There is just a month until our first league game - the Men's Saturday 1s are away to Stowupland for their first Division Five fixture on April 18. That game is followed by 21 more tough league games over the successive weeks - can Tom Sidhu and the boys make it two titles in a row?

The Men's Sunday 1s are bidding to make it three titles in a row and their Hunts Division Two season starts on May 3 at Long Melford.

The Men's Saturday 2s do not start their league fixtures until May 9 when Eddie's team are at home to Brightlingsea 2nds. Before that we have a friendly T20 at Framlingham College on Friday April 24.

Overall there are plenty of fixtures and plenty of opportunities for everybody to play their part in a busy season - make sure you are up for it. Go to https://meltonstaudrys.play-cricket.com to see all the fixtures and perhaps peruse your past performances and statistics. Set yourself some targets for 2026. Make sure you are registered as a member of the site for full access.

Men's training continues on Wednesday nights (7.30 until 8.30 at Woodbridge School dome) and we will start outdoor nets after Easter.

But to make all that possible on the field we have a momentous but exciting challenge off it - to raise enough money to help buy the ground. We are in negotiations with Hopkins Homes as part of the Sports & Social Club and a number of individuals are putting in a huge effort to make it possible. We hope to secure various grants but the target is still a long way off. But every one of us can make a difference - are you supporting YOUR committee and officials to secure the future of cricket at Melton?
Go to https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/staudrys-club-freehold and back Melton's Big Appeal. Individuals or businesses can donate as much or as little as they can manage - every little helps.

And, of course, we have our 24-hour net practice challenge on March 28-29. I hope we can rely on everybody joining in, either by taking part, turning up to offer support - or just by donating. We have four players who are planning to carry out the full 24-hour challenge - Tamsin, Charlotte J, Lily M and Natty - and they have organised their own sponsorships. Why not give them a boost by making a donation? In addition Eddie and Mark are both taking on 12-hour stints as coaches/organisers.

Thanks to some great work by our various managers and coaches all of our age groups are taking part and there is considerable rivalry to see which group can raise the largest amount. Many thanks to Woodbridge School for making this possible by offering the use of the sports dome.
This is a great opportunity for the whole club to work together - make sure you play your part. Because it is the weekend when the clocks go forward the full challenge is from 8am on Saturday to 9am on Sunday - that last hour may be the hardest of all. Can you turn up and cheer them on to the finish line?
And it is also a great opportunity to carry out some intense personal training. Coaches will be on hand to offer advice and the bowling machine will be available on request. Of course you will have aches and pains afterwards - but you will have earned the right to be proud of those minor inconveniences as they demonstrate that the summer is edging ever closer.

To set you up for the season I encourage you to look at the link below, written over a century ago.
Twas ever thus!
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/08/from-the-archive-1921-the-return-of-cricket

Malcolm Grubb, Chairman MSACC

Hello! Hello!

A unique season actually started on July 11 with an enjoyable inter-club friendly. Team Stokes were triumphant against Team Bowyer in the battle of the Joshes.

There was some good cricket played at times, several neatly-taken catches and the usual fireworks from Jothi. We slowly got used to the new routines including six-over breaks for hand sanitiser, not returning the ball around the fielders, etc. Most people got a bat and/or a bowl, a few looked like they may have played the game before while others looked as if it was the first time they had ever seen a cricket bat!! The teas were great (everybody brought their own) and a cheeky bottle of beer afterwards went down well. And with an 11am start it was all done and dusted by 5pm. That could be the way forward - we shall see.

We have a 10-match programme against local sides to come, with two teams in action. Let Phil/Eddie and/or Malcolm/Mark know your availability and we can look forward to some good times on the cricket pitch in July, August and September.