As the clocks went back this weekend it felt like autumn is truly upon us. The 2024 cricket season is becoming a distant memory but there is still plenty going on behind the scenes for me to tell you about.

Last week all 76 clubs in the Surrey Championship were invited to a meeting to vote on the future of the league. (A reminder that the Surrey Championship is the Adult men’s league that we play on Saturdays). The proposal was to vote to dissolve the league, which has been in existence for more than 50 years. The proposal needed a 2/3rds majority to succeed. Of the 72 clubs that attended the meeting, 56 voted in favour and 16 against, so the proposal was passed. In line with member feedback, we voted in favour of this proposal.

The next step is to reform the league. The plan is to merge the 76 ex-Surrey Championship clubs with two other Surrey leagues: the Surrey Cricket League and Surrey County League. This merger with result in a new, bigger league called the Surrey Cricket Championship. This will mean more local, regional cricket. The obvious benefit to us is less travel time for away games, particularly for our teams lower down the league pyramid. There will be other changes to the playing conditions which will be confirmed at future meetings. I will update you once these are confirmed.

Regarding the rebuild of our pavilion, we are in the final stages of our application for planning permission. A group of us met the planners at the club recently. They would like us to make some changes to the plans for the upper story of the building and these are almost complete. Our key stakeholders, namely our local Councillor, Sport England and the Royal Parks (our landlord) all support our plans.

If the plans are approved in the next few weeks we will then complete technical drawings and start the tendering process for the work. Our best case scenario will see building commence on site as the 2025 cricket season starts. Again, I will continue to provide you with updates in the coming winter months.

We are still engaged with the insurers to finalise the funding we will receive from them. Our best estimates suggest we will have a significant gap between the insurance proceeds and the cost of the new pavilion. We have a Fundraising Team who are entirely dedicated on closing this gap. Anyone who can give their time or expertise would be most welcome to join this team. Please let me know if you can help.

Finally a couple of dates for your diary:

• The Annual Dinner takes place on Saturday, 9 November at The Mitre Hotel in Hampton Court. We still have a few spare places. If you would like a ticket please contact Jack Le Feuvre.
• The AGM will take place on Wednesday, 4 December at Bullen Hall in Hampton Wick, next to the library. Please come along to vote on the captains for next season, to get the latest update on the pavilion and the club finances, and to hear more about the progress we are making to grow the club further.
• The inaugural Wick City Lunch will take place on Thursday 6 March at Smith and Wollensky on Embankment where we will be joined and entertained by 2005 Ashes winning captain Michael Vaughan. More information on the event and ticket booking will follow.

I hope to see you at one or both of these events. If not, perhaps I’ll bump into you in The Foresters which doubles up as my “Office” where I have Wick related meetings most weeks nowadays!