Welcome to the Gingins Cricket Club

March 6th & 7th:

Rohan Jain, aged 9 years, this weekend won the Tournament Best Bowler Award in the first Zurich U13 Indoor Tournament we've ever participated in.

Rohan bowled - and batted - his heart out in what was a terrific experience for our lads.

Our Gingins boys didn't win a game but they won a lot of respect and learned so much about playing real cricket that we're really excited about the coming outdoor season.

Let's mention our boys right up front. Here they are. They were:

Alessandro Poynton (Capt), Vince Williamson (Vice Capt.), Floris Winckel, Simon Pearce, Kieran Wilson, Rohan Jain, Sam Oswald and Shikhir Sachdev.

The tournament was hosted by Zurich Crickets Cricket Club and they did a fantastic job, setting the bar very high for us for when we can reciprocate and host our own tournament. Many thanks to Ivo Favotto who again did a great job but also to Leanne Favotto who put on a wonderful array of food and drinks for the boys and supporting parents alike.

The participating teams were:

- Zurich Crickets - a very strong team, the best Club team in Switzerland, Austria and Germany by far

- The Wanderers which is a composite team of the best players from Basle, Geneva and Cossonay (i.e. the rest of Switzerland outside Zurich - though not including Gingins!)

- Luxembourg - yes, we had Gingins v. the national U13 team from Luxembourg! That's the Luxembourg team in the photo here with our Gingins boys.

The boys and six supporting parents travelled north, altogether on the train, on Saturday morning. It was a great way to get going and to build a terrific team spirit. As we arrived in Zumikon, just outside of Zurich, the snow was falling pretty heavily and we were wondering what we were doing heading off to play cricket in the depths of winter. But we had a terrific indoor sports hall to play in and once inside, the lads settled down, got their gear ready and watched the first game which was Luxembourg vs Zurich. Luxembourg won that and showed off some great talent in the process. We always knew it was going to be a tough tournament for us. Zurich are a very strong Club with a great history of winning everything they compete in. On top of that we were facing up to the Luxembourg national U13 side whilst the Wanderers are pretty much a national level side as well - they're certainly a select group, let's put it like that.

We were due to play the Wanderers first up but the snow was so bad it had caused big delays and their full squad hadn't arrived. So the schedule was changed and we faced off against Zurich. Zurich were short one player so they borrowed Jai Singh - one of only two Wanderers' lads to have turned up. Jai is well known to our lads as he plays for Cossonay and has been joining our Thursday night indoor sessions since Christmas. Jai's a very capable Swiss level player and so we knew we were really up against it.

But quite incredibly, our lads put a score of 131 runs on the board from their 20 overs!! Our batting was just terrific and we only lost 3 or 4 wickets. Floris Winckel carried his bat through the innings and Vince Williamson did a terrific job as Floris' opening partner. Alessandro came in and blazed some runs and everyone watching was pretty amazed at our overall performance.

Gingins with Zurich in the photo here on the left.

We had a big total to defend but we got off to a not so great start with far too many wides. Our lads were nervous and almost didn't believe they were in a position to possibly win. The nerves contributed to the wides and some missed run out chances but then Shikhir Sachdev - playing with the team for the first time since the end of the 2009 summer outdoor season - ran out Alex Favotto, Zurich's best batsman with a direct hit and the game came to life. We got a few more wickets and felt we were in with a sniff as we could see the Zurich 'tail' up ahead. But Zurich sent in Jai - which we felt was perhaps a bit poor in the circumstances (all the Zurich players to have batted to that point were also Swiss Reps - they're a super strong team) and so sending in Jai, another Swiss Rep was tough and we would have preferred to see him batting at number 8 as he was their guest. Regardless, the boys fought on. Jai, to his credit, played a super innings and top scored for Zurich and bought them home, winning in the last over. So whilst we didn't win the game on the score sheet, we felt we'd had a moral victory with the boys holding their heads pretty high and feeling really positive about the way they'd fought back into the match.

The afternoon game was against the Wanderers (seen here with our lads on the right) and it was pretty tough. They batted first and our bowling was much improved - the lads had set themselves the task of really reducing the number of wides and they really did. Despite this, the Wanderers still managed a total around 130. They're also a really strong bowling team and our batting never reached the heights it did against Zurich. Of notable exception to that was Rohan Jain who top scored with a really gritty knock characterised by super footwork and flowing defensive strokes.

Saturday evening we enjoyed a pizza together and then it was back to the gym on Sunday morning to play Luxembourg. Gingins v Luxembourg just has a terrific ring about it I think but the lads weren't in any way daunted. A mixed bowling performance where we did have a few wides but also took some super wickets ended up not so well when their last batsman blazed some 4s and 6s at the death. We were set a big target of over 150 which was always going to be a big ask.

Our batting started OK but we then got in trouble when we lost Vince and Floris, our two openers, relatively early on. This bought Rohan and Ale together who set about building a patient partnership in the face of some excellent Luxembourg bowling including from one terrific young 8 year old lad who was really brlliant. The boys' objective was no longer to win but to post a respectable score and Ro and Ale really did go about their business in a solid way. They eventually lost their wickets going for more expansive strokes at the end of the innings but not before having built a partnership of nearly 50 runs. We saw a bit of a collapse after that where we lost the rest of our wickets in the last couple of overs but we did in the end get around 70 runs which we thought was pretty good.

So 3 games played, 3 games lost.

On paper it sounds like a poor show. But we always knew we were unlikely to win a game and went north to firstly have fun, secondly to learn more about real cricket (this was serious, hard ball, out when you're out cricket) and thirdly to see the standard of other teams. We far exceeded expectations - we're a small village team for goodness sakes and let's remember that none of Basle, Geneva or Cossonay fielded a full team on their own as we did at Gingins. That was a victory in itself and something our little Club can be very proud of!

We said to the boys that they should seek to win moments. Well, they almost won the game against Zurich and would have I reckon but for Jai's great batting performance. Here are some of the 'Magic Moments' that we reflected on for each boy on the train ride home:

- Rohan's bowling was really brilliant. Not only did he claim the most wickets of any bowler (5), he also had the best economy rate. The boy is 9 years old - well done Rohan Jain, we are very proud of you indeed. Here's Rohan receiving his award from Kishore from Cossonay Cricket Club and Coach of the Wanderers team.

- Rohan's batting was similarly excellent. At the end of his innings against Luxembourg, the lad that caught and bowled him out - who incidentially was about twice as tall as Ro - came up and shook his hand amidst a great reaction from the crowd who cheered Rohan off the field.

- The spirit in which the boys played was really incredible. Simply brilliant, nothing more to say.

- Ale's captaincy and the way the team rallied around their captain was really great. I'm biased of course but ask Manish or any of the other parents there, it was a real standout

- Ale did some excellent fielding work as well; an inspirational catch to remove Luxembourg's captain and best batsman (from a super ball by Rohan) and a terrific run out in the same game. Bowled the best we've ever seen him bowl and was unlucky not to get more wickets. Batted well too but could have made more runs, especially in the 2nd match where he threw his wicket away with a poor shot

- Vince's batting in the first innings was inspirational and his bowling just got better and better. He took a super catch which was just amazing given he was playing with a finger in a cast. It was just an inspiration that Vince was there given he'd almost broken his finger the week before

- Shikhir hadn't played since October but bowled and fielded really well, stopping at least 10 boundaries I'd say from his long on position

- Kieran's keeping - rabbit in the headlights for the first half of the Zurich game but then sprung to life and took some great saves especially down the leg side. It's no easy thing keeping but Kieran worked tirelessly behind the stumps and chatted to his team mates to support and motivate them

- Sammy struggled with his bowling but bowled some incredible, unplayable balls alongside a few too many wides and acted as a back stop for Kieran, saving a huge number of runs

- Simon just keeps coming and despite getting whacked a bit on his bowling, took a wicket with his first ball and just never took a backward step. Simon fielded his heart out and held a good innings together in the first game and compiled some good runs

- Floris, playing his first tournament with Gingins, carried his bat through the first innings and bowled and fielded his heart out too. Dropped one catch he would normally have taken but came back from that and put in a great effort for the team. It was just great to have Floris on our team!

We also discussed areas for each boy to work on - batting, bowling and fielding wise - so the lads each have some focus areas to work on at training.

 Bottom line - the lads did a terrific, wonderful job and Manish and I and all our parents were just so proud of the way they played.

We won a lot of respect from the other teams and we're hoping to carry on now playing Basle and Zurich and other teams in the future, getting more and more experience for our boys.

Quite simply, a terrific weekend.

We held our Inaugural Awards Event on Saturday December 12^th at the La Chat Sports Hall and it really was a wonderful event for the Club; over 20 children played cricket in the Hall and participated in the Awards ceremony.

The day had a great family atmosphere because it coincided with the La Chat Campus’ Christmas Fair. The Fair ran until 17:00 and we started our event at 16:00 to have some overlap. That was great for the kids because we had a big crowd looking on as the kids - dressed in their new GCC kit - put on a fine display of indoor cricket. The match ended in a one run victory!

Our terrific GCC parents each bought a plate and so we enforced a break on proceedings to get the kids to eat something and then back down they went for more cricket. We enforced a second break to open the Awards proceedings.

Each participating child was given a GCC “Well Done” certificate and a Gingins CC “Spirit of Cricket” Medallion and then we moved onto the Special Achievement Awards. None of the kids had any idea who was to win which award and so there was much quiet and nervous anticipation amongst the children as Manish and I in turn made speeches to announce each award.

All of our kids had a wonderful year and when we look back we can count the great twin result of coming 2^nd at our first Zuoz Tournament and winning the Spirit of Cricket Award there as our best achievement. But we also had three boys represent Switzerland in various tournaments, we competed in the U11 League, we held our Inaugural Cricket Camp, introduced a whole new group of children to the Club and we’re now holding regular Indoor sessions over the winter. In short, it’s been a terrific year. Thus whilst some of the kids were picked out for these Special Achievement Awards, all of our kids have been great!

The winners of our Special Achievement Awards were:

Best Young Star:                                                             Tom Oswald

Best Newcomer:                                                              Ethan Powell & Geronimo Jones

Best Fielding Effort:                                                         Veer Abrol

Best Batsman:                                                                 Alessandro Poynton

Best Bowler:                                                                    Sam Oswald

Best Emerging Talent:                                                     Rohan Jain

The Spirit of Cricket Award:                                             Jelle Veenstra

Milton Valentine Coaches Award:                                    Vince Williamson

The Hawthorn Trophy – Player of the Year Award:          Alessandro Poynton

Behind each Award there were special words for each of the boys and they all deserve our heartfelt congratulations for the way each and every one of them has approached their cricket this year. For two of the Awards, we had special guest speeches. The first was the Milton Valentine Coaches Award.

The Coaches Award is a very special award that is given to a player chosen not only for their cricketing talent, but more for the way they play and approach the game. This is also true of the Spirit of Cricket Award where a good player is honoured for the way they approach the game – well done to Jelle Veenstra for winning that award.

We have chosen to name our Coaches Award in honour of Milton Valentine (pictured left - and no, he's not of Arab descent, he's just got very little hair and was sitting in the sun when this photo was taken and he'd just visited Turkey!), the best and most inspiring coach, particularly of juniors, that I’ve ever known.

Milton was my (and Neil Wilson’s) basketball coach in Canberra very many years ago and has a long history of inspiring junior basketball teams to great heights. Milton is fighting a tough battle with cancer at present and I asked him if he’d write me some words about life and the Coaches Award that we could share with all our players. His words are below and I’m sure that everyone from the Club will agree that Vince Williamson is a very worthy winner of the first Milton Valentine Coaches Award. Those of you with an eye for the English language will have noticed that this is the Coaches Award as opposed to the Coach’s Award. This is because it wasn’t the decision of a single Coach but rather of a number of Coaches to give this Award to Vincent. That it was so unanimous is testimony to the fact that Vince really brings a great set of values to both his cricket and the Club – well done Vince!

“The Coaches Award” by Milton Valentine

I have been asked by Scott to write a few words about life.

I have been a coach for over 40 years.  I have coached people doing all sorts of things - basketball, running, triathlon, living and working.

About a quarter of a century ago I coached a group of young men in basketball.  They all had amazing attitudes about their own abilities. But they couldn’t win a game.

The problem was that they had no faith in their team mates’ abilities. So my job was not to teach them to win, but to give them the confidence to trust their team mates so that as a team we would make the right decisions to maximize “our” potential.  This we did and in doing so we went on to win the Premiership.

I find it interesting some 25 years later that 3 of those players are all now working in Geneva, on the other side of the world, in high level jobs leading teams of people to achieve good outcomes!

I can’t remember who won the Coaches Award all those years ago, but it was probably one of those three players.  The Coaches Award is in my opinion the Award to win.  It is about the player who has made a commitment to him/herself and his/her teammates to put the team first. They are the person who is always at training, always gets to the game on time, always focused on what is happening both at training and in games and practices the drills at training so that in the game situation it is an automatic response.  Most times they are the people who go home and practice in their own time as well to fine tune their skills, they will be prepared to try something new and will be there to pat a team mate on the back when he “drops a sitter” or is given out “to a howler of an LBW decision”.

So to today’s winner congratulations as you have no doubt earned this award.

The second award with a special guest speech was the Hawthorn Trophy - Player of the Year Award. Our equipment supplier – Gordon Clack (pictured here) whose company is called Hawthorn Sports Agencies – very kindly offered to sponsor this trophy and to make it a grand trophy that could become a perpetual trophy; that is, one that the player keeps for a year and then returns to the next winner.

Gordon did this firstly because he’s a very kind man and a real lover of cricket but also because he wanted to make this great gesture to show that he’s more than just our equipment supplier; that he really values the relationship we’ve developed together these past two years. I had asked Gordon to come over to Geneva to present the award but he wasn’t able to unfortunately but he did provide us, like Milton, with some really wonderful inspirational words that we could read out with the Award.

Manish made a very nice speech about the Award’s first winner – Alessandro Poynton – and given he’s my son; I’ll not say anything more here except that we’re very proud of his good efforts this year. Gordon also sponsored a very fine Medallion to go with the Hawthorn Trophy that Alessandro can keep forever.

“The Hawthorn Trophy – Player of the Year Award” by Gordon Clack

Ladies and gentlemen, members of Gingins Cricket Club….

Firstly, I would like to say how sorry I am to be unable to be with you on this first Presentation Evening of your Cricket Club.  Unfortunately, this is an exceptionally busy week for me but perhaps Scott’s kind invitation can be extended to sometime in the future.

Secondly, I would also like to say how proud I am to be associated - albeit somewhat marginally - with your club and to share in the excitement of its development although at a distance.

To the members:  in deciding to play cricket you have joined a family which extends across all of the continents and which owes its origin to records going back to the 16^th Century and possibly in one form or another before then.  One of the earliest recorded references to the game was in 1548 when a witness at an inquest testified that he knew of a piece of wasteland where “…he and several of his fellows of the Free School at Guildford did runne and play there at Crickett…”.

Some people will say that Cricket is “...only a game...” but to others it is much more than a game.  Not only is it an opportunity to demonstrate your physical skills, it is also an opportunity to show good manners, sportsmanship and respect for the umpires and your opponents.  It is a way of making friends rather than enemies.  You play hard to win but do so in The Spirit of Cricket.  You are modest in victory and generous in defeat.  Win or lose, you shake hands with your opponents and - as you get older (I hope!) - have a drink with them after the game.

I congratulate the winners of the individual trophies and also congratulate all of you who have taken part this season in this wonderful game of cricket.  This includes Dads and Mums who have provided transport, encouragement or consolation, done the laundry and arranged the teas. I wish you all - players, parents, managers and coaches - continued success and look forward to receiving more news of your exploits.  Well done!

So that was it....for our first Awards Event and for the 2009 season. It was sad to have to depart; how great it would have been to stay for some more hours and play cricket into the night – I think the kids would have been up for it! But it was a great event and Manish and I were very honoured by the kind gift our Club parents gave us and we thank them very much for that.

Once again, many thanks to all our Coaches, our parents and most of all the kids for making the season such a great experience for everyone involved.

Bring on Season 2010!

NOTE: I've put a load of photos (thanks to Monica Abrol for taking them) in an Album on the Photos page. Please visit them to see the children receiving their awards.