Last day of August, bank holiday Monday and it’s chucking it down with rain… Not much fun unless you’re a GCC member or fan…! The lousy/lovely weather, depending on your point of view, meant that second placed North Runcton’s final game at Topcroft was called off so they only picked up 5 points which left them 5 points short of Garboldisham’s total tally of 304! So huge congratulations to captain Danny Cash and the rest of the first team for a fantastic season of cricket which sees them finish as champions of the Dipple and Conway Norfolk Alliance League Divison One and gain promotion to the Premier League where they’ll do battle with local rivals Diss and Old Buckenham next year! Commiserations to North Runcton who despite finishing second will probably still be joining Garby in the Norfolk Alliance Premier League next season. Whether one or two teams are promoted is dependent on how the East Anglian Premier League finishes up and the EAPL season doesn’t finish for a couple of weeks.  

Match summaries for Saturday 29 August The 1sts final game of the season was at home to Horsford A. It was a game that Danny Cash and the team had to win if they wanted to leave themselves in with a chance of finishing as champions at the top of Division One of the Alliance. Horsford batted first and were trotting along just a bit too niceley with well over a hundred on the board and only one wicket down. But once the partnership was broken, the visitors wickets tumbled in a flurry, their runs dried up and they finished on 212 for 9 with Jack Buckmaster taking a fifer. With bat in hand, Garboldisham started well enough, but a mid innings wobble saw a couple of wickets given away cheaply and the prospect of a batting collapse suddenly hung ominously in the air. However, cautious batting from captain Danny Cash and Alex Hogg saw Garby safely over the line and they finished on 213 for 5. North Runcton, who are battling for the top-of-the-table position with Garboldisham, had …

On Friday evening 28 August we had our junior awards presentation evening which was held outside as soon as junior nets was completed. Well done to all! Here are the 2015 awards: U9s Best Batter – Daniel Worby Best Bowler – Henry Gray-Davies Most Improved – Jago Bucher Player of the Season – Zac Murphy U11s Best Batter – James Davey Best Bowler – Harry Button Most Improved – Ethan Harris Player of the Season – Beth Champion U13s Best Batter – Arthur Johnson Best Bowler – Thomas Toward-Lisher Most Improved – Max Champion Girls Contribution Award – Jess Davey Player of the Season – Thomas Simpson U15s Best Batter – Joe Baker Best Bowler – Finlay Penrose Most Improved – Finlay Marshall-Wyer Girls Contribution Award – Georgie Dunkinson Player of the Season – Toby Culling Rising Stars Libby Worby Logan White Bella Litewska Fynton Grant Youth Achievement Award Eleanor Pringle for representing the county and captaining the U13 county team Contribution to Adult Cricket Award Toby Culling Thank yous go to the managers of …

Here’s a reminder of today’s final league fixtures (Sat 29 Aug) and next weekend’s end of season party and U19s finals day Sat 29 August 1sts play Horsford at home. A win could mean the difference between first and second place in Division One of the Alliance although current second placed North Runcton have a game in hand which is scheduled for bank holiday Monday so the final top of the table positions will remain unknown until then. The 2nds played their final game last week and finish the season mid table. The 3rds are away to Saxlingham The 4ths are at home to New Buckenham in a must-win game to leave themselves in with a remote chance of avoiding relegation Sun 30 August President’s Day. The President’s XI v GCC First XI Sat 5 Sept End of season party! Fish and Chips and The Muppits band at Ling Barn. More details here Sun 6 Sept U19s t20 finals day at Manor Park, Horsford. First semi-final at about 10.30 between Swardeston and Ashmanhaugh. Second semi-final at about 1.00-1.15 between Garboldisham and Fakenham. Final …

Picture shows last year’s junior presentation evening Don’t miss the end of the season Junior Presentation evening this coming Friday 28 August when we’ll be presenting our annual GCC junior awards for ‘Best batter’, ‘Best bowler’, ‘Best player’ and ‘Most improved player’ amongst others. Friday evening junior nets will finish early at 7pm and then we’ll go straight in to the presentations. Tickets are £4.00 and include BBQ and a drink. Everyone welcome. We hope to see you there! Sarah McGahan

Match summaries for Saturday 23 August The 1sts travelled to East Norfolk to face Acle who were placed fourth in the league and in with a chance of promotion – so Danny Cash and his side knew that they’d have a tough fight on their hands. Garby batted first but could only manage to accumulate 167 before they found themselves bowled out, and in reply, the hungry Acle team chased down the total for the loss of just 3 wickets. Garboldisham’s 31 point lead at the top of the table at the start of the day was slashed to just 12 between them and second placed North Runcton (who won their game at Horsford). But despite the loss, and even if the 1sts lose next week in their final game against Horsford, it looks as though they’ll still gain promotion to the Premier League – which is fantastic news – but any celebrations won’t start until next week when it’s in black and white and the last games of the season are played out which will mark the difference between first, second …

As the season starts to wind down (towards a dramatic climax for the 1sts and with the 4ths fighting for survival in their league) all non-league games have pretty much dried up. There may be unplayed junior fixtures left to play so please check with your team manager or with Sarah for details. Sat 22 August 1sts away Acle, 2nds at home to Stow A, 3rds at home to Gt Melton B, 4ths away to Gt Ellingham Sun 23 August U13s away to Cringleford Lodge. Check with Sarah Thurs 27 August  Senior nets Fri 28 August  Junior nets followed by Junior Presentation evening at 7.00pm

A Q&A session with Peter Barnes, our Fixtures and Fundraising secretary, and one of our longest serving club members. What are your earliest memories of GCC and when did you first join the club? Back in 1974 I had a knock on the door late one Saturday night from David Whiting asking me to play at Aldborough the following day. That was my first game and I remember I didn’t get to bat or bowl… (At least nowadays when I’m captain in the 3rds I get to bowl). Driving home from tour when I was 14 in an old Land Rover took about 3½ hours in those days. Explain your current role at the club. How long have you done it and what other roles have you carried out in the past? My main role is fundraising for the club which I’ve done for ten years or so. We hold several events throughout the year, most of which are well attended. They’re all good fun and they’ve made the club, and various charities such as EACH and …

Don’t miss our end of season party on Saturday 5 September! We’ve got the Muppits, one of the most popular party bands in East Anglia, performing their great mix of covers from the 60s through to the present day. If you want to dress up in fancy dress, then this year, our theme is TV characters! The cost is only £10 per person which includes a Fish and Chip supper. The fun starts at 7.30pm. Contact Peter Barnes for more info and for tickets 07825 351062.