Easter is here so season’s greetings to all those celebrating and enjoy the long weekend!

Although Easter is relatively early this year, it heralds the start of the season proper. Spring is springing, indoor training is now finished, we head outside for training from Wednesday, 10 April and the first pre-season fixtures are fast approaching.

I’m delighted that another date is imminent… Tuesday, 2 April will see the start of the work to demolish the remains of the pavilion. At last we will start to see tangible results from all the hard work that the Pavilion Rebuild Board have undertaken since 7 September last year.

Particular big shout out and thanks to Simon Coles, Emma Beavan and Ben Houghton for this achievement. This is the result of their hard work with the Royal Parks management team, Richmond Council and the appointed contractors to reach this milestone.

Our target is to complete the demolition and remove the rubble before the Adult league season starts. More info will follow during the demolition works because vehicle access and parking will be compromised during the demolition.

Work also continues in the background to establish the temporary facilities ahead of the season. This will be a challenge whilst the demolition is in progress. Our target is to have a combination of portacabin type structures and a semi-permanent marquee in place as soon as possible. Watch this space for regular progress updates.

I am also delighted to let you know about a couple of other arrivals…

Firstly, James Chapple, a wicket-keeper / batsman from the state of Victoria, Australia will be at the Wick for the 2024 season. James had a successful season playing in the Bradford league in Yorkshire in 2023 and he will be back in the UK with us from mid-April. We are looking for paid accommodation for James for the season. If you can help out please let us know.

Last, but definitely not least, many congrats to Andrae and Ushea McDonald on the arrival of their beautiful baby daughter Ariella who was born on 16 March.

Another busy week at the Wick, the highlight of which was my visit with Dom Spray to No.10 Downing Street to meet Myles Stacey OBE, Communities Special Adviser to the Prime Minister.

We were invited to No10 along with our colleagues from Heathfield Primary School and others from the MCC, Chance to Shine, and the CEO of Fairbreak to discuss the model we have put in place to encourage state school children, especially girls, to play cricket and to give them access to competitive sport. We spent more than an hour with Myles Stacey and let’s hope this is the first of many steps to improve access to competitive sport in state primary schools.

And following International Women’s Day, I am appealing to all women who are involved in the club, whether as parents and guardians, supporters, or age group helpers. We want to appoint a women to join our Committee as Head of Women’s & Girls Cricket. I am very conscious that although our Committee has some diversity amongst the members from an ethnicity and age perspective, we are currently all male. I want to change this.

One of the club’s overriding priorities is to increase the number of women and girls involved in cricket at the club. We want to build on the success of our girls’ teams achievements last season with the help of the Heathfield crew.  We really need female presence as an absolute priority on the Committee to talk through ideas about how to increase female participation.

No cricket experience is necessary and the time commitment can be tailored to whatever individuals can offer.  We also don’t expect one person to have to solve all the issues or find all the answers; there are lots of ideas and resources available and the full (and considerable) weight of the whole club is behind this to help.

If you think you may like to get involved, in however small a way, please contact Dom Spray (juniorcricket@hwrcc.co.uk) Head of Junior Cricket or Sam Kemp, Club Chairman (kempsam66@gmail.com) to chat further.  We have also lined up a Wick Women’s team friendly for later in the season, so will be asking for anyone who fancies getting involved to come along and have a try!  More details to follow.

England and Gloucestershire legend – and friend of The Wick – Jack Russell took some time out from painting and being an all-round decent bloke to give his top tips on how to improve as a wicketkeeper.

How do you stay confident when standing up to the stumps?

Standing up to the stumps is mainly about concentration. If something surprises you and you’re not ready for it then you’re not concentrating properly. Also, an intense (mentally) focus on the ball at all times is key, even when you lose it for a second through the gate or down the leg side. A lot of keepers don’t watch the ball hard enough during the last two or three feet. They may think they are but it’s easy not to. Important not to let the batsman put you off. Practise batsman putting you off and get used to it. It’s all mental discipline and control.

What do you do if you miss a ball?

How you react to this is crucial. You have to put it out of your mind, as you should do if you do something brilliant. Don’t take any baggage mentally into the next delivery. Each delivery is a fresh challenge. Leave it to the end of the day, then work out what might have happened. With good things you’ve done as well. Work out what you did well and remember it.

What about preparations?

The better prepared you are the better you will play consistently. That includes fitness. We all make mistakes when we’re tired so you have to be the fittest physically and mentally to give yourself the best chance. With drills make sure you practise the difficult things. There’s two types of practice. One is practicing to be perfect. Two is your practising to extend your abilities and skill. It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes because you’re looking to push boundaries. Eg: diving catches one handed, try and take catches you can’t reach. Or Yorker length delivers stood up to the stumps. Always practise taking balls off the bowlers you are going to keep wicket to, especially spinners. You can never do enough if it AND DON’T get bored doing it. If you get bored, stop! Because you’ll be practising bad mental processes. Make your bowlers do it because they’re also going to benefit with extra wickets!!! Hope that helps.

Any good books out there?

Luke Sutton has a great book out called “The Wonderful World Of Wicketkeepers” which I can recommend. Also – James Knott and Andy O’Connor’s book on keeping is great.

What was your best take?

That has to be one handed, stood up to seam bowler Mike Cawdren at Lord’s Glos v Somerset Nat West Final 1999 (saved 4 wides!).

Following last year’s devastating fire, Jack helped us raise more than £6,000 by generously donating a print of one of his paintings for our fundraising auction. Thanks again Jack for your help and support from all of us at The Wick?

Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club is delighted to be involved in the Holi Festival 2024 – hosted by Thecrazegroup.

Members of the club will be on hand with our “batting challenge” net – as well as getting involved in the celebrations.

Thecrazegroup has kindly offered to donate a percentage of the event profits to the pavilion rebuild project – and we will also be taking donations on the day.

What is Holi? The Festival of Colors, Love and Spring explained

Organiser Surbhi Agrawal said: “We’re fully behind our local club, ready to lend our support in every way possible to see it thrive and bring the joy of cricket to everyone involved.”

Sam Kemp, Chairman of HWRCC said: “We’re delighted to have been invited to be involved in the Holi celebrations.

“Community is a vital part of our club so it will be great to learn more about the celebration itself.

“And of course, we can’t wait to share the story of our club and give people the chance to have a go themselves at a bit of cricket.”

The event is being held on March 16 at YMCA Hawker.

There will be kids’ activities, a raffle, amazing food and bazaar stalls, colour stalls, and a tombola.

Adult tickets cost £16, kids aged 4-12 £8 and toddlers get in free of charge.

You can get your tickets here: www.ticketsource.co.uk/thecrazegroup/t-avoynxj

Holi, known as the Festival of Colors, Love, and Spring, is a Hindu celebration that venerates the eternal love of Radha and Krishna and symbolises the victory of good over evil with Vishnu’s triumph as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu. Originating in the Indian subcontinent, Holi has spread to Asia and parts of the Western world.

Anyone who has played cricket for even a short amount of time will know about those frustrating rain delays… and long breaks in play.

The lower-order batsman hanging around waiting to put the pads on – an issue less relevant at The Wick.

However, Mark Boyns – who set up Opening Up Cricket – believes it’s these breaks that sets cricket apart as one of the best sports for promoting and maintaining good mental health.

Mark founded the charity in 2014 after his friend and Sefton Park CC team-mate Alex Miller took his own life.

Since then, Mark and his team of volunteers have delivered hundreds of sessions to cricket clubs across the UK and abroad.

Their message is about promoting mental wellbeing and raising awareness of good mental health.

Mark kindly took some time out to talk to us about why cricket is such a valuable sport for keeping the mind happy and healthy.

And while they may seem annoying at the time – Mark believes those pesky rain delays are one of the main benefits to playing our beautiful game.

“The length of cricket games – even the shorter formats – gives you the opportunity to spend more time with people.

“There are naturally long periods where you’ll be sat there talking – tea, during rain breaks or while you’re waiting to bat.

“This gives us the space and time to have conversations. These could be about nothing in particular but they give us the potential to build friendships and close bonds within a team.”

Mark also highlights other aspects of cricket that have benefits to mental health awareness and resilience.

“Cricket is very much a game where you’re responding to changing situations.

“Whether it’s keeping on top a run rate, building an innings, or setting the right fields – cricket helps build the mental skills to deal with these situations.

“And a huge part of this is team work – cricket is very much a sharing experience.”

Cricket also offers a huge range of opportunities for people to start in the game – or to keep involved as the years start to catch up.

Mark points out: “There are so many different aspects to cricket and opportunities for people within club settings – playing, coaching, scoring, umpiring, working the bar, making teas, organising events and tours.”

You can find out more about then great work Opening Up Cricket does here: https://openingupcricket.com