Ahhh....

Over recent weeks, Vice Captain Max Murrain has been organising weekend net sessions at Paddington Recreation Ground, which have been very well attended and sensibly socially distanced. 

Besides being great fun, this is just the preparation we've needed, as last night the UK Government u-turned (probably after Vaughny called them all Muppets in a BBC interview the other day) and announced a return to recreational cricket in England from 11 July 2020.

https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/1707708/uk-government-gives-green-light-for-recreational-cricket-to-return

We understand there will be more guidance coming out on how to play sensibly and mitigate the spread of the virus.  We'll keep an eye out for that advice and will implement on game day as necessary... I'm sure it'll be fairly straightforward since the game is pretty much the most socially distanced game of all.

Anyway, for those mad on cricket like The Wash this is of course great news.  Indications are that Wash CC members are up for a game next weekend and so we're checking with our 'next' oppo to see if they're keen.  Look out for emails from our July Match Manager.

One last point... as keen as we are to play, we all need to remember that the virus is still out there.  The last thing we want is a full return to sloppy celebratory kisses and massive manhugs when we take all those wickets you've been dreaming of... thus increasing the risk of spreading the virus after all this good isolation work we've done.  So, please consider your own and your families health and well-being when saying YES to play.  Consider the transport options, wear masks when in public or on public transport, maintain good hand-washing etc. etc.  In short, be sensible!  Just like we do when we're asked to come in at 6 and hold up an end to get us home... yeah... well never mind... you know what I mean?!

Best wishes to all and see you real soon,
Wash CC Chairperson
on behalf of the Washington CC Committee  
​
PS.... let's get ready to smash the leather and recapture the spirit of this marvellous game, captured here below in one of my fave Wash images!

Well done to Social Sec Mark "I'd take a bet on that" Molloy who chaired our first ever online Washington CC Race Night last night Friday 03 July 2020.

Mark took us through a whole raft of different races and points were awarded for picking the winners... top fun and some good banter!  Of course it was conducted over Zoom, like virtually every social or work transaction of the past several months (indeed I am struggling to comprehend the idea of life without these disconnected social encounters) and as we are tantalisingly close to an almost full opening up of the country, last nights festivities may well be the last such event!  
 
Whilst it was great to see you all in 2D, we here at Wash CC HQ are really looking forward to seeing you all in person at some point in the very near future.  Maybe even on the cricket pitch...

Thanks again to Molly for his inventive socials over recent months... 

We hope this message finds you all fit and healthy after a fabulously sunny weekend, but now for a small bit of news...

Your club has made a small donation to help NHS staff working hard in trying conditions, to keep us all safe and well.  We donated £5 from each Annual Subscription paid to the club so far this year, to help pay for lunches that go directly to NHS workers at St Mary's Hospital.  They need the benefit of this money more than we do right now and so we hope you all agree with this small but important gesture.  What we’ve done is tiny in the scheme of things, but you can imagine this multiplied across many clubs and other outlets London and UK wide, and we’d like to think that starts to really make a difference!

​Best wishes to all.

Despite the current lock down and isolation, we had a great showing for the Virtual Washington CC 2020 AGM on Friday night.  The entire committee and several players joined in, and over the course of a few cold beers we got through all the business in fairly good time.  All members of the committee have been elected and whilst they have largely stayed the same, there are 2 notable changes...

Former VC Richard 'Apollo' Creed has been elected Washington CC Club Captain. In addition, former Recruitment Secretary Max Murrain is now Washington CC Vice Captain.  Congratulations to you both.

I'm sure all Wash men will offer them their full and continued support on and off the field, and more so now than ever before, we look forward to hopefully getting some cricket in, under the steady hand of these two gents!

​(Itching to smash some leather now....) Best to all!

As previously advised, the face to face meet up for the Washington CC AGM 2020 is cancelled.  However, we are still holding it... this Friday evening from 6.30pm, via Zoom.  How utterly modern of us WFH Washington CC Cricketing types you say.  We will update you of outcomes after meeting, or if you're interested in joining in... please let us know and we can send you the link.

In the meantime, please enjoy this fabulous Desparadoes Tour video put together by Russ Pendry. 

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9_g78ohooc/?utm_source=ig_web_button_native_share

Stay safe all and dream of smashing leather!

Cheers