All Stars 2021 at Bicester North Oxford Cricket Club

Hi everyone

Let’s start planning something to look forward to this summer!!!!

The ECB have launched the 2021 All Stars programme and BNOCC are all up for getting our boys and girls out and playing cricket this season. 

The plan is to start on Wednesday 12 May at 6pm at the BNOCC ground in Chesterton and run for 8 weeks. The sessions will obviously be run in line with all government guidelines in place at the time. Hopefully restrictions will have eased by then but we will run in a COVID secure manner and if the programme is not able to be run the ECB will refund money accordingly.

 The 8 sessions cost £45 and the kids will receive their All Stars kit prior to the 12 May.
If you would like to register please follow the link below 

https://ecb.clubspark.uk/AllStars/BookCourse/5dbae8f9-62f2-44b3-b950-743713b9dff4

If anyone would like to help out as activator this year – we’d love your help. Full training will be given and it is great fun. Let me know if you are interested. 

If your young cricketer is too old for All Stars this year, we have a super junior section they can move up to. Training will also be on Wednesday evening at the club. Let us know and we will send you more details.

Please feel free to pass this email on to anyone you think would like to join junior cricket at BNOCC this year.

Best wishes
Jen

PS Fingers crossed for a better pitch and an England win in India next week!!!!

COVID-19 Update

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement this afternoon, we’re really excited about finally being able to plan our own roadmap back on to the cricket pitch, and preparing for the 2021 season.

The Government’s guidance pinpoints March 29th as the date on which organised outdoor sport can resume, and so we will be working towards training for juniors and seniors beginning a soon as possible after that date, within any restrictions laid down by the ECB.

With the Cherwell League season due to start on Saturday May 8th, we’re also looking forward to a full, competitive league season.

Keeping our players, members, supporters and their families safe will continue to be a priority, and as such we take no shame in ensuring we adhere to the spirit of the rules and regulations as well as their letter. We will not be looking for loop-holes to exploit that could risk the health of anyone involved in our Club.

We know you will have lots of questions, and so below are a few of those we expect will be most pressing. If you have any additional questions or comments, you’re welcome to get in touch with any member of the Committee.

2020 Season Update

Following the recent relaxations of Covid-19 guidelines regarding recreational sport, and the ECB’s on the safe return of the game, we were able to host the first cricket match of 2020 at B&NOCC on Saturday.

Moore’s XI defeated Murphy’s XI by 6 wickets, thanks to Oliver Ward’s 50* from just 28 balls.

But the most important aspect of the game was that it took place at all, and with all players and spectators adhering the appropriate guidelines.

To add to this, following the release of the ECB’s guidelines, the Cherwell League have published an updated fixture list for the remainder of 2020, based on the commitment of 90 teams (out of 102), to fulfill fixtures up to and including September 5th. 

B&NOCC have committed to fielding three teams each Saturday until then, in addition to fulfilling all remaining Sunday fixtures. 

To ensure we’re able to do this, please make sure you’ve updated your availability for the remainder of the season, here. If your name isn’t included, please just add it. 

Following the successful implementation of our fully booked two-person and 1-2-1 training sessions, and in line with the updated ECB guidance issued on Friday, we are thrilled to be able to run two training sessions at a time for up to six senior members each, starting this Tuesday 9th June.

On Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th we can have six people in the fixed net, and a further six in the roll-on net on the second pitch. Initially this will be on the astro-turf pitch, but from Saturday 13th we hope to have a grass wicket available to us.

We are able to offer this expansion with immediate effect because of the hard work put in by some members of the club behind the scenes over the last month. This work has ensured our own plans are not only operable within strict government, ECB and BSA guidelines, but are also easy to scale up. These guidelines will continue to keep us all safe, while at the same time enabling all of us to return to training at the earliest opportunity.

Bookings can be made for either an individual place in a session or on behalf of a group of players. The names of all players who will be attending must be included in the email so we can maintain a record of attendance, as required by the ECB. Where a group booking is made for fewer than six players, spaces may be filled by other players booking individually. 

Any two-person sessions confirmed for Saturday 13th will go ahead in the fixed net, but after that we will have six people each in both the fixed net and the roll-on net at each training session. Training session times and durations will stay the same, but will be reviewed dependent on demand. 

All other guidelines (below) remain unchanged, including the need for everyone training to have paid a subscription and completed a 2020 membership form.

Following the release of the ECB’s guidelines for the safe use of outdoor cricket facilities, we’ve been working hard to come up with a plan that will allow players to begin to use the facilities at Chesterton.

Here is some general guidance, along with more specific instructions relating to what must happen during these training sessions. A B&NOCC representative has to be present at all sessions. For the beginning of this process this will be either Ryan Moore, Dan Murphy or Gary Sansome. Their instructions must be followed. 

You will also find a list of FAQs that will hopefully answer any questions you may have. If you have a question that isn’t answered here or wish to provide any feedback, you can contact a Committee Member via bnocc.com.

Outside of this guidance, a few key points are:

• Players are encouraged to book nets in pairs, with both players batting and bowling where possible. This will both maximise the number of players able to access training, and allow us to get used to how the system works before introducing resources such as the bowling machine. You can use the Club WhatsApp group to find a willing companion if necessary.
• You must be a member of B&NOCC to use the facilities; non-members aren’t covered by our insurance. Social Memberships are £15, or you can pay a half-season subscription in the hope of some games later in the Summer. Membership forms are here.
• This booking system is currently only open to senior members. This is to allow us to embed the practices and procedures outlined here. Once we are confident how everything works in practice, we will open up additional sessions to junior players.
• The success of this system and any ramping up of practice opportunities is dependent on the Club and its members being able to show we are using the facilities and equipment safely, responsibly and in line with these guidelines.
• B&NOCC will not condone any use of the cricket facilities at Chesterton outside of the stated opening hours. These Club guidelines are in place to make sure that members are able to practice at B&NOCC whilst remaining within the ECB guidelines.

Please read them before making a booking. They will also be displayed on the BNOCC website.

Our online booking system can be found here. Please remember to complete a membership form and send payment to the B&NOCC account prior to making any bookings.

Today the ECB have released guidelines for the safe use of outdoor cricket facilities in groups of no more than two people, and in line with existing social distancing rules issued by the Government.

The ECB have stated that ‘outdoor facilities should only re-open if those responsible for them are ready to do so’. At this moment in time we are not ready, and so the facilities at B&NOCC MUST NOT be used.

Prior to today’s announcement work had already begun to plan for the safe re-opening of the facilities in the expectation of receiving guidance we were able to do so. 

We need a few days to ensure our plans are in line with the ECB guidelines, and to ensure we are able to provide all necessary PPE etc. before we can share these plans with you.

Thanks you for your continued patience, and we hope to have something in place very soon. 

B&NOCC members will put the club on the map – literally – to raise money for the club and for a local Coronavirus Helpers and Supporters group. 

Members of the Club’s Strava group will use the GPS tracking app and their daily exercise next week to spell out ‘Bicester & North Oxford CC’ on the road and paths in and around Bicester.

Any money raised will be split between the support group and the Club, so if you’d like to find out more about the group, and/or contribute a couple of quid, you can do so here. There’s a ‘Share’ option on the Go Fund Me page, so why not send it out to your friends and family?

Will anyone be able to topple reiging champions ‘Quarantina Turner’ in this Saturday’s instalment of the B&NOCC Zoom Quiz?

Starting at 7pm on May 2nd, the theme of this week’s quiz is ‘A-Z’ so only a basic knowledge of the alphabet is required.

Join the fun using the link below:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/4822943051?pwd=c3pncVZhN01QeUNQUzJSR3dRazU4dz09&fbclid=IwAR1SOR1rYutGnCCP6-pcHOx6FUaleSuo9AT7bXH9wV_MsLJ98S3pH0jXZs0

And use:
Meeting ID: 482 294 3051
Password: BNOCC

For those unfamiliar with Zoom, it’s an online video conferencing tool. There’s no need to download anything (although you can if you like), and the set up instructions are simple to follow. 

Following today’s Government announcement that the public should avoid non-essential contact, we’ve taken the decision to cancel the remaining Junior and Senior winter nets at The Cooper School.

This decision will help protect B&NOCC’s players, their families and their friends from the Coronavirus.

Thanks for understanding, and there’ll be more to follow as the situation develops.

Updates will be shared via our Facebook page, Twitter and here on the website.

The 2019 season has drawn to a close, and it’s been another successful one for B&NOCC.

Having secured the Division 7 title the previous week, the 2nd XI ended on a high with a resounding 7-wicket home win over East Oxford, depriving the visiting side of promotion at the same time.

The 1st XI fell to defeat at Division 2 winners Cropredy, but that result had no bearing on the final promotion places in that division, as Banbury’s thumping of Minster Lovell confirmed their promotion back to Division 1.

A fourth place finish and taking the promotion battle to the final game of the season no doubt represents another successful season for the side, but they’ll look back at dropped points – in particular losses to the bottom two clubs – and wonder what might’ve been had their performances been more consistent.

The 3rd XI finished the season with a comprehensive 120-run win against 3rd placed Chearsley, confirming their own fourth place finish – their highest for many years. The game will be remembered as the one in which George James notched his first century for the club, his 141 out of our 293 proving far too much for Chearsley. Let’s hope it’s the first of many.