file.
The man without whom Remnants wouldn't exist, our secretary Dr Geoff Hales, asked me to put this message on the web-site. Please take a moment to read it and see if you can help out on any of the issues raised.
The full (if inevitably somewhat provisional) fixture list for the 2005 season is now available. Please contact Geoff about your availability as soon as possible.
Congratulations to club secretary Geoff Hales who has (provisionally, whatever that means) got his ECB umpiring qualifications. So if, heaven forbid, your LBW appeal is turned down or -- gasp -- you're penalised for ``one short'' then you're going to have to put up and shut up (or appeal to amuch higher authority).
Mike Jones left his new bat with the Remnants net kit a few weeks ago and it has now disappeared. If anyone has any information about this, please contact Geoff.
The 2005 Remnants AGM was held at the Fitzwilliam College sports ground bar at 8:00pm on Thursday, March 3.
Nets are from 6:30pm on Friday evenings at The Leys School, having starting on January 14, 2005 and continuing until April 28, inclusive (with the exception of Good Friday, on March25).
The 2004 annual dinner was held on the evening of Saturday, November 20, 2004, at Kami's restaurant on Hills Road. For more information see the separate dinner web-page.
With the completion of the the final match of the 2004 season the statistical side of the web-site has undergone its last major update until next year. The final averages for 2004 are now available, and they have been incorporated into the combined 2000-2004 averages as well.
Romsey Town CC has been invited to Clumber Park, Notts., to participate in a three-way 20-over tournament on Sunday, September 5 but, given the number of common players Remnants and Romsey share, the call for players is extended to Remnants members as well. Romsey has put in a team (usually with a few ringers) for the last three years and a great time has been had by all -- the ground is in a National Trust property and crowds of up to a thousand people have been present in previous years. If you are interested in playing please contact Andy Owen on 01223 510357.
The last two fixtures of the season are both internal: a Remnants vs. Remnants game at 5:30pm on Tuesday, August 23 and a game against the Geoff Hales's Travelling Theatre XI at 5:30pm on Wednesday, August 24. If any members, particularly veterans, are interested in playing either fixture, please contact Geoff (on 01223 212104).
Our favourite BBC celebrity, Everton Fox, invites you all to celebrate his turning forty at what looks set to be a huge party at City Stop, Cambridge City Football Ground, Milton Road, from 7pm on Friday, July 2. Be there (for ``bar and boogie'') or see lots of catches ``accidentally'' dropped off your bowling.
The fixtures list has now been largely finalised, with a total of 36 matches (including four internal games) scheduled between now and the end of August. Please remember that it's your responsibility to contact Geoff Hales with your availability during the season.
Nets have now begun for 2004: we're back at our old venue (The Leys School, on Trumpington Road), but a new time (6pm on Tuesday evenings) until the final session on Tuesday, April 27.
For Remnants 25th year Geoff has planned Remnants Week at the end of June: Geoff's Senior Moment will take on Sal's Toy Boys on Tuesday, June 22; on Wednesday, June 23 we have a game against our oldest opponents, The Computer Laboratory; and then on Thursday, June 24 the survivors will regroup for game between current Remnants players and Remnants ``veterans'' (although it remains unclear how the two teams will be distinguished from each other). We are particularly hoping that some prodigal Remnants will return for this week: if you are such, please contact Geoff Hales.
In conjunction with Romsey Town CC, Remnants will be hosting a six-a-side charity tournament on the bank holiday of Monday, May 31. Eight sides, including The Beehive, Cambridge Granta, Girton, Remnants, Romsey, Shape Data and The St Radegund, will take part in a single-day tournament (combined with a BBQ and plenty of drinking), all proceeds going to Rosie Maternity Hospital as part of Russell Woolf's well-publicised charity weight-loss campaign as recoded on The Russometer.
The 2004 annual general meeting was held on Thursday, February 26; a summary of proceedings is available here.
Remnants stalwart Russell Woolf has begun charity weight-loss campaign; you can check his progress on The Russometer.