From the captains perspective this was even more annoying as at anything remotely close to full strength we were very competitive at this level, it is also important for the Second Eleven to play at the highest standard possible to smooth the path of young players on their way to the 1st X1.

So analysis time, where did it all go wrong ?? The easy answer is to blame lack of availability, and that is exactly what I am going to do. The commitment to play cricket seriously on a regular basis is not abundant at the club, this can be easily demonstrated by the staggering fact that over forty players represented the seconds this year. This I can assure you was not due to the captain's rotation policy and his following of all things Chelsea, but was a reflection of the player's lack of commitment!!

It actually gets worse, on four occasions this year we only fielded ten men this was not due to an overall lack of numbers but to players not turning up on the day!!!! I find it unbelievable that they can do this without letting anyone know.

I am sorry to rant and rave in this report but I think it needed to be said, to those of you who do not fall into the above category I apologise and thank you for your efforts.

On a brighter note and these are the things I would rather be talking about, there were some encouraging individual performances from younger members of the team and they need hi-lighting ;

Hugo Matcham batted very well this year and is obviously on the verge of a successful 1st X1 career, he batted with more confidence than in previous years and proved to himself as well as to the rest of the team that he has the ability to go on and score lots more runs for Amersham. I hope to see more of Hugo at Shardeloes over the coming years.

Nick Moore is both committed and talented and deserved the chance to play for the first eleven at the end of a season which saw him improve all year long. Spinners as we know are at a premium in this country and we are lucky to have Nick, he will go on to take many wickets for Amersham.

Alex Hands made more progress this season and his enthusiasm as well as his bowling forced him into the top team. If all the players at the club had his commitment the club would be better off.

I will miss these three players as they progress to the first team but have enjoyed seeing them improve over the last few years.

However as they progress others come through the system and it was good to see some promising performances from the present U15 side, Rob Viney, Ben Ramsden and Chris Cowley all played senior cricket and showed that they have the ability to play at this level, I look forward to seeing them in the seconds next year.

I am sure that we are capable of bouncing straight back especially if we improve our commitment and I look forward to a much better season in 2001.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jim for his efforts on the ground he did a very good job in very wet conditions this year, and to the tea ladies for their great nosh!

Happy Christmas

Winter well