Happy Diwali to all our members!

As I mentioned last week, our indoor winter training is now booked at Esher College and Tiffins Boys School starting on Sunday, 14 January. All Junior age groups will be involved.

With that in mind, now is a good time to let everyone know that we are delighted to announce that Mo Ahmad will be our Junior Head Coach for 2024. Mo has worked as a coach for us in recent years and is now making the step up to this position. He is already working with Dom Spray, Chair of Junior Cricket, and James Watson, Head of Girls Cricket, to develop an inclusive and exciting coaching program for all our Junior cricketers.

We continue to work with the Royal Parks to agree the most suitable form of temporary accommodation until the pavilion is rebuilt. Several options are still being considered. As soon as we have a decision we will let you know. We hope the demolition of what remains of the pavilion will be completed by Christmas.

With regards to the rebuild itself, we were delighted that the insurers confirmed last week that our claim has been approved. This represents a major milestone for us but does not mean our own fundraising efforts come to an end. Far from it. The insurance proceeds we hope will cover much of the cost of the new pavilion; however, the running costs of the cricket club without pavilion related income are still significant and will not be funded by membership subscriptions alone. Other items we will need to fund include the temporary accommodation costs and any improvements we want to make to the new pavilion and its related infrastructure.

Have a great week and enjoy the final knockout games of the Cricket World Cup. Can South Africa follow up their rugby success with another triumph in India?!

Sam Kemp

HWRCC Chairman