Good Morning Mount players, supporters and friends!

As many of you will already know, one of our greatest and longest-serving members, David Thomas, passed away earlier this year. We continue to miss his presence, story telling and eccentricities both on and off the cricket field!

However, we have an opportunity before the end of this season to remember David. The last game of the Mount CC season is on Sunday 17th September against Westcliff at Chalkwell Park, which is fitting for both sides given his many years of service to both clubs.

Both Mount and Westcliff would like to mark this occasion by fielding teams made up of as many people as possible who have played with David over the years (and there are many!). So, whether you are a current, part time, tourist or self-confessed retired player we are inviting you to play a part in the match. We would love to accommodate as many as possible to make the teams as representative of the influence over the years that David made to both clubs, so don't be shy in volunteering to play.

If you are unable to play we would still love to see you at Chalkwell Park to celebrate David's life. I would also like to compile as many stories of David as possible which, ideally, would be available on the day for everyone to see. To achieve that i will need your help. So please send me any stories or anecdotes that i can edit ahead of the game!

RSVP to me as soon as possible so we can make arrangements with Westcliff, including any catering requirements. I will be in touch nearer the match date with further details.

Looking forward to seeing you in September!

Mount CC President - Ged Williams
Mount CC Sponsor – The Indian Chefs, 109 Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff-on-Sea.

It is a pleasure to write this report after such a good game in hot sunshine.

The President’s XI this year was mainly made of up Mount players other than allrounder Liam Nugent from Southend & EMT. It was superb to be able to call on Matt Elmer also a Southend & EMT player but equally a Mountie. Paul McKeon (Pmac) was back playing for the Mount, on top of his duties as captain of a Basildon & Pitsea Saturday league team. It was also brilliant to welcome back father and son combination of Richard and William Green. Thank you also to Steve Johnson and Ilan Frankel for batting later in the order to allow for the two, father and son combinations to bat 1 to 4.

A special mention should also be made to Toby Duffin for going out of his way and providing a beautifully finished, flat and straw coloured wicket that produced a fine game with over 400 runs scored in 70 overs. Thank you to Stewart for umpiring 70 overs on such a hot afternoon and assisting before and after the match. Thanks to Bill Foley for keeping an eye on the match finances. Thanks to Steve Johnson the Mount skipper who’s support from start to finish was vital.

Thank you also to Vijay and his team of London Strikers, some of who are making the transition from tennis ball cricket to hard ball cricket and are blessed with youth and natural talent. They are a friendly bunch of cricketers and pleasure to play against. Following afternoon tea the Strikers presented the Mount CC with a London Strikers cap set in a frame which was gratefully received by the President. It should be mentioned that Vijay has had a big part in keeping the Mount CC playing over recent seasons, as cricketers become harder to find and the Mount team ages and injuries add up.

The day started with the toss of a US dollar (Matt Elmer randomly pulled it out of his pocket) with Vijay calling heads and the President winning the toss and electing to bat. The President opened the batting with Jonny Williams (age 13), and he was quick to take a bye and get Jonny on strike. Jonny unfortunately missed a straight one for a second ball duck and trudged off to be replaced by his cousin Will Green. Will and the President played and missed a few, especially Will, but settled in and added 98 for the second wicket. Will is a stylish left hander and plays a similar straight bat to his Dad and can hit 360 degrees. Will met his demise on 41 and was replaced by his Dad, who despite a dodgy back also showcased his skill and helped moved the score on to 131 before the President was removed for 68, courtesy of the Mount’s own Vijay, playing for the Strikers. Rich was then joined by Matt Elmer who added a valuable 24 while Rich was out to Vijay for 23. Ilan coming in late in the innings didn’t disappoint the spectators with his usual clean hitting and was joined by Mount skipper Steve Johnson, another clean hitter with a quick 8 who was quickly replaced by Paul Offord who supported Ilan’s handy 25 to finish off the President’s XI 35 over innings on 221. From the London Strikers their opening bowler Akshay was particularly dangerous and his 1 for 20 off six overs reflected the respect he was given. The Strikers used 8 bowlers and shared the wickets around and typically Vijay chimed in with his usual couple. A special mention to the very capable Nishad, the Strikers keeper who has played for the Mount, and the tidy job he did.

A thank you now to a collection of Southend & EMT players who arrived halfway through the first innings to support Matt Elmer and Liam Nugent. They went on to assist with umpiring, keep the scorebook, and update the scoreboard. We are really grateful for that but it doesn’t mean we’ll hold anything back next time we play them. 😊

At 3pm it was afternoon tea time and thank you to Suzie, Lucy and Kate Williams and Eleanor Johnson for the homemade cakes, tea and soft drinks. The kitchen at home looked a bomb site during the making on Saturday afternoon/Sunday morning but all worth it.

The Strikers innings began around 15.45 with the Mount bowling attack led by the experienced but spry Mike Walsh, and the youthful but very stiff Pmac who to his credit had played 100 overs on Saturday. Ilan kept wicket in his normal tidy manner. Pmac nabbed Vijay’s wicket early on despite the difficulty of delivering the first 3 balls or so down to the other end, while Mike toiled away for 4 overs beating the bat with no reward. The President decided to give the bowlers a spell after 4 overs each, to save Mike for later in the innings and to save Pmac who had worked up a mighty sweat from needing the Mount portable defibrillator. Liam Nugent our guest player took over and bowled a tidy and rewarding spell of left arm duckers, bagging 2 wickets, while Paul Offord charging in as ever finally removed the Strikers opener Adil for 23 runs. It is about this point that we began to realise that the Strikers have batsmen 1 to 11 and our score of 221 could be under threat. Nevertheless the Mount youth policy was put into action with cousins Will Green and Jonny Williams called into action. Unfortunately Will’s dodgy shoulder didn’t react well to being turned over so his uncle the President finished off the over and nobbled Arkshay who had been going well for his 27. Jonny proceeded to bowl 5 overs with his swinging left armers, and shrugged off a bit of tap to clean bowl Farhad 4 and trap V. Arksun 15 in front. Matt Elmer was brought into the bowling attack to confuse the Strikers with his unorthodox deliveries but that experiment began to look a bit risky after 2 overs and with the Mount total in site. Note to readers I think I have the order of the bowling a bit mixed up now but if you knew how hot it was out there you would understand my confusion. The Mount opening bowling pair were called upon to steady the ship with Mike Walsh trapping Nishad in front for a punishing 40 and Pmac having Shaz, the Strikers no. 10 caught at midwicket for 32. So come the last over the Strikers had 208 with 9 wickets down. The President looked around and saw some very sweaty, broken Mounties and with the 4 leading bowlers all having bowled their maximum. So in desperation he decided to take this one for his team mates and with the penultimate ball of the match bowled Niyaz for 19, the Strikers all out for 213 and the winning of the match.

Following the game a superb curry was put on by the Indian Chefs, and plenty of lager and soft drinks was used to replace fluid lost on this hot Sunday afternoon.

Firstly apologies for the radio silence.

A quick update on the current season as it progresses.

We have played 3 games currently our first game was against Canewdon in a hastily re arranged change of venue as the pitch at Alleyn Court was unable to be prepared due to rain on the friday prior to the match. Canewdon thankfully had a pitch available so we managed to get a game in.

The outfield was being cut when we arrived so with all the grass cuttings this was probably going to be a low scoring game. I won the toss and elected to bat in our 35 overs we managed to muster a total of 169-8 with M. Giri 69 and ex president S. Jackson 33 being the notable scorers. In reply we managed to restrict Canewdon to 143ao with wickets from Vijay (3-18), Offord (2-15) & Hare (2-51) so a win by 26 runs.

Our next fixture against Southend EMTCC is always a tough fixture and so it proved with Southend winning the toss and electing to bat they managed to post a total of 223-8 which was a good performance considering they had 6 players that had been in the first team on the Saturday. Top wicket taker being M Walsh (4-28).

In reply we could unfortunately only muster 113ao and although the top order started well enough the last 7 batsmen only managed a total of 8 runs. A very impressive collapse as collapses go. The top batsmen being Vijay (41) and Ilan (29) so a loss by 110 runs.

Our most recent fixture was against Great Canfield who normally score a fair few against us. With traffic being bad the start of the game was delayed but when we did start Canfield won the toss and elected to field. In our 35 overs we managed to score an impressive total of 282-3 with Vijay (86 retired), Johnson (82), Hemu (61) and S Jackson (32no). In reply the Canfield opening batsmen started well enough but when they were dispatched we managed to clear through the rest of the order bowling them out for 102. Wickets were shared around with 2 each from Arjun V, Arjun K, Libin and Niyaz. Special mention must go to the presidents son Jonny who made his Mount debut bowling 5 overs one maiden for 9 runs. We won the game by 180 runs.

Our next fixture is this coming Sunday 11th June. This is the Presidents XI v London Strikers XI. Start time is 12:30 with a selection of cake and fruit available at tea and after the game we have Indian Chefs (our sponsors) supplying a curry. If anyone wishes to attend and support the club please let me know. There is a charge £20 Adults Teenagers £10 Children under 12 free with one full paying adult otherwise £10.

Please let me know if you can attend as caterers need to know numbers. Payments in advance would be helpful.

I will try and post a bit more now that I have worked out how to use my son's laptop as my computer died.

On behalf of David's family, please find below a message regarding the funeral arrangements for dear David.

Could you please let me know if you are coming and the number in your party?

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Further to the sad news of the passing of our brother David, his funeral will be held on Tuesday the 28th February at St Laurence and All Saints Church, Eastwoodbury Lane, Southend SS2 6UN at 2.30 pm followed by the interment at 3.15.

Cricket Club members could wear Club ties and/or blazers. There will only be family flowers.

As we have two options for the Wake, could you please indicate if you will be attending both the church and the wake by Friday 10th February so we can assess catering numbers and book the best place.

Many thanks. Frank & Brian

I hope you are all well and had an enjoyable summer. Mount's season drew to a close on Sunday with an enjoyable match against Southend & EMT CC at Southchurch Park.

With the season now over, I’d like to draw your attention to a couple of upcoming events. First, we will be holding our Autumn golf day at Garons Park in Southend on Sunday 18th September. Timings tbc but we’ll aim for early afternoon tee-times.

On the following Thursday 22nd September, we will hold our end of season dinner at our new shirt sponsor's restaurant, The Indian Chefs in Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff. Once again, exact timings are tbc but around 7.30/8pm looks likely. The team at Indian Chefs will put together an excellent set menu for us for around £25 per head, with a discount offered to members of our subscription scheme. We will also be handing out trophies at this dinner as well running a raffle with some excellent prizes on offer.

We’d love to see as many of you as possible at these events and to catch up properly with new friends and old.

If you’d like to join us at either/both these events, please contact our Social Secretary, Bill Foley by email at williamfoley@sky.com or by text/WhatsApp on 07769 657 579.

First things first I have to advise you of the above fixture which was due to be our anniversary match against an Essex Seniors side. Unfortunately the Seniors have had to withdraw from the fixture due to only being able to field 4 players wiling to play.

This may be down to the fact it was fathers day this coming Sunday however personally I feel they had heard through the grapevine the current form of my strike bowler and vice captain with the ball. They were running scared!!

We have decided not to find another fixture for Sunday however our social secretary Bill Foley has offered a golf day to take part in if you wish. If you are interested depending on numbers it can be arranged, let me know.

I have spoken with the school and they have offered potentially a couple of dates in July that a pitch could be prepared to make up for the loss of this weeks fixture. Whether we decide to do anything or not I will let you know. If another cricket match is not arranged we will be looking to do something at some point later in the season or at the end of the season. Again I will keep you advised.

On the cricketing side of things we've had 2 fixtures since our last message. The first was away to Great Canfield who advised myself on our arrival that they currently only have 6 players there for a 1pm start so had better bat first. Which they duly did racking up a total of 276-5 off 35 overs. Pick of the bowlers was Ged with 3 wickets. Our reply ended on 159 ao.

Sunday saw the presidents fixture take place which I was unable to play in so my vice captain took over the reigns. I have found it difficult to find out much information from the fixture aside from Toby Duffin scoring a 50 and notably games for some of the players children Vijay (Shri) Paul (William) and Ged (Johnny) getting a game. Hopefully they will be able to play more games in the future.

Also I'm sure everyone at the club would like to thank Ged and Suzie and any helpers (sorry for not knowing who was there) for putting on a great day. Also a thank you to our new sponsors Indian Chefs, Hamlet Court Road for making a very enjoyable curry to end the proceedings. I would recommend going there for a meal should you get a chance. Do mention Mount CC when you go.

We now have no fixtures until July 3rd Westcliff Home 17th Benfleet Away & 24th Rayleigh Fairview Home.

I will endeavour to update you on results as we play the games.

I hope you are all well.

Her Majesty is not the only one celebrating this year! As many of you will know the 2022 season also marks 70 years since the club played its first match. Unfortunately, I have been unable to arrange a bank holiday in honour of our achievement but I am pleased to let you know that to celebrate our anniversary we have arranged a fixture against the Essex Seniors XI to be held at Alleyn Court on 19th June.

In addition to the cricket there will be a celebratory tea and refreshments and on behalf of the Skipper and the Committee, I am delighted to invite you to join us. All are welcome and we do hope that as many of you as possible are able to come along but we recognise that our email list may not be a comprehensive record of all those who have played a part in Mount’s history, so I would be grateful if you could pass on the invitation to any Mounties you are in touch with.

We are hoping to add to the day and I will be in touch with more details as they become available.

In the meantime, if you would like to join us to mark this landmark anniversary, just email me at williamfoley@sky.com advising the size of your party.

The 2022 season so far has very much matched the weather – unpredictable! A sunny start with a comfortable victory over Rayleigh Fairview, was followed by a dismal performance to match the grey, drizzly skies away at Rayleigh CC. We returned to the ACG last Sunday to play Southend EMTCC and whilst we lost, it was a very enjoyable afternoon of cricket played in the right spirit. Star performers with the bat so far have been Ilan Frankel and Ged Williams, whilst with the ball, Justin Montellier, leads the way with 10 wickets already. Don’t forget you can keep up to date with the club’s results and stats at our website www.mountcc.org.uk – as always, expertly maintained by Clarissa.

I do hope you can join us on 19th June and look forward to hearing from you.

Hello Members, Friends & Supporters of Mount CC

October 12th marks the 70th Anniversary of the formation of the club and we thought we'd mark the occasion by getting together to raise a few glasses to Mount CC.

We are looking to reserve some space at The Crown in Rayleigh where the club was formed, subject to numbers.

Please let me know if you'd like to come along to mark this important anniversary.

For those concerned with driving/fuel crisis (!) the pub is a short walk from Rayleigh station.

I hope you are all well and having a great summer. Next Sunday we have a Mount CC golf day to be held at Garons Park, Southend with tee times expected to commence around noon/early afternoon (subject to numbers/availability). The format will be a team “Texas Scramble”.

Additionally, with our home fixtures now concluded, following the conclusion of the golf we will be heading over to the Pavilion at Alleyn Court to mark the end of the home season. We will also hand out trophies for the 2020 season - an event delayed by the pandemic. We expect proceedings to kick-off at the ACG around 5.30/6pm (more details when the golf has been booked).

If you would like to join us for either or both of these events, please let me now asap – I will look to book the golf tomorrow.

I look forward to hearing from you.