2023 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2023 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 54 had not been for two draws against Middlesex when Notts were dominant across all eight days of play, Mr Moore recalled that the club would have had the title sewn up long before September. Mr Moore said, though, that members can sometimes lose faith easily. He recalled being at Hove for the first game of the season and receiving a stream of negative and worried texts when Notts conceded 375 runs on first innings. Notts still won by ten wickets and indeed he got the same sort of texts when Notts didn’t enforce the follow-on against Durham yet were still able to win by 462 runs. It had been particularly pleasing this season to see Ben Duckett fulfil his immense potential by topping the batting averages and returning to the England fold.The Annual Report also showed that he led the bowling averages as well. Mr Moore jokingly wondered what had happened to the minimum ten-wicket qualifying standard for inclusion in the end-of- season averages. In the Vitality Blast, a good late run in the group stages was not quite enough for qualification and so the club had bid a slightly premature but very fond farewell to much- lovedT20 captain Dan Christian. Haseeb Hameed proved an excellent skipper in the Royal London Cup and the team, being a subtle blend of experience and youth, did extremely well to reach the quarter-finals. Particular mention in the competition must be made of Matthew Montgomery’s batting and Brett Hutton being the leading wicket taker.The Chair also wished to draw attention to the fact that the Beech Academy, a special educational needs school in Mansfield, won the national table cricket competition.Very well done to them. The Hundred continued to flourish, with large attendances at Trent Bridge for both the men’s and women’s games.Trent Rockets Women reached the eliminator before losing by a very narrow margin and the men were overall winners of the competition, adding yet more silverware to the Trent Bridge trophy cabinet. Surely the magnificent performance by Lewis Gregory when all seemed lost at the start of the final set at Lord’s must have won over even the most ardent sceptics to this new format. In the autumn, Nottinghamshire were recognised by the ECB as the regional centre of excellence for women’s cricket, and the Chair was absolutely delighted that the Blaze had been made so welcome at Trent Bridge and had integrated seamlessly into our professional ranks. It was also extraordinary and marvellous to see that the number of women’s teams in the county had grown by 38% in the last year.The Chair hoped that Trent Bridge would be full for theWomen’s Ashes in June. On the international stage, England’s men’s performances had been truly remarkable under coach Brendon McCullum, just a few short months after the side was trounced in Australia. Playing an adventurous style of cricket, England had been outstanding in Test Matches.This was never more evident than in the 2022Test Match at Trent Bridge, where the hosts secured a magnificent five-wicket win having chased almost 300 in the fourth innings. With the day played out before a packed house, the events of day five were a tremendous advertisement for Test cricket – and Mr Moore hailed the courageous decision by the club to allow free entry on day five as a move that would reap rewards for many years to come. The much-heralded report of the ICEC [Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket] had been delayed somewhat, but the Chair anticipated it being published in March of 2023. It would be a very challenging time for cricket, and he urged all his colleagues to fully embrace the ECB’s desire for cricket to be the most inclusive sport in the world. With due reference to the EGM in November, the Chair could confirm that the club had received nothing further from the ECB on any proposed changes to the domestic schedule arising from the High- Performance Review. The Chair then turned to some of the most unsung heroes and heroines of the club: the heritage volunteers, who delivered so much on behalf of Trent Bridge.The Chair was pleased to report that they had been recognised with a Heritage Volunteering Award.The work the volunteers had done, well led by the hugely knowledgeable Steve LeMottee, had helped protect and enhance the late club historian PeterWynne Thomas’s legacy. Mr Moore went on to say that Trent Bridge had won two prestigious Business of Cricket Awards for its welcoming spectator experience. Our cheerful stewards had had a massive influence on this decision no doubt, but it could not have been achieved without exemplary leadership from Lisa Pursehouse. The Chair was also pleased to report that the club had successfully integrated the governance of the recreational game in the county into the club’s administration, and many thanks were due to Andy Hunt and MandyWright for their support and guidance. In addition to himself as club Chair, PeterWright and Paul Ford Murphy were stepping down this year from the committee, Peter after more than 30 years of service as a committee member, Chair and member of the ECB Board. Mr Moore thanked them both for their tremendous contributions to the club and wished them well for the future. Mr Moore concluded by saying that it had been a great honour and privilege for him to serve as Chair of this great club, and he thanked all wholeheartedly for the support and help he had received. 6. TO RECEIVE AND ADOPT THE ANNUAL REPORT AND STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR 2022 ClubTreasurer, Mr P J Ellis, drew