G’day Wombats and website visitors,
Please read on for a summary of our 2016 season and where we are heading in 2017.
2016 SEASON
The Wombats made it to the JCL1 (Japan Cricket League Division 1) finals for the third successive year in 2016. In fact, the Wombats have made it to the JCL1 finals on all but one occasion over the past 11 seasons and we have been premiers on four of those occasions. The 2016 season however was not to be ours with the Max Cricket Club, who are proving to be quite the bogey team for the Wombats, defeating us in our semi-final match. You can read about all the highs and lows of the match on our website. On a positive note however our captain and opening batsman Alex Patmore batted superbly throughout the season and was subsequently awarded Batsman of the Year at the JCL Presentation Night in November.
2017 SEASON
In 2017 we will continue to compete in the JCL1. It has been a long time between drinks (the last time we were the premiers of the JCL1 was back in 2009) so our minds are firmly set on winning the league this year. Another motivation for winning the league is that 2017 will be the last season for Alex Koolhof who was the Club President from 2011 to 2015. If it were not for Alex’s tireless efforts over the years the club would not be in the good shape it is today. We will also be competing in the T20 Japan Cup this year after a one year hiatus. This tournament will give our players more opportunities to refine their cricketing skills and will enable us to give our newer players more matches. The matches will be played at YC&AC (the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club) – so not too far from Tokyo.
SOCIAL EVENTS
The club’s two major social events, the Quiz and Presentation Nights, were both successful. The Quiz Night which some of our sponsors were present at was held in October at Hobgoblin Akasaka and was a full house with 14 teams entered. The night managed to generate over 115,000 yen for the club – an excellent effort from all involved. This money will be used to subsidise the club annual fee, our playing shirts and caps, and the entrance fee for our Presentation Night and other social events. The money raised will also be used to purchase new cricket equipment for the club. The Presentation Night was held in December at Antenna America in Yokohama. The night is an opportunity to reflect on the season that was with a different player delivering a mini-report for each match played. It is also time to recognise outstanding achievements – both on and off the field. Club captain, Alex Patmore, was presented with the coveted Golden Wombat award for the fourth time over a five year period breaking the former record of three Golden Wombats held by Gavin Beath.
NEW WEBSITE
At the start of the 2016 season we launched our new website. The site is responsive which means it will adjust itself for screens of different sizes (desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone) making it easy to catch up with the club when on the go.
ROLES
As we did last year we have Patmore (Captain) and Luke (Vice-Captain) handling on-field matters, Yuzzy (Vice-President) and myself (President) handling off-field matters and Ev (Treasurer) in charge of the club’s finances. Koolhof continues as webmaster, with technical support from Luke. We also have a few new roles and appointees. We have Kenny in the role of Social Secretary who has been doing a stellar job so far this season and Ev (T20 Co-Captain) and Yuzzy (T20 Co-Captain) in charge of our T20 Japan Cup campaign.
Let’s bring home the silverware this season lads!
Jamie