Good morning all,
 
ANZAC Day:
Dawn Parade will be very busy and they’ve been forced to upgrade security – arrive early (before 4.30am) to access the inner ring of Hyde Park Corner.  Blazers please – it will make a special, memorable impact.

There is a lot of superb on-demand ANZAC programming on Maori TV -http://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/anzac-2015/all-videos 

Match Report:
A terrific start to the season with a 10-wicket win vs Hampstead CC, in which opening bowler Richard Brooks took out middle stump with the first ball of the season – not something I’ve ever even heard of until now.  Scorecards, PDFs and match report by Match Manager Josh Wright will are here 


Match vs Wimbledon:
Skipper Sam Martin has a full side vs Wimbledon on Sun 26th:

 Sam Martin 42 caps
Vance Thompson 107 caps
Cheyne Voss 9 caps
Justin Fredrickson 10 caps
Andrew Haines 3 caps
Greg Collinge 19 caps
Matt Tewhatu DEBUT
Nic Kyle 13 caps
Josh Wright 27 caps
Luke Vivian 12 caps
Peter Tippen 100 caps
Gerard Walsh 75 caps

Upcoming games:
·         Jarrad Bourke ([email protected] ) is in charge of the game vs Hartley Wintney on Mon May 4th. Thoroughly recommend this game, played on a lovely village green across the road from a pub called The Cricketers.
·         HAC at the Artillery Ground in City Road on May 10th is fully subscribed.
·         Ibiza Tour – we have had a withdrawal so there is one tour spot up for grabs.  Enlist directly with me  by return email please.
·         On Sunday 17th , while the Ibiza tourist are finishing the final stretch, there is a UK match vs Broadhalfpenny Brigands at Hambledon.  Please contact Josh Wright via the website.
·         All other fixtures are on the website, including a match vs the touring Wellington Wanderers side on May 30th at Clavering in Essex

 See many of you at 4.30am tomorrow.


Regards
Gerard

Good morning from an unusually warm London,

Welcome to the new season!

Check it out now:
Thanks to the rich resource that is Paddy Gaffikin's book, we've tried very hard to bring out as much of the club's fabulous heritage as possible and there is more to add there.  We trust you enjoy reading about the club to which you belong.  One snippet - the first team that ever played for LNZCC (vs Oxted CC in May 1952) included THREE test cricketers (Roger Blunt, Bill Merritt and Errol Holmes) and an All Black (Ian Botting) 

Thank you very much indeed to Paul Coster and Liam O'Donnell - the work that you have put into this is phenomenal.  Thanks to Richard Fish for looking after the now-retired site for so many years.  We are still updating some sections of it so more of it will be unveiled as we work through the to-do list.

 ANZAC Day - Sat April 25th
You will all be well aware 2015 is the centenary of the landings at  Gallipoli - the NZ High Commission are expecting significantly larger numbers at this year's Dawn Parade at Hyde Park Corner.  The service will start at 5am and they suggest it's unlikely anybody arriving after 4.30am will be able to access the inner ring of Hyde Park Corner.

IF YOU ARE ATTENDING DAWN PARADE - PLEASE WEAR YOUR CLUB BLAZERS.  Members of NZ's military were instrumental in the establishment of the club and we all will have had members of our own extended families who fought and died in the service of the United Kingdom and New Zealand in wars since the Boer War.  A group of us in club colours will be a very visible demonstration of our respect for those who have gone before us, and made us the people we are, in the country we come from.

LNZCC is very privileged to be regarded by the NZ High Commission as a VIP group in the UK.  I have been invited and It is with a sense of real humility mixed with pride, that will represent the club at Her Majesty's Government's commemoration at the Cenotaph at 11am, and then at the service at Westminster Abbey at 1pm.   

Our good friends at NZ Society are hosting in the Penthouse at NZ House during ANZAC Day - details on their website.  UPCOMING EVENTS | New Zealand Society 

You can now sign up for games directly via the website.

The first LNZCC side of 2015 deepens our heritage yet again:

-Josh Wright (Match Manager) 26 caps
-Richard Brooks 18 caps
-Nic Kyle 12 caps
-Hamish Marshall 2 caps
-Chris Hamilton 22 caps
-Tom Gibson 12 caps
-Mark Epps 5 caps
-Sam Martin 41 caps
Matt Robinson 5 caps
Peter Simmons 5 caps
Gerard Walsh 74 caps

Next matches:

Please check the website and contact the Match Managers directly:

- Sam Martin has a full side vs Wimbledon on Sun Apr 26th
- Jarrad Bourke is still selecting for the game vs Hartley Wintney on Monday May 4th
- I have a full side plus reserves for HAC on Sun May 10th
- The Ibiza tour is subscribed – no tour to Ibiza IS EVER fully subscribed so you are very welcome to get to an airport and get with it. DIGWEED plays Friday night.

Lords Test:
There is much to look forward at the very senior levels of NZ cricket with their tour here this season.  At Lords, there will be a lot of us attending on all of the days.  Blazers are a great way of earning some TV appearances for yourselves as the camera operators always seem to pick out one or two members of the club.  We offer our sincerest best wishes to our big brothers in the NZ team – on a player-for-player basis, I really do believe it’s the best-equipped team we’ve ever sent to England.

AGM:
It was a pleasure to see so many of you – and three new members – at the AGM on April 15.  Particular thanks to Don Montgomery, Richard Holden, Andrew Barkle and Phil Bartle, all of whom affirmed it was possibly the best-attended AGM in living memory.  Two things of note – after his second stint in the seat, Martin Conway elected to stand down from the Honorary Secretary role.  THANK YOU VERY MUCH for everything you have done Martin.  Liam O’Donnell was elected Honorary Secretary at the Committee meeting that immediately followed the AGM – congratulations and welcome aboard Liam.  Honorary Treasurer Chris Hamilton was confirmed in the post and you are stuck with me for another year. 

The second notable is a statistic - at the AGM, we recorded our first century of the 2015 season.  The bar bill tallied to 101 pints!!  Well done to all who contributed to that remarkable milestone!!

Over and out

As we reflect on a marvellous NZ summer of cricket by our big brothers and sisters in the NZ teams, including 1,000-plus test runs in a calendar year by Brendon McCullum and capped by a first-ever appearance by a New Zealand team in a World Cup final at the MCG, it's a real pleasure to turn our minds to the northern hemisphere summer, packed with a full roster of games for LNZCC and a tour by the NZ team to play England in tests, ODIs and a T20.

Returning LNZCC members, partners, families and members of the whakapapa  - welcome back.  New members - friends we've not met yet - welcome aboard.  Old friends who find themselves in other parts of the world - keep in touch.  LNZCC chapters in NZ - keep it up.  It's great to see the games in NZ continue.

2015 promises to be another stellar season for LNZCC, notable for the return of the fixture vs Royal Household CC at Frogmore, Windsor (if you've not played that fixture, do sign up - it is one of THE special cricket grounds in the world); for the 3rd tour to Ibiza and for a tour match vs Wellington Wanderers in May at Clavering in Essex.  The seasons starts at Hampstead in April and finishes in September at Swinbrook by which time the small matter of the All Black defence of the Rugby World Cup is underway in England and Wales.  We look forward to meeting old friends and rivals once more at our host clubs, especially our last remaining original fixture vs Ripley CC

LNZCC also looks forward to participating in the Gallipoli commemorations which mark the fathoms-deep bond between the UK, our brothers and sisters from across the Tasman and New Zealand as we all honour the centenary of the landings in 1915.

Of course, one of the strengths of LNZCC is its social agenda and we will once again host a 'Summer Celebration in the Sky' in the Penthouse at NZ House in June.  Thank you very much to the NZ High Commission for its continued support - it is a real source of pride that the catalyst for the formation of the club was the NZHC's early 1950's 'Public Relations Officer' Trevor Campbell who was instrumental in forming the club itself in a meeting at the old New Zealand House on The Strand in December 1951.  

Finally, thanks to the club's committee, Patron Sir Ron Brierley, Vice-Patron Glenn Turner, Vice Presidents, Honorary Members and officers, especially Honorary Treasurer Chris Hamilton and outgoing Honorary Secretary Martin Conway.

Have a great summer and we'll see you out in the middle.