Following the impromptu vote at the AGM myself and Jim were given the unenviable task of determining the final positions with relation to contracts.

After much considered discussion we are now able to announce the final positions as we embark on the 2009 season.

The AGM decided that the number of contracts should remain at 11. The review of personnel was protracted and eventually an impromptu vote was held and these results were put in to the hands of myself and Jim as chairmen to go away and confirm the final situation.

The general consensus at the AGM and on the forum seemed to us to suggest that people were in general quite happy with the status quo. However, there were a number of candidates that had for various reasons put themselves in the running to be awarded with contracts - I won't go through all the names here as that was discussed at length at the AGM! Further to that, it was evident that there was an overwhelming feeling that Paul Sindrey should be included within the 11 contracts. Paul's overall attitude and application last season was outstanding both on and off the pitch and the club feels that this does indeed warrant recognition. This coupled with the overwhelming vote to present him with a contract position has almost made the decision for us and the club is happy to announce that Paul will be awarded one of the 11 contract positions for the coming season.

In line with the consesus at the AGM we feel that it is not the right time to award any additional contracts right now as we believe that the current positions will give us the best chance to give everyone as much cricket as possible this summer.

The obviously left us with an imbalance and we then had to consider who Paul would displace from the current 11. Jim and I want to take this opportunity to make it clear that we personally do not feel that any of the existing contracts deserve to lose their status but as the AGM had decreed there would be 11 a decision needed to be made. We feel our only realistic option was therefore to follow the vote taken at the AGM (which seemed to be largely based on previous availability) as we could not find any suitable justification ourselves to remove ANY of the existing 11. Therefore, in line with the vote, John Shuttlewood will make way for Paul. John will retain his position as Club Procurement Officer and remains on the board of selectors.

Much of the discussion between Jim and I has focussed on getting as much cricket as we can for everyone this season and we believe that the sheer number of fixtures (pretty much double previous years) will present new challenges to the club with regards to getting 11 men on the field each week. The agreed 11 contract + ad hoc process may prove to be less effective than in previous seasons and there may be good cause to revisit this setup later in the season if things are not working out. That will only become evident as we move into the new term.

Apologies for the length of this post but this matter is obviously of importance to the fabric of the club and has been the core of most of the pre-season debate.

Hopefully we can now move on and look forward to the new season.