We hope that you had an excellent Easter break and, like us, are now looking forward to the 2024 cricket season ahead at OECC. We hope to see as many of you as possible in the coming weeks, notably at the first Club Night on Fri, 26 April in College Meadow. In the meantime, please do take note of the points below and do not hesitate to contact the relevant club/team managers as necessary.

COMMUNICATIONS

We have two main channels for communicating with members - Pitchero and WhatsApp. ECB’s Play-Cricket is also worth setting up if you’re keen to follow stats, league tables, etc., although this is optional given that all fixtures will appear on Pitchero anyway.

Unless already done, please download the Pitchero app, create a login, select Old Elthamians Cricket Club, and update all your membership details, including date of birth/school year, medical conditions, and join the age groups/teams that are relevant to you. Fixtures, availabilities and team selections will be managed via Pitchero, as also membership payments and, for seniors, match fees.

Please contact your team managers to add you to the relevant WhatsApp groups which will be the main channel for regular messages, typically related to logistics, but also for some really good content, including match reports, photos, etc. (the club’s socials are also well-worth following, especially @elthamianscc on Instagram).

MEMBERSHIPS

We hope that most of you have already subscribed to season memberships. However, if you haven’t done so, please do so before the start of the season, relevant options can be found on our club site.

If you are or have new members joining the club, please follow the steps outlined here.

KEY DATES

We have a host of events coming up over the next 4 months, which can be both exciting and, as we know from being parents/players ourselves, sometimes confusing too. We hope that the details of all trainings and matches set out in the calendar will help parents and players find your feet, especially if you’re new to the club.

Please note that some days/dates may change owing to weather and other factors, so please do look out for regular messages and announcements from your respective team managers pertaining to scheduling, selections, logistics, etc. on Pitchero and WhatsApp.

CONDUCT

We recommend that all members familiarise themselves with the club’s Code of Conduct, available on our club site. We expect all members, both parents and players, to uphold the highest standards of behaviour, both on and off the field, at all times during the season. Any breach of the code will not be tolerated by club management and potentially also risks members and/or the club as a whole being reprimanded by the Kent Cricket League, amongst others.

VOLUNTEERS

As you know, the club is wholly run by volunteers, both parents and players. We run the club in our spare time and it takes a lot of effort from a vast group of people. We always need more volunteers though, and welcome members who are interested in stepping up and helping out, whatever the role (cricketing background is NOT a pre-requisite), so please do not hesitate to reach out to club or team management at any point.

You will find relevant club contacts here. Whilst we will seek to respond as soon as possible, please bear in mind when making enquiries that an immediate response, and one that is to the satisfaction of everybody, is not always going to be possible.

LOOKING AHEAD

We appreciate that all of this may be a lot to take in, but when it comes down to it, the only thing to do really is to just dust off your cricket kit, turn up, and enjoy some great cricket. All the best to our players for the season ahead, we look forward to all the fun and learning. All we need now is for the sun to come out and cooperate with us over the next 4 months!

Best regards

Mark & Vijay