Yesterday Drew came home to find a letter on the doormat from the Surrey Championship Secretary sent on behalf of the Grounds and Facilities Sub-Committee. The important bits, which include tremendous feedback for Pagie, are as follows:

We are aware that your club’s 1st XI were Runners Up in our Division Five, (1st XI), this season and refer to our visit on 11th September 2016 prior to a match on that day.

We were impressed with your new extension which more than augments your existing pavilion. We were also content with the general surroundings.

Please note that in 2017 some of your matches, at least, will be covered by the Umpires Panel who amongst their duties are responsible for the overall marking of the outfield and pitch. Matches to be covered by the Umpires Panel will be notified to your club in advance.

Please accept this letter as confirmation of the promotion of your club’s 1st XI to our Division Four, (1st XIs), for the 2017 season.

So we’re there! Next season will bring new challenges, including a marking system where we will be scored on a number of things : Pitch & Outfield, Fairplay, Umpire Facilities and Catering & Hospitality.

We have obtained a copy of last season’s scores : end-of-season-average-markings-2016 – obviously a big-spreaddy with many tabs. The best way to approach this is to start by thinking about some of the grounds you have played at and form your own conclusions on some of the markings…and think how YOU can contribute next year on and off the field to getting the highest scores possible.