AGM 2002 Report

MINUTES OF THE 29th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING held in the Long Room, Trent Bridge on Saturday 23 March 2002, commencing at 11.15am.

Members Present: Rev M.G.Lorimer (in chair) and 55 members. Apologies: I.Balfour, P.Dyson, P.Bolton, L.King, A.A.Grove, J.Minkley, B.Heald, A.W.Rodgers, D.Heyworth, J.H.Thomas, J.Meredith-Williams, R.Roberts, D.Donovan, T.Walton, G.Curry. R.Abrahams, D.Whittingham, A.Hignell, D.R.Senior.

1. Ben Hollioake.

The Chairman asked members to stand for a few moments in respect for the memory of Ben Hollioake the Surrey and England cricketer who died earlier in the week.

2. Election of President.

Mr Lorimer stated that the rules laid down that the Committee should recommend to the members a nomination for the office of President for the next five years. He was pleased to state that the Committee nominated Mr Midwinter, the retiring President, and Mr Midwinter had agreed to stand for a second term. The meeting unanimously endorsed the Committee's nomination. At this point Mr Midwinter, after thanking members for their support, took over the chair for the remainder of the meeting.

3. To Receive and Approve the Minutes of the Previous Meeting held on 31 March 2001.

These were unanimously approved on a proposal by Mr Heavens and seconded by Mr Nathan.

4. To Elect a Marketing Manager for a Period of Three Years.

Mr Pope was elected unopposed.

5. To Elect an Editor of the Journal for a Period of Three Years.

Mr Bailey was elected unopposed.

6. To Elect Two Members of the Committee for a Period of Three Years.

Messrs J.Ledbetter and S.Sheen were elected unopposed.

7. To receive and, if approved, adopt the Annual Report of the Committee for 2000/01.

On a proposal by Mr Lambert, seconded by Mr Hatton, the report was approved.

The President then asked if anyone wished to raise any points in relation to the Report. Mr Brooke stated that he had volunteered to help with the Match Scores book, but his offer had not been accepted. He said that if we were unable to publish the books on a regular basis the series ought to be scrapped.

Replying, Mr Bailey said we had virtually completed research for 1905 and 1906 and both these volumes would appear in the next 12 months. Research into the details of all the rest of the matches up to 1914 was well advanced and, if finances allowed there was no reason why these eight volumes should not appear in the next three years. Mr Isaacs stated that he had tried to purchase the 1904 volume and found it out of print.

Mr Streeton raised the subject of the `Famous Cricketers' series. He wondered why the descriptive passages in the recent A.O.Jones book were longer than was usual. Mr Midwinter said he thought the A.O.Jones was an excellent work, which gave a balanced view about a cricketer of whom little had been written. Mr Bartlett explained that it was our policy to allow authors more space if no books had been written on them – if the series included Botham, for example, then little narrative would be necessary.

Mr Isaacs stated that he had sent an e-mail to the office requesting the he write a book on C.P.Mead, but he had not received a reply. Mr Midwinter apologised and said that in future the names of the various Committee members overseeing each series would be published in the Journal so members could contact the `editor of the series' direct. One of the problems of the `Famous Cricketers' series was that some 50 titles were currently in progress and it was a major task to keep everyone updated with the latest position on each of the 50. Even when the work was complete, the Committee than had to fit publication date into the programme in a way to balance the schedule in general and finances.

Mr Croudy said he was checking the statistics in all 65 players in the series and was disappointed that he was finding some type-setting errors, especially in the Hedley Verity book. Mr Lambert, on a more cheerful note, thanked the Committee for the present, improved appearance of the headquarters, both externally and internally.

8. To receive, and if Approved, Adopt the Income & Expenditure Account for 2000/01.

The Account was approved unanimously on a proposal by Mr Isaacs , seconded by Mr Lambert. A member queried the date of the valuation of the headquarters. Mr Lodge stated that it was last valued in 2000 and in his opinion it was unnecessary to have it revalued annually. It was agreed to have the date of the valuation printed in next year's Accounts. Mr Brooke asked that the receipts of sales of individual books should be included in the Accounts. This had been the practice until 1998, when multiple sales offers were introduced making the task more complex.

9. To Discuss the Proposal that the Committee be Empowered to Increase the Annual Subscription to £16 (£20 overseas air) for 2002/03.

Mr Lodge proposed that the Subscription should be raised by £2. He explained that since the last increase (at the 1996 AGM), postal charges have escalated and our overheads had increased in line with inflation. Mr Miller wondered if we would have problems with standing orders. Mr Bryant wondered if we should include `free' books as part of the subscription. Mr Nathan asked about life membership or the introduction of a new ten-year membership. Mr Lodge said the Committee would discuss the matter. Mr Nathan seconded Mr Lodge's original proposal which was carried.

10. To Appoint an Auditor for 2002.

Mr Griffiths proposed Keith Willis Associates, this was seconded by Mr Lambert and passed unanimously.

11. Proposed Rule Changes.

Mr Lorimer explained the reasons behind the changes, which was to give more flexibility to the working of the Committee members. It was suggested that a note appeared permanently in the Journal, informing members which Committee members was overseeing which book series. Mr Streeton felt that there ought to be more information on Committee decisions printed in the Journal. It was agreed to do this. Mr Lorimer proposed the adoption of the rule changes, seconded by Mr Griffiths and carried with one abstention.

This was the close of the formal meeting. An informal discussion then took place which the following points were raised:

1. Index to The Cricketer

Mr Lorimer stated that the Index, which covered all significant items in The Cricketer from 1921 and presently ran to some 24,000 separate headings was due to be completed in manuscript in two years' time. We were looking at the possibility of publishing it as a CD. At this stage, Mr Lorimer asked how many people might be interested. About 20 per cent expressed an interest.

2. Guides to Important One-Day Matches

It was stated that these appeared in the Internet.

3. 1930 Match Scores

Mr Bryant said he much appreciated the fact that the ACS had taken this project over.

4. 18th Century Matches

Following the articles in the Journal, it was suggested that these scored ought to be issued in a book.

5. Non-European South African Matches pre-1993

The detailed scores of these matches were still not available.

At 1:00pm, Mr Oliver closed the meeting by calling for a vote of thanks for the President and the Committee for all the work that had been accomplished over the last year. This was heartily endorsed by those present. After a break for lunch, members reassembled and were given an opportunity to inspect the new library at Trent Bridge. The topic for afternoon discussion was `ghosted autobiographies'. The Secretary opened the proceedings by explaining his personal experiences involved in dealing with B.D.Wells and D.W.Randall and presently with Basher Hassan. The subject was then opened up for general discussion and a thoroughly worthwhile debate, lasting about an hour, followed. The meeting was closed with tea at 3.30pm.

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