Another clinical scoring display highlighted by four goals from Rhys Cook steered Timsbury Athletic to a resounding 7-1 home win over local rivals Purnell Sports in the Somerset County League Division 1 East. The result was hard justice on Purnell Sports who enjoyed plenty of the play against a much-changed home side but who were unable to deal with the potent Timsbury attacking strength.

An early effort from Cook went just wide for Timsbury and Ebner Heatley saw his shot also finish just the wrong side of the post for the home side. The visitors then had a great chance to take the lead but Ross Davis’ well-struck shot forced a tremendous save from home keeper Jack Scrivens.

Timsbury went ahead after 22 minutes. Heatley’s clever lob hit the post but Cook was on hand to hammer home the rebound. Less than a minute later Cook was in business again racing clear of the Purnell defence before making it 2-0. There was no stopping Cook and he completed an eleven -minute hat-trick when he scored from the penalty spot after Heatley was brought down. Before half-time the visitors grabbed a life-line when Davis converted with a shot that Scrivens got a hand to but couldn’t keep out.

Purnell Sports began the second half in positive mood and Corey Rawlings twice came close to clawing back another goal shooting first wide of the post and then over the top. It was Timsbury, however, who grabbed the all important fourth goal in the 57^th minute. Scrivens had just made another instinctive save before Timsbury went to the other end and Ellis Hancock headed home Heatley’s pinpoint free-kick.

It was a goal that opened the floodgates. The dangerous Cook raced clear to notch his 36^th league goal of a prolific season, Jimmy Hailston struck a fine left-foot shot to make it 6-1 and substitute Tuso Makombe added the seventh after visiting keeper Tim Dowling had dropped a Callum Taylor free-kick.

Star Man Rhys Cook (Timsbury Athletic)

Malcolm Tucker

Stephen Clothier has been re-elected as the skipper of Timsbury Cricket Club for the 2018 season. His vice-captain will again be Jon Strand. After a successful first season in charge of the 2^nd XI Ben Hosford continues at the helm with Rob Clothier as vice-captain. Ashley Davis will once more look after the 3^rd XI. The decisions were ratified at the club’s AGM which was held in the clubroom and was well attended.

In his annual report the chairman, Austin Sage, said he felt the club was generally in a good place and he thanked the officers and Management Committee for all their hard work and commitment. There had been disappointment at losing the youth coach Tom Bryan before the season had started but Sage said he was delighted to report that Adam Brinkworth had agreed to take over the youth coaching in 2018. The ECB All Stars initiative had been a great success attracting both young children and parents to the club. The major success story had been the Under 19s under the guidance of Jer Thompson and led by his son Sol who came within a game of being county champions. Their Friday night games had been very popular.

At senior level the chairman was pleased to report that the 3^rd XI had reached their best league position but more important had encountered no problem in raising teams. He congratulated the 2^nd XI who had won their division convincingly and had brought on a number of the club’s promising youngsters. The first team’s season had been like the curate’s egg – good in parts but had been noticeable for the addition of several top players who had strengthened the team considerably.

On the down side Sage was disappointed with the turnout for the Cricket Force day and warned that without more support club subscriptions would have to go up to pay for outside work. For the future the chairman said the bar refurbishment would continue while wicket covers and a new practice net were on the agenda.

The chairman was thanked for all his hard work in maintaining such a great atmosphere in the club.

Officers elected were

President  John Newth

Chairman Austin Sage Vice-Chairman   Mark Sage

Captain 1^st.XI   Stephen Clothier     Vice-captain   Jon Strand

Captain 2^nd.XI Ben Hosford

Vice-captain 2^nd.XI Rob Clothier

Captain A. XI   Ashley Davis

Secretary   Mike Passingham

Treasurer   Ben Curtis   Fixture Secretary   Martyn Sage

Management Committee   Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Captain, M Sage, N Day, R Clothier, N Hucker, A Davis, P Cracknell, G Stewart, K Roper, I Ettle, J Thompson, J Ford, S Thompson, G Passingham, M Bond-Kendall and D Hill.

Bar chairman   Nigel Day 200 Club R Lane

The clubroom of Timsbury Cricket Club was packed for the annual Presentation evening with all three teams well represented.

The Club Chairman Austin Sage said that there had been a gradual increase in participation and the welcome influx of new players to the club meant there had been no problems in filling the three club sides. The national All Stars initiative had seen some very successful sessions with the youngsters and the success of the under 19s, who narrowly missed out on becoming county champions, had been one of the highlights of the season. Off the field the barbecues had provided welcome revenue for the club and the chairman thanked Gordon Stewart for his invaluable efforts with them.

Looking ahead the chairman announced plans to refurbish the club bar and to look at ways of expanding the clubroom. Sage paid tribute to the many people who had worked tirelessly for the club and in appreciation of their efforts flowers were presented to Ann Sage, Rita Day, Cheryl Bradley, Eve Bird and Claire Sage.

Greg Passingham reviewed the youth activities and thanked all those who had helped with the All Stars, Under 9s festivals, the under 13s and under 15s. Sadly the club had been unable to field an under 11 team for the first time. He said the under 13s had been particularly impressive with a great team spirit. For the second year running Sol Thompson won the award for the best performance by a Junior, Joe Kinnear was the outstanding teenager and Josh Bond-Kendall the most improved Junior.

 

There were some excellent speeches from the three senior captains. Ashley Davis who had again looked after the third team said that his side had finished a creditable fourth in their division and he had experienced no problem in fielding a side. He was voted Third Team Player of the Year.

Ben Hosford in his first year as second team captain led his side to the Bristol and District League Division IX title with plenty to spare. Altogether he used 31 players with a good mix of youth and experience. Nathan Hawkins was Second Team Player of the Year.

 

 

First team captain Steve Clothier welcomed the introduction of new players to the team notably Graeme Webb, Kevin Sibley and Tom Clark who had all made sizeable contributions. He said there had been a great atmosphere in the team but despite some inspired wins against Downend , Shirehampton and Frenchay in the League and against Chew Magna and Shapwick in the National Village Cup, the overall season had not gone quite as well as he had hoped. He felt there was still a need for improved coaching but was optimistic for the future especially if more new players could be attracted to the club.

Graeme Webb, after an outstanding debut year with the club, was voted First Team Player of the Year and also took the cup for the fastest fifty. Dan Hill another popular newcomer to the club won the cup for best performance of the year with his knock of 141 for the seconds against Westbury Old Bristolians.

Roger and Eve Bird wanted their cup to recognise the Junior Club Person of the Year and the inaugural winner was Dan Nesbitt who was congratulated on his willingness to help in so many aspects of the club. There was a popular winner of the prestigious Club Person of the Year award which went to the chairman’s wife Ann Sage for her hard work throughout the club.

Malcolm Tucker

 

 

The annual awards were as follows:

Youth section

Most improved Junior (Eddie Strong Trophy) Josh Bond-Kendall

Best performance by a Junior (Graham Bryant Trophy) Sol Thompson

Outstanding teenager (S G Taylor Memorial Cup) Joe Kinnear

Senior section

Club caps Kevin Sibley, Graeme Webb, Ashley Davis, Dan Hill and Tom Clark

Centurion ties   Graeme Webb, Dan Hill, Rob Clothier,  Jack Williams

Club ties George Webb and Oli Davis

Fastest 50 (John Newth Cup) Graeme Webb

Best individual performance (S G Taylor Cup) Dan Hill

First team Player of the Year (Sage Family Trophy) Graeme Webb

Second team Player of the Year (Malcolm Tucker Cup) Nathan Hawkins

Third team Player of the Year (Colin Weaver Cup) Ashley Davis

Clubperson of the Year Ann Sage

Junior Clubperson of the Year (Roger and Eve Bird Cup) Dan Nesbitt

Timsbury Cricket Club looked back on another enjoyable season when it held its annual Presentation night in the clubroom. The Club Chairman Austin Sage said how delighted he was to see so many people at the function and thanked the coaches, managers, parents and groundsmen for all their support throughout the year.

This year’s event was marked by a very special award. The Steve Nowell Challenge Cup had been donated to the club by the family of Steve who had died in 2014. Steve in his playing days had liked nothing better than to hit big sixes and the cup will be awarded to the member of the youth section who hits the biggest six. The inaugural winner was appropriately Sami Eatherden who had captained the under 15s with distinction and who hit the biggest six for his team at Lansdown. The presentation was made by Steve’s brother David who had also been a regular playing member of the club. Sami was also chosen by Under 15s coach Mike Passingham as his player of the year with the players voting for Joe Derrick.

Under 9s coach Ben Hosford selected Owen Dix (right) as his player of the year with his own son Liam (left) chosen by the other players. The under 13s under the guidance of Chris Rawlings and Martin Bond-Kendall had enjoyed a successful season with several of their team representing the club at senior level. The Managers’ player of the year was Ben Smith with the Players’ Player Joe Kinnear.

Malcolm Tucker