CHAIRMAN'S DAY (24th August 2003)

Chairman's Day 2003 was a fun day for everyone concerned
as more than seventy people were treated to a great day's
cricket in the best weather possible. An early start of
12.30pm meant that four matches could be played, and despite
the friendly nature of the tournament, matches were played in
a competitive spirit. There were three teams of seven (later
reduced to six) a side, and each team played the other two 
teams once, with two points for a win. The top two would go
through to the final. If there was a tie on points, it would
be decided on wickets taken. The final group table was as follows:

Team		Played	Won	Lost	Points	Wickets Taken
Smithers VI	2	1	1	2	6	
Clark VI	2	1	1	2	5
Oldbury VI	2	1	1	2	3

There was a bit of confusion at the end as most of us had misread
the board and thought ties were to be decided on wickets lost,
which put Oldbury on top of the table and Smithers' and Clark's 
teams joint second. However, it was realised that it said 'wickets 
taken' and as Smithers VI had taken one more wicket than Clark VI,
they went on to play Oldbury in the final. We forgot that Oldbury 
had only taken 3! A round-up of the matches is as follows:

Smithers VII 78-4 (12) beat Clark VII 71 all out (11.3) by 7 runs

Oldbury VI 98-1 (10) beat Smithers VI 92-2 (10) by 6 runs

Oldbury VI 101-1 (10) lost to Clark VI 104-1 (9.3) by 4 wickets

Final: Oldbury VI 62-1 (6) beat Smithers VI 59-4 (6) by 3 runs

All the matches were very closely contested and there were no 
'thrashings' but lots of tense finishes. Oldbury started with 6
players but Clark's team lost Dick Clark himself to a Rolling
Stones concert and Smithers' team lost Simon Baldwin due to a
cut lip sustained when a ball he was fielding bounced awkwardly.

The event raised over 400 pounds for the club, helped by a superb
raffle, organised by John Clifton, which raised 173 pounds itself.
Many fantastic prizes were won and some left with a prize or two,
some with nothing. But everyone left content having experienced
a wonderful day of village cricket and splendid food.