Club Dinner 7 - Player of the Year

Player of the year is the primo cricketing award. This year competition was stiff. Joey picked up fielding and bowling which was pretty special. Wrighty came in for consideration and nomination. What a season for the dark spectacled one. Runnnnnsss, 307 of them at 50 and, mid season, a couple of revelatory bowling performances to go with (Sisso would have been proud of Fudgey bowling him for 17 unchanged overs against the Vandals). He even found time to impregnate his wife too although technically that must have been when he was supposed to be netting in February...

And then there was Charlie High. Scourge of 3xi bowling attacks everywhere. And some 2xi attacks too. Runs on runs. As mentioned elsewhere it was death or glory stuff and when it came off... early on in the season there was talk of a sixes league. Charlie had destroyed it inside a couple of games getting into double figures before the end of May probably. What a season. Go on and build on it my son.

And there was Fudgey's batting to contend with too. And his fielding. And his captaincy, taking the 2s up and out of the Fullers in back to back promotion places. Phenomenal stuff.

But Jimmy C picked up player of the year. He did it by showing what, joking aside, a bit of belief can do. Getting over his slight chagrin that there wasn't a regular 2s berth for him he threw himself into the 3s with guts and gusto. He made it difficult to get him out. Only Ol' Soft Hands and Charles High esq scored more 3xi runs. But then Ol' Soft Hands and Charles High weren't the leading 3s wicket taker to boot. And, throwing in Sunday wickets, they weren't the leading wicket taker in the club. Clarky will wager that no one else bowled as many overs either. He also caught more than Bob Nudd does in a year during the cricket season.

What he also did, like last year's Club Man, was to revitalise a team. Actually, an institution. He picked up the Sunday experience, dusted it down, bought it a new suit, shirt, tie and some fancy shoes and he sent it out the door, full of confidence. All of a sudden people wanted to play Sunday cricket again. A really impressive season all round. You couldn't ask much more.

Wickman salutes Wickman Jr. Damn. That cat's out of the bag then...

[Here club legend Mickey McMahon presents the shield to Jimmy. Chairman Nips demonstrates to an off camera Clarky how to make a bunny rabbit shadow puppet]