Names for the Nameless

There was some title nudity within our club teams but they have be clothed with names befitting their place in the Varisty cricket and now they may taunt, befuddle, intimidate, and impress their opposition.

Division 1 Women will now be know as The Pride

Division 2 Women will take the field this week as The Hunters

And the fighting spirit will continue when the 2Ds become The Anzacs

Also - the player of the day bottomless mugs will be up and running. See you there!!

25 October 2004

Seniors beat Johnsonville by 9 wickets

The VUWCC senior side kicked off their Hazlett Trophy campaign in fine style by thumping Johnsonville by 9 wickets in a one day match at Kilbirnie Park on 23 October. Johnsonville, batting first on the bouncy artifiical wicket, could manage only 70 with extras top scoring at 31.

New Zealand Indoor Cricket captain Graham Murray (4-8) and Sunnie Chan (4-16) did the damage for VUWCC, bundling the Johnsonville side out in under 30 overs.

Varisty then made short work of the chase, knocking the total off in the 13th over with only one wicket down. Ben Rapson (36 not out) and Luke Woods (26 not out) were the main contributors.

The side's next Hazlett Trophy game is a two day match against Wainuiomata at Bryan Heath Park.

All other club cricket was cancelled for on the weekend of 23 October.

15 October 2004

The Occidental – www.theoccidental.co.nz/ (sign up now)

We have some fantastic ideas to make our clubrooms, The Occidental in Lambton Quay, the best place to be on a Saturday night after cricket this season.

Buy four, get one free

Every club member will be given a ‘buy four, get one free,’ loyalty card. For every four drinks the bearer purchases, they will receive a fifth drink (of the same value as the previous four), free!! Cards will be given out to the captain/organiser of each team before the opening night at the Occi (30 October).

Once cards are used up they can be exchanged for new ones at the bar.

‘Player of the day’ gets free drinks all night

Fancy yourself for some runs, wickets and catches this season? Well, here’s an incentive – every Saturday the player of the day from every team will get receive a customised beer handle that can be refilled for free.  That’s right, free all night! The condition is that five of that player’s teammates have to be in the bar at the time. Those who prefer wine are entitled to one free bottle of house wine.

Handles have to be returned at the end of the night. At the end of the season each team’s ‘player of the season’ is entitled to keep the handle ‘forever.’

Weekly Barbecue

University cricketers are always keen for some cheap but good food after a hard day’s cricket. This season we have decided to run a club barbeque every week. This is how the scheme works:

• Each week one team is designated as ‘The BBQ Squad.’ It is the BBQ squad’s responsibility to buy the BBQ pack from Preston’s Meats and cook the barbeque at The Occidental on a Saturday night.
• A Preston’s BBQ pack costs $85 (or about $8 from each team member.) Preston’s is located in Hopper Street, Mount Cook. See a map here.
• The Occidental will provide the BBQ and gas bottle, plates, cutlery and napkins, a great social atmosphere and pretty much everything else. All the BBQ Squad need to do is supply the BBQ pack and some keen cooks.
• Every club member then partakes in the meal. T he idea is to invite your opposition as well – there is plenty of food to go around so the more the merrier. It all serves to make a great atmosphere.

We believe the scheme is great because:

• It will cost players less than $20 for the season. For this you get a BBQ meal every Saturday night.
• It will provide a great way to have a filling meal on a Saturday after cricket.
• It will cement our reputation as the most social cricket club in Wellington.

The Barbeque Squad roster is as follows (up until Christmas):

• Saturday, 30 October – Seniors
• Saturday, 6 November – 2b Spartans
• Saturday, 13 November – 2a Knights
• Saturday 20 November – The Lions
• Saturday 27 November –2a Tamils
• Saturday 4 December – 4b Entertainers
• Saturday 11 December – Super 8 Women
• Saturday 18 December – 2d

Opening Night (and cheap drinks)

The season's opening ceremony will be at The Occidental on 30 October, starting at 7pm. To celebrate this auspicious occasion the club will be putting on $2 drinks (only applies to tap beers, house wines and soft drinks.) See you there!!

Season Starts 23 October

The season starts for all grades on 23 October. The draw should be out shortly. Very best of luck!!

Shirts and Caps

There are white shirts and green caps with the club logo on them available for sale. Shirts cost $12 and caps cost $5. We are able to offer them at such a cheap price because of the continued support of The Occidental.

If you would like a shirt and/or cap, please give your preferred size and money to your team captain/organiser by next Wednesday, 20 October. We will try to get shirts and caps out to players before the first game on the 23rd. Because of limited numbers this is limited to one shirt and cap per club member.

Subscriptions

Thanks to the Occidental sponsorship and the improved financial state of the club the VUWCC committee has decided to lower subs this season. These are as follows:

Two-Day Grades:

Student: $100 ($10 lower than last season)

Waged: $180 ($10 lower than last season)

One Day Grades:

$1150 ($100 lower than last season)

Super 8 Women:

Student - $50 ($20 lower than last season)

Waged - $70

All subscriptions are due by 7 December unless automatic payments have been set up. AP forms will be distributed for this purpose. If subs have not been received by 7 December (or an AP form hasn’t been set up,) the following penalties will be applied:

$40 per person

$200 per team

Cheques can be made out to Victoria University Cricket Club and posted (along with your name and team,) to:

PO Box 14130

Kilbirnie

Wellington

Alternatively, cheques can be given to Colin Owens or Paul Coleman.

5 October 2004

John Martin becomes a Life Member

John Martin was unaminously voted a life member of the club at the Annual General Meeting on 27 September. As the below points suggest, John's contribution in playing for and administering the club over a 50 year period have been immense and he is thoroughly deserving of the accolade.

Playing Career

John first played for the University third grade side while at Rongotai College in 1951. He played second grade upon leaving school in 1952/53 and the last two games of the season for the senior championship winning side that season, which was captained by the great John R. Reid.

John developed a fine reputation as a right arm medium fast bowler and middle to lower order batsman. He was a regular selection in the senior side until the 1961 season. In the 1960/61 season John was an integral part of the side captained by Bob Vance that won the Senior Championship.

John was heavily involved in the administration and playing of New Zealand University cricket. He captained several Victoria University Tournament teams and also led a touring team to Taranaki. He received Victoria University blues for cricket between 1956-1961. He was a member of New Zealand University North Island touring teams in 1956/57 and 58/59, played for a Wellington XI against New Zealand Universities in 1960 and played for New Zealand Universities against Otago in 1960.

John served overseas in the diplomatic core from 1961-1965, before returning to New Zealand in 1965 where he played a couple of seasons in the second grade.

In the 1980s John’s playing career got a second wind when he captained the 3A ‘Foreign Affairs’ team for several seasons.

Administration

• Honorary Secretary 1955/56 season
• J.A. Carrad award for the Most Valuable Club Member, 1955/56
• Club Captain 1956/57
• Delegate to the New Zealand Universities Cricket Council 1960/61
• Committee member for many years
• President 1985/86 and 86/87 – immediate past President of the club
• After dinner speaker at the 90 year anniversary in 1996
• Co-selector of the New Zealand Universities Side, 1999
• Organised a reunion of the Senior side of the 1940s and 50s in 2004
• Advocate on the club’s behalf for the Victoria University Cricket scholarships – John was on the selection panel in 2004
• Member of the 2006 centenary committee
• Agreed to collate and write part of the club history for the club’s centenary
• Continues to be a great source of advice and wisdom for the club committee members

The club committee would like to sincerely thank John for his incalcuable and immense contribution over the years.

New Vice-Presidents Appointed

The AGM also saw three new Vice-Presidents appointed; Murray Dickson, Ross Bond and Robbie Kerr.

Murray Dickson

• Murray began playing for the senior reserve side in the 1985/86 season.The next year, 1986-87, Murray as Captain led the side to the Wellington Senior Reserve Championship.
• After three years overseas in the late 1980s, Murray returned to captain the 2a side in the 1989/90 and 1991/1992 seasons and was part of the 1992/1993 side that won the 2a grade and gained promotion to Senior Reserve.
• Murray went on to play for the club until the 2000/2001 season, including stints with the 2b and Presidents sides.
• Murray was elected chairman of the club in the 1990/91 season and held the role for another 12 years before moving to Christchurch after the 2002/03 season.
• As chairman Murray saw the club through one of the most successful periods in its history. In 1990-91 and 1991-92 the Senior side won the Trustbank Sunday Cup and in 1995-1996 won the inaugural National Club Championship held at Cornwall Park in Auckland.
• The club was to remain New Zealand club champions for three seasons running and won the Wellington Senior Championship in the 1996/1997 and 1997/1998 seasons.
• The side finished second in the 1999/2000 season.
• Throughout this period Murray was instrumental in recruiting and retaining a number of elite players, arranging sponsorship and ensuring the club was administratively and financially sound
• Despite having a successful career with the New Zealand Milk Board and Fonterra, Murray worked tirelessly as Chairman to improve the club over the years. He managed to assemble a very strong committee throughout much of the 1990s and would like to express his gratitude to a number of committee members and senior players for their efforts. These include Tony Hayward, Mark Brinkler, Sue Sowerby, Hamish Gifford-Moore, Janet Stribling, Robbie Kerr, Ross Bond, Brent Stephen, Bruce Lawerence, Mark Ahern, Ed Porter, Harley Evans and Sean McMahon to name just a few.
• In his last years as Chairman Murray kept the club operating almost single handedly at times. In his final year Murray was able to utilise the support of Cricket Wellington to build a strong committee and implement some robust processes. In just one season the club was able to go from six to 11 teams and move some way towards financial security.
• Not only did Murray invest incalculable hours towards running the club over 12 years, he often made financial contributions as well. On more than one occasion he made financial contributions to the club out of his own pocket and has personally given his own money to club members in financial difficulty. Murray has been a mentor to young club and committee members over the years and has proved invaluable in helping players develop life skills as well as cricketing ones.

1 December 2004

The Occidental - $100 team bar tab

Many thanks to those who turned up to The Occidental last Saturday - and my apologies for the confusion which saw the bar double booked with a 21st function. I have spoken to The Occidental and was assured this will not happen again.

To make up for this The Occidental has agreed to give every team a $100 bar tab this coming Saturday night. Yay! Speeches and player of the day handles will take place at 7.30-8ish and the Super 8 teams; The Hunters and The Pride, are running the BBQ (which means it will be quality!). See you there rain or shine.

Subs

This season's subscriptions are due on 7 December. That's next Tuesday! Those who haven't paid by this date will incur a penalty fee (unless a automatic payment has been set up). As a reminder:

• Two day Men's teams:

$180 for waged players

$100 for students

$40 penalty fee for late payment

• One Day Men's teams:

$1,150 per team

$100 fee for late payment

• Women's Super 8 teams:

$70 for waged players

$50 for students

$40 fee for late payment

Payment Options:

• Cheques can be made out to Victoria University of Wellington Cricket Club and posted to:

Victoria University Cricket Club

PO Box 14 130

Kilbirnie

Wellington

Or handed to Colin Owens or Paul Coleman (Monty)

• Automatic payments, internet transfers and cash deposits can be made into the club bank account, email Colin Owens for details.

Please note your name and your team name on the form so we can track payments

Christmas Function

The committee is going to organise a Christmas function on Saturday, 18 December (mark in your diaries.) We are keen to get your ideas on what we can do to arrange a great night. We have discussed a couple of options:

1) Have a BBQ at the Occidental as per usual, but with the club putting on $2 drinks and a funny speaker (ie not me)

2) Arrange a special liquor license and have a BBQ up at the Kelburn Clubrooms with Santa Claus etc

3) Same as 2, but have some kind of catering option (will require cover charge) or order pizzas etc

We are really keen to get your feedback on these ideas or listen to any ideas you may have. Please send your views to Dave Rigby or have a chat to Dave or myself on Saturday night.

New Club Captain

On a personal note, this is one of the last emails you'll be receiving from me as I will be taking up a new job in Auckland in the New Year and resigning as Club Captain. The committee will be appointing an interim club captain at the next committee meeting on Thursday.

It has been an absolute pleasure and a priviledge to be Club Captain of VUWCC for the last couple of years and it will be sad to leave such a great group of people. The club is in excellent shape and with the current committee being made up of tremendously talented and enthusiastic people, playing cricket for University is only going to get better and more fun into the future.

Oh, and very best of luck for your games on Saturday.

9 December 2004

Graham Murray makes Wellington Side

University allrounder Graham Murray makes his Wellington State Championship debut this week in the four day match against Canterbury at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Murray earnt his place in the side with some superb early season form that included several five wicket hauls in the Hazlett Trophy and a superb 76 for the Matthew Bell XI in the Wellington trial game.

The debut is just reward for Murray (28) who was named Men's club cricketer of the year in the 2001/2002 season and who has played for Wellington A for a number of seasons. The University Club wishes Graham all the best for his debut.

Seniors and Reserves maintain unbeaten streak

The Victoria University Seniors and Senior Reserve Lions have made an unbeaten start to the 2004/05 season. The Hazlett Trophy side recorded their fourth win from four games with a superb run chase against Upper Valley at Kelburn Park on 4 December. Set an imposing 258 to win in the fourth innings, University reached their target seven wickets down with Luke Woods making his maiden club hundred (103) and Colin Owens chiming in with a timely 60. The win puts University second on the Hazlett Trophy table, close behind leaders Onslow.

In the Senior 3 competition the Lions had to settle for a draw against Indian Sports at Cobham Park, despite taking a handy first innings lead into the second day. Set an unlikely 256 from 40 overs in the fourth innings, University were never looking likely after losing early wickets and were forced to play for the draw. The match was remarkable for the figures of off-spinner Geoff Sharp, who took 8 wickets for 33 runs in the Indians' first innings. The draw leaves the Lions third on the table and looking to hunt some one-day wins to end the year on an unbeaten note.

Super 8 Women on Top of the Table

The University Super 8 women's Section A team, known as 'The Hunters' are first equal on the points table after an outstanding start to the season. The side has four wins from five games, taking maximum points from each of Tawa, Upper Hutt, Collegians and Wainuiomata, with their only a slip up in the last game against Taita. The side are new to the grade this season having gained promotion from Section B and will be looking to maintain their fine form to challenge for the title come the end of the season.

21 December 2004

Ben Sandford hurtling towards Skeleton Success

Former VUWCC member Ben Sandford (pictured above) is taking on the world in the art of skeleton racing. That is, hurtling down an icey track on a small tray at 140kph. What's more, he's bloody good, having won his first America's Cup event in Calgary earlier this year. Ben is off to the World Championships in Canada next year and is looking good for future success. We at VUWCC salute the Espirit de Lyon that Ben displays and wish him all the very best for his upcoming competitions.

Keep up to date with Ben's latest here

8 January 2005

SENIOR TEAM MAKES SUNDAY CUP SEMI FINALS

The senior team has made the semi finals of the Sunday Cup.  With two wins (over Wainui and Naenae) and a lost (to Easts) the side has qualified for the semi finals.  The semi final is scheduled to be played on Sunday 13 February against Easts at Kilbirnie Park starting at 12.00pm.

RESULT

Easts 259-9 (off 40 overs) Woods 5-38, Chan 2-37

Varsity 250-9 (off 37 overs 3 overs deducted for slow over rate) Chan 71, Raspon 59, Woods 44

Lost by 9 Runs

20 FEBRUARY 2005

BEN RAPSON SCORES 151 NOT OUT

Ben Rapson the captain of the Senior(Hazlett) side score 151 not out against Easts at Kelburn Park.  Ben opened the innings, facing the first ball of the innings and the last, carrying his bat through the 50 overs.  Ben scored his 151* off 146 balls, hitting 16 4's and 6 6's.  Ben's innings is one the highest scores for the senior team for sometime and follows other 100's scored this season by Luke Woods (vs Upper Valley) 103 and Colin Owens (vs Wainui) 122*.  

5 April 2005

Greg Aim passes away

The Patron of Victoria University of Wellington Cricket Club, Greg Aim, sadly passed away in Wellington on 3 April 2005. Among his many interests, Greg gave a enormous amount to the club over a period of fourty years as a player and administrator. He represented both Otago and Wellington at first class level as right handed top order batsman, including opening the batting for Wellington against the touring MCC side in 1960.

He was a tremendously valuable member of the VUWCC senior side throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and was part of sides that won the Wellington Senior Championship in 1960/61, 1964/65 and 1966/67.

Outside of cricket Greg had a long and successful career with Shell, serving in Dunedin, Wellington, London, The Netherlands and Zambia. In 1981 he was appointed Director, Planning, Non-Traditional Business and Public Affairs for Shell New Zealand Ltd, and a Director of Maui Development Ltd. He is also a former Chief Executive of the Hillary Commission of Recreation and Sport, in which he made a tremendous contribution to sports administration and development in New Zealand.

VUWCC offers the family and friends of Greg our sincerest condolences.