Kent Cricket Board has learned that both HSBC CC and Walmer CC have won prizes in the draw they were automatically entered into for completing the NatWest CricketForce 2012 online evaluation form.

Both Clubs have won £500 worth of outdoor netting courtesy of NatWest CricketForce Official Supporter, Durant Cricket.

Very nice - and well done to both Clubs for making the evaluations which really are invaluable as both NatWest and ECB look forward and try to improve the programme in the coming years.

Recently, Paul Millman, one time Chief Executive of Kent County Cricket Club spoke to cerebral palsy patient - Owen Griffiths. 

Owen has his own blog site and has managed to interview some serious sports personalities including Des Lynam, Rebecca Adlington and John Motson to name a few.  He asked to do a piece on Paul Millman and it is the first one on the web link above and is attached as a PDF for you to download.

Paul retired from Kent Cricket Club in November 2009. An international squash player for the best part of ten years, and currently the Chairman of Selectors for the England squash team, Paul also kept wicket for Gloucestershire seconds in the 1960s. As well as deep sporting knowledge and achievement, Paul had a senior business career including being managing director of Merrydown Wine.

Paul Millman is also the Chairman of the London & South East Regional Forum for Disability Cricket and has been in this voluntary post for approx a year now and is very passionate about Disability sport in general.

His interview with Owen is on the link above.

We’ve heard from a guy called Tim Meal who is the organiser of a 3 day Costa del Sol Cricket Fest being held 26/30th September at the stunning Cartama Oval near Malaga Spain.

He’s trying to raise the profile of cricket in the Southern Spain. The intentions is to also host a Ladies Festival, an over 50s Fest and hopefully a cricket fest for people with Disabilities.

Tim has had some success by individually contacting clubs via. email but the contact inforamtion he has gathered is out-of-date and therefore not getting down to level he needs at clubs.

At the moment there are only four clubs playing in the league and no cricket being played in the schools or colleges. There is no funding available from Cricket Espana and the only way of achieving this is by way of the Festival.

This is the information we have:
The cost is £250 per person and includes 4 nights accommodation at the Hotel Bali, Benalmadena based on 2 people sharing.  Buffet breakfast (all you can eat!) is included in the price.

The coastal resort hotel is approx 15 mins from Malaga Airport and 25 mins from the Cartama Oval. The hotel is situated close to bars/restaurants/night clubs and other establishments of culture!

Also included in the price are 3 games of cricket. One Thursday, one Friday and the final game on the Saturday.

Food and drink at sensible prices will be available before, during and after each game on match days!

The games will be either 20/20 or 30/30 max. (The temperatures in late September are usually in the late 20s and dehydration has to be taken into account!)

After the final game on Saturday there will be a presentation and BBQ also included in the price.

A souvenir cricket shirt is also included.

Flights and transfers are not included. Most budget airlines fly into Malaga and we suggest you look at the website www.skyscanner.net as they usually provide the most cost effective way of travelling.

As far as car hire is concerned we have negotiated a favourable deal with Helle Hollis. Please ask for the reference number to receive a further 15% discount!

If you are unable to raise a full squad or if you have individuals that would like to attend this may not be a problem as I have had requests from other clubs and it’s a bit like a cricket dating agency!
Umpires, scorers and guests are also very welcome.

To reserve your place, please contact Tim Meal at tim@sportsworldspain.co.uk or by telephoning 02032 398166.

If you want more details still, have a look at his website www.sportsworldspain.co.uk.

Please note Kent Cricket Board has no information or details about this offer. If you are interested at all you must contact Tim Meal at his email address.

To all Cricketers - some questions for you:

When is a run not a run?

How should you celebrate a wicket?

When is the best time to appeal?

To celebrate Brit Insurance National Cricket Day, try our Spirit of Cricket quiz and test your knowledge of the rules and code of conduct for players.

Register before the 31 May and you’ll be entered into a draw* to win a pair of England tickets or a brand new England ODI shirt.

*Prize draw is for entrants aged 11-15

We’ve had our attention drawn to a Charity cricket match featuring Lashings World XI against an eleven from chYps, who provide hospice in the home care for over 120 children in West Kent.
 
They are holding their first ever Maidstone fundraising event on 23rd August 2012 in conjunction with Lashings World XI - see poster attached - and hoping this will help them raise vital funds for their cause and raise the charity’s profile at the same time.

They are offering supporters a once in a lifetime opportunity to bid for the chance to play against the likes of Phil Defreitas or Devon Malcolm. You just have to email Isobel Kerry with your highest bid amount.

If you would like to go along and and support on the day, tickets are just £2 to watch these world famous cricketers play against local Kent players - a great day out!

Charlton Church in Dover are holding a buffet/audience evening, “An audience with … Derek Underswood” that they are holding in September.
 
Tickets will be on a first come, first served basis so to see and listen Derek Underwood MBE in an audience with you’ll need to contact the Church directly.They hope this will be the start of a series with former well known cricketers in the future.
 
Should you want to go along please see both attachments:   The Poster is fairly self explanatory. The Reservation sheet is also attached.

Every cricket league has the ‘guy who didn’t quite make it’ and every club has a talent who never really got a fair shot.

This summer Cricket AM are looking to unearth these gems and give them a shot at the pros.

Our two lucky winners will spend one week living the life of a pro cricketer. They will train, eat and live alongside their county team-mates, picking up tips and pointers from world famous coaches and players.

If you think you deserve a ‘shot at the pros’ then Cricket AM want to hear from you.

Record a short video about your career in cricket so far, why you love the game and why you deserve a shot at the pros have a look at this webpage and see what you have to do.

Kingfisher Beer, sponsors of the National Club Championship, are making a stock offer that all Clubs with licensed premised will be interested in.

There’s also the opportunity to take part in the Kingfisher Quiz and Curry Night being held in association with the Professional Cricketer’s Association.

All details are here and you will need to contact Kingfisher directly.

To all our Kent Groundsmen and grounds teams,

The start of the 2012 season has been an exceptional challenge for all our Groundsmen whether unpaid volunteers, employees or Contractors. They and their Clubs have all worked tirelessly to overcome the influences of the wet weather and attempting to get pitches and grounds playable.

These efforts, sometimes behind the scenes, are much appreciated and I expect club  and league committees to commend their efforts to minimise the disruption to playing the game and attempting to meet the needs of the players to “get on the field”.

This note is a formal thank you for all your efforts, dedication to the cause and time commitment.

The experiences from this Spring will be included in the proposed Water Management training and development programme we are discussing with ECB as an outcome from the current Cranfield University research they commissioned.


Peter Robinson Chair KCB GA
Peter Aylott, Hon. Secretary KCB GA

ECB today announced the winners of the England Cricketer of the Year Awards for 2011-12, with Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond and Charlotte Edwards winning honours.
 
Charlotte EdwardsKent and England Captain Charlotte Edwards was named as the England Women’s Cricketer of the Year for 2011-12.
 
She was joined by Daniel Bell Drummond, the England Development Programme Cricketer of the Year.Daniel Bell-Drummond

Charlotte and Daniel received their awards at a dinner in the Long Room at Lord’s.
 
The awards recognise outstanding performances in all formats of international cricket over the past year, beginning with last summer’s domestic international programme and encompassing the recent winter tours.
 
England Women’s captain Charlotte Edwards won the Women’s award following an outstanding year in which she averaged over 50 with the bat and saw her team complete a clean sweep of series wins at home and abroad.

The other nominees were all from Kent Women, Laura Marsh, Sarah Taylor and Lydia Greenway.
 
Charlotte Edwards said; “It’s an honour to receive this award. I’m really pleased to have contributed to the team’s victories. Our success over the last 12 month is testament to contributions from the whole team and we look forward to that continuing in the exciting season ahead.”
 
Daniel Bell-Drummond was named the winner of the inaugural England Development Programme Cricketer of the Year award, which fellow Kent cricketer Adam Ball, Ben Foakes (Essex) was also nominated for.

Bell-Drummond’s award capped a superb year and is now England’s all-time highest run-scorer in One-Day Internationals at Under 19 level.
 
Daniel Bell-Drummond commented on the award; “I’m delighted to have been named England Development Programme Cricketer of the Year, it’s a real honour to have been given this award and hopefully it is the beginning of things to come for me.”
 
ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: “Congratulations go to all our winners. There was intense competition for the individual awards in each category this year and Charlotte and Daniel be very proud of their achievements.“
 
Daniel Bell-Drummond’s recent interview with the Kent Cricket website can be found here.