Deando in the 1990s

The following was written by Neville Rainford:

1990

As Deando enters the 1990s, thoughts turn to the 40th Anniversary Celebration: inter-club game, 6-a-side; remember to contact the Mayor, Vice Presidents and former members; hire a ground with facilities, afternoon game followed by buffet and disco. It was most important to agree a venue and date: the Club booked Hawkers, North Kingston on 8th July.

Nets were now very well attended and, due to demand, were split into first hour league, second hour others. Also, the same arrangement would apply to Old Emanuel nets for 1990. In indoor cricket, Deando were beaten by Richmond Town in a very close game in the Final at Walton. Pre-season, the General Secretary wrote to the Council that despite last year’s meeting there was currently little evidence of ground preparation and also placed an ad in the Surrey Comet looking for a ground or groundshare, but it brought no response. Deando agreed to re-enter the Surrey Cup but The Galbird Trophy only had 6 teams entered with the possibility of just one League group.

The Council responded re the Fairfield by stating that a dry winter had inhibited grass growth on the squares but the letting of a new grounds maintenance contract for Parks and Open Spaces includes detailed specifications for all park work including cricket. Cricket squares now receive more attention from pre-determined tasks, pre-season work was underway including scarification, fungicide, herbicide, fertiliser, cutting, irrigation and rolling through to the autumn programme. However, by the end of May, Deando are again writing with a list of complaints: pitch not cut on arrival but was hastily cut by the groundsman, lack of access to storage room (for sightscreens & scoreboard, home teams to have changing room keys to deter recent thefts, showers working poorly and lack of watering and rolling. Kingston CC (formerly Workmen) responded agreeing with Deando’s approach. The Council responded promptly, in general conceding the points and promising to attend to them.

The Committee also discussed what to prepare to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of a more permanent nature and set up a sub Committee to organise the day at BA Sports and Social Club ‘Hawkers’ Sportsground in North Kingston investigating a buffet lunch, formal tea and post-match entertainment.

The cricket season started well with winning records for the League X1 and Sunday 1st X1, Sunday 2nds fared a little worse but were encouraged by good performances by newer, younger members. In The Galbird Trophy the team qualified for the semi final v. Thames Ditton, who Deando again lost to, and, exceptionally, in the Surrey Cup the Cub drew Old Rutlishians in the new knock out format - new opposition but familiar result.

Sadly, around this time John and Cathy Hodgson left The Cricketers but soon after it was taken over by an Australian Pub Company, run by Nick Savage and his brother, who took over several other pubs in South West London. Nick promptly joined Deando and was an excellent batsman and slip fielder.

The 40th Anniversary Day went ahead on Sunday 8th July on a lovely warm, sunny day. It started with a short limited overs cricket game before lunch with teams of former players rolling back the years bolstered by current players. Lunch followed, a very good buffet, then a normal afternoon Club game, loosely based on 1sts v. 2nds. The facilities were busy all day, with Kingston’s Mayor, Vice Presidents and former players, current members plus families and friends enjoying a lovely afternoon in a very pleasant setting.

Deando had a very good League Cup run, beating Claygate, then a comprehensive victory v. West Drayton, both of whom were in a higher League Division before losing to Economicals of the First Division by 40 runs. But Deando also received a letter from the Slazenger League about the standard of its Fairfield pitches. At this stage the General Secretary responded with the correspondence with the Council in the season so far.

The July Devon Tour occupies a key place in Deando folklore. In the first afternoon tour game just down the road from the Hotel in Timberscombe, there were llamas in a field at one end of the ground. The tourists were warned by the home players that although the llamas appeared friendly, if a fine leg or long off fielder were to get too close, the llamas spat. After discussion, and a series of terrible puns, about the presence of llamas at the game, the llama was adopted as the Club Mascot and appeared on all Club personalised clothing from then on - ‘Come On You Llamas!’ Pete Francis and Pete Munday bought a greyhound which was named Deando Llama and ran successfully at Wimbledon Stadium dog track.

The 1990 season was a memorable one for Deando. All the sides had good playing records and the Captains reported on progress in their players. The League side, in winning 17 games out of 17, set a League record points score. And that’s after a very narrow last wicket victory in the first game v. Hampton. The core Saturday team still existed but were augmented by Rob Henderson 729 runs incl 114* Hurlingham Oddfellows and 30 wickets, Justin Matthews and Nick Savage. Pete Stevenson led the batting averages, Pete McKay (incl 107* v. Old Tenisonians) and Pat Devaney both scored over 400 runs. Steve Ellyatt led the bowling, but couldn’t play every game, and Neville Rainford, Gerry Fowler and Pete Stevenson all took at least 30 wickets, Pat 26.

In his Division 4 Review for the 1990 League Handbook, League Chairman Alan Baker stated

‘Their very settled and consistent side played excellent cricket all season: on this performance it was difficult to understand how they came to be relegated in 1989.’

It is interesting to review what factors may have contributed to Deando CC’s change in fortunes. In 1989/90 the League was in the process of restructuring, not only cutting the First Division from 16 teams to 10 Teams playing each other home and away. At the same time, the League Fourth and Fifth Division had been reserve divisions purely for second and third X1s but the League now permitted promotion and relegation to/from those Divisions. So it is possible that as Deando suffered relegation, the best 3 teams left the old Reserve Division 1 to join Division 3, and Deando joined a weaker structure until promotion and relegation worked itself out in the League Divisions in due course.

The League Team squad remained principally the same but Rob Henderson, Justin Matthews and Nick Savage added strength in important areas in the team. Then the confidence grew, along with the understanding of how to be successful in League Cricket, and the side went out week after week expecting to win by patiently batting, bowling and fielding, setting large targets and bowling sides out.

Deando celebrated its 100% League season with a kit bag of brand new Slazenger cricket gear and a cover photo on the 1991 Slazenger League Handbook.

At the end of the outdoor cricket season, the Indoor Team had fixtures against Kingston Strollers, Leatherhead, Egham, Chessington, Olinda Vandals, Wallinton and Surrey Fire Brigade. After poor pitch markings by League oppositions, the General Secretary again entered into correspondence with the Council: in addition to the state of the pitches (although the Club was justifiably able to refute some of this due to the scores achieved during a very successful season) Deando had concerns with people cutting diagonally across the eastern cricket pitch through broken railings and impromptu games of football encroaching onto the outfield.

To conclude the 40th Anniversary Year the Presentation Dinner & Dance at Sandown Park was a great success with over 150 attendees. Bill Byford surprised everyone with a large frames montage of testimonial letters he had solicited from celebrities and political leaders, including the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, congratulating Deando CC on its 40 years and wishing future success.

1991

Winter nets continue on Tuesday evenings at Micky Stewart’s, Imber Court. The Cub did receive a response from Bill Jennison, the Parks and Horticultural Services Manager at Kingston Council, to its recent complaint. He admitted to lack of repairs causing quick deterioration of the wickets, it was the Contractor’s first year and dry conditions inhibited good growth of grass. It continues

‘I agree conditions were not up to standard . . . Little radical work has been achieved on our squares in recent years . . . I am aiming to undertake a complete renovation over the next three years of our cricket squares to bring them to standard. I apologise for the time scale, but this reflects the extent of the work required. . . From this work I would hope to see some improvement for the coming season and Officers will ensure that work is completed to specification. To reach the standard that we both would desire may take a little longer and I would ask that you be patient with us. I will happily keep you informed of progress of our proposals for the future of cricket in the Borough of Kingston and will if I may seek your comments from time to time.’

The situation is serious for Deando. After years of striving to get into a League, in 1988 the Club finally did so. But there were now rumblings from League oppositions about the standard of the Fairfield pitches which could lead to Deando’s expulsion from the Slazenger League. Interestingly, as requested, in April the Council forwarded a copy of the Cricket Section of the Grounds Maintenance Specification.

The Indoor Cricket campaign went well with one loss and one tie in the Group games before narrowly beating Sunbury in the semi-final but losing to Old Thorntonians in the Final. And Deando was planning a ‘Sixties’ night, with a live band again at BA Sports and Social Club. After the withdrawal of Galbird Heating and Ventilation Engineers the local midweek cricket competition was looking for a new sponsor.

However, already on 15th May, Deando were writing to the Council about dangerous pitches (due to variations in bounce) with no evidence of rolling or watering. Deando already knew it had received the worst possible pitch marking from Morden after its first League game on 11th May. At the same time the General Secretary spoke then wrote to Mike Booth, groundsman at Old Emanuel, with a copy of the contract specification for his assessment and comments. Finally, at this point the Club also wrote to Mike Cooper, League Secretary, copying him in to current correspondence to confirm the action Deando was taking with the Council. The Council responded on 1th June: the Council was satisfied with the Contractor’s ongoing work and was gearing up for enhanced remedial work at the end of the summer to bring the squares up to standard over the three-year period.

The Galbird trophy morphed into the Fairfield Trophy sponsored by Nick Savage and Jack Hesketh and Deando reached the final, losing there to Thames Ditton, with the game going to the final ball. Deando beat Hawkers in the First Round of the League Cup but lost to Hurlingham Oddfellows in a tight game in the Second Round.

The 1991 Season was another extraordinary season with the League X1 only losing once in their 15 completed games, to Copthorne, who went through the season unbeaten. The batting did not quite reach the heady heights of 1990 but 6 players exceeded 200 runs, Justin Matthews top scoring with 100* v Battersea Ironside ‘A’. Bowling was more successful with Gerry Fowler and Pete Stevenson topping the Division 3 bowling including runs conceded per over, ably supported by Andrew Stewart, Rob Henderson and Neville Rainford. Rob Henderson also completed the Division 3 League Double with 276 runs and 30 wickets and Nick Savage and Pete Munday led the Division with 18 catches, Pete Munday was 3rd in the Division stumpings with 4. And, to cap it all, Deando won the Division Sportsmanship in its inaugural season. However, on the down side, the Fairfield was ranked bottom of the pitch marks averaging 2 out of a possible 5. At year end, Kingston Methodists wrote to the Council with their views on the substandard pitches.

Pat Devaney celebrated an early season 125 v RAFA Thurlow and Phil Bowers managed 8-26 v Bramley for the Seconds under this season’s Captain Jon Poole.

The usual post season activities now took place: the Presentation Dinner & Dance, Indoor Cricket at Elmbridge Leisure Centre and nets were booked at Micky Stewart’s for Tuesday evenings from January.

1992

As the League was ramping up its procedures and sanctions re unsatisfactory pitch markings, Neville Rainford wrote to the Council enclosing the League Policy Document on Pitch and Sportsmanship Marks and emphasising how vulnerable Deando were becoming to action from the League including fines and eventual expulsion.

On 13th February Bill Jennison, the Parks and Horticultural Services Manager, replied. The Council has commissioned Professional Sportsturf Design (NW) Ltd to write an ‘Assessment of Cricket Squares at Fairfield and Latchmere Recreation Grounds’ dated October 1991 and a copy of the 9 page Report was enclosed with their response. The Report noted, in respect of the Fairfield Cricket Squares, grass growth was uneven with a wide variety of grass species, said to be ‘lacking in vigour’, plus weeds and moss. Additionally, the grass was shallow-rooted and accumulated at the surface resulting in thatch formation. There was a distinct layering of topdressing materials, not integrated with the underlying soil.

The Report went on to state that the Contract maintenance schedule did contain all the operations required but suggested additional operations to improve the cricket squares over the coming years. The additional works’ objectives were to (a) alleviate compaction, (b) integrate the loam topdressing, (c) control thatch development and (d) promote sward thickening and development.

Finally, Kingston Council were again re-letting their Grounds Maintenance Contract to commence January 1993 and were considering building up a partnership with the clubs who may then have a direct involvement in some aspects of their wicket preparation - eg. rolling and marking of the wickets and use of the pavilion on matchday.

But the whole issue of the standard of Council cricket pitches and the Fairfield grounds maintenance in particular was quickly set aside. Despite the  Deando CC General Committee Minutes of 20th February agreeing that Deando was interested in helping with the proposed grounds’ works and suggesting a meeting with the Council, no such letter could be traced.

Around this time, Dave Kaill was approached about the possibility of Deando hiring Old Haileyburian Rugby Football Club sportsground at 27 Ruxley Lane, Ewell for the summer. Of course, if Deando wanted to commit to this, it would have to move quickly. Deando had always maintained a healthy account balance, at this time around £2,500, for just such an eventuality. The ground and facilities were inspected, there was an assurance from the groundsman - Chris Booth, the brother of Mike, Old Emanuel’s groundsman - that cricket pitches would be ready for the start of the 1992 season and the Treasurer, Dave Kaill, prepared preparatory accounts which demonstrated the Club may have to pay more, c.£20 per match, that it could afford this but may have to review future Income & Expenditure projections at season end. In return, Deando would now play on a private ground with two cricket squares, a Clubhouse with Bar including tea room, changing rooms and showers. Dave Kaill also checked and there would be no contractual consequences from Kingston Council. The Club committed to go ahead and move to Ruxley Lane. Pete Munday arranged for Martin & Steph to do the teas and Lin Hargreaves often attended the ground on match days and helped with the clearing up.

In the meantime, Deando participated in another Indoor Cricket season, but failed to qualify for Finals Night, and Tuesday Night nets at Micky Stewart’s were ongoing but poorly attended.

In any event, the Club chose to hold a Special General Meeting, at Ruxley Lane Clubhouse on Sunday 10th May which agreed to increase Match Fees to £5 (at the last AGM they had gone up to £4), £3 for students; £3.50 and £1.50 respectively if teas not provided.

In The Fairfield Trophy, after winning its group, Deando lost to Sutton Common in the semi final.

The 1992 season at the new ground progressed and the highlight of the season was a Cup run to the Slazenger League Cup Final. Along the way Deando beat First Division opposition in Old Isleworthians then South Wimbledon in the semi final as well as Heston CC and BBC CC from Division 2. In the Final Deando came up against Lambeth Enterprise CC probably then at the height of their powers (they won the League ‘Double’, the Cup being their third successive victory).

Deando now vacated their Ruxley Lane ground on late August Bank Holiday Monday, as became traditional. In September, General Secretary Neville Rainford wrote to Ian Goudie, Old Haileyburians Rugby Club contact, complaining about the standard of the pitch - it was clear that League oppositions were marking the pitch badly, eventually a well below average 2.10, second bottom in Division 2 - and the showers which had variable temperature and power issues (and were likely to have more serious consequences in the upcoming winter Rugby season). On a positive, though, Deando had thoroughly enjoyed their new ground and facilities, been very well received and looked after and clearly spent well over the bar. In response, the main square was to be dug up and relaid ready for the 1993 season.

In another interesting development Ruxley Lane had also been let to Albion CC and St Helier CC, Sunday only teams, and, during discussions at the bar, following Deando’s League season and successful Cup run several of their players had expressed the wish to play Saturday League Cricket and the Deando League 2nd X1 was born. The League accepted the new X1 into their 4th Division.

Deando teams had mixed fortunes in 1992. The League X1 Came down to earth with a playing record of W8 L4, finishing 5th in Division 2 and yet again won promotion, to Division 1, assisted by the League re-aligning to 4 Divisions, the new top Division extending to 17 teams and reverting to playing each other only once per season. The Batting was led by Rob Henderson’s 349 runs with Pat Devaney, Pete Stevenson and Simon Parker all scoring over 200. Dick Beeching in his first full League season led the bowling with 38 wickets (including 6 in the Cup Final) with full support from Rob Henderson (who both achieved the League ‘Double). By this time, Deando had lost Steve Ellyatt and Justin Matthews who had moved away and Gerry Fowler retired from cricket. The League Team were runners up in the Division 2 Sportsmanship awards.

The Sunday 1st X1, under Ian Doyle’s Captaincy, had a stunning season with 15 wins out of 21 completed games. Pete Stevenson led the batting with 759 runs (thus scoring 1,020 runs for the season) with major contributions from Ian Doyle, Pat Devaney and Simon Parker. In bowling, Neville Rainford led with 49 wickets, closely followed by Pete Stevenson (46) then Dick Beeching, Ian Doyle and Fluff Stewart. The Sunday 2nds, under John Hall, had to use a lot of players which clearly undermined the side’s consistency. Dominic Gunning had a great all round season, 382 runs with a top score of 86* plus 32 wickets @ 12, Ben Krempel scored 254 runs, Phil Letts top scored with 93 but only played twice and Fluff Stewart managed 30 wickets.

At the AGM, Pete Francis stood down as Club Chairman and was replaced by Dave Kaill. The Dinner & Dance sold 84 tickets at Sandown Park. Winter Nets will continue at Micky Stewart’s and the Indoor Cricket at Elmbridge Leisure Centre, Walton.

After seeking and receiving permission from Old Haileyburians, Deando were also looking ahead and committing to improvements to the ground at their expense, commissioning Pete Stevenson to build a new wooden sightscreen on wheels plus scorebox and to refurbish the existing sightscreen. Deando’s tea arrangements remained the same for Saturdays for the forthcoming season and Lin Hargreaves was approached about doing Deando’s Cricket Teas on Sundays for the upcoming season.

The Club was also notified that John Sladden, the long-standing Licensee at The Cambridge Arms was moving on at quite short notice. He had let the Committee Room at the back and organised catering for 100 Club Grand Draws at very little cost to Deando and the Club arranged a presentation of a cut glass crystal fruit bowl for him. However, the new Landlord at The Cambridge Arms, Paul Smith who had a connection with Albion CC was happy to carry on and let Deando use the back room for its Committee Meetings.

1993

Nick Savage approached the Club about possible sponsorship, his suggestion being kegs/barrels of beer towards events. This may have conflicted with the terms of the lease but, in any event, in a business decision, Nick returned to Australia before the season started. The Committee appointed Neville Rainford as Captain of the new League 2nd X1. Neville also volunteered to be Assistant General Secretary to The Slazenger Surrey Cricket League. The Fairfield Trophy is still going with group fixtures arranged v Surrey Ovalites, Wimbledon Village and East Cheam Occasionals. Deando lost to Murray in the semi finals. In another innovation, Deando played an all day game v Albion, a good game and the catering (including roast lunch) was excellent.

1993 proved to be a very difficult season for putting normal strength sides out to match the fixture list. The new Saturday League 2nd X1 could have been an additional pressure but with additional players many of whom quickly rose to the 1st X1 availability on Saturdays was OK but the strength wasn’t - some very good players had moved away, others could only commit to a handful of games and, clearly, some good Club members were gradually retiring. The League 1st X1, having risen from Division 4 to Division 1 in successive seasons, now escaped relegation by one place W5 L10. Only Rob Henderson exceeded 200 runs with 230 incl 92 v South Wimbledon but only played 5 times as his Rugby, with London Irish, began to take over. Pat Devaney, Ian Doyle & Simon Parker all fell just short of 200 runs. Dick Beeching had an outstanding season with the ball, 38 wickets @ 11.74 and second in the Division 1 averages, with haus of 6-14 v Spelthorne and 6-41 v Old Isleworthians, supported by Gary Cook (20) & John Bainbridge (18). Pete Munday got 14 catches behind, 2nd in the Division, Deando again achieved 2nd in Sportsmanship and the wicket showed a marked improvement to 3.38, 9th out of 17.

The Saturday League 2nd X1 finished their inaugural season comfortably mid table. Picking from a large squad of players, only John Harris achieved (exactly) 200 runs, supported by John Bainbridge, Chris Booth & Eamonn O’Malley. Pete McKay top scored with 110 v Old Suttonians in one of only 3 appearances for the 2nds. Neville Rainford led the attack with 29 wickets, supported by Richard Stevenson (17, incl 5-7 v Morden Spartans A) and Chris Booth (15). The Sunday 1st X1 batting was led by Pete Stevenson with 436 runs incl an unbeaten ton, ably supported by Ian Doyle, Simon Parker and Pat Devaney. John Harris managed 91* v Hook & Southborough in a very rare Sunday appearance. Dick Beeching and Fluff Stewart led the bowling with 26 wickets with support from Pete Stevenson. Again, the Sunday 2nds used a lot of players, there were notable individual performances - Phil Letts 88 in his only appearance, Simon Parker’s 76*. Neville Rainford led the bowling with 28 wickets incl 6-24 v Old Wimbledonians.

Off the field, with full use of the Clubhouse, Deando arranged two discos and a Race Night. These were successful but money was only raised from ticket sales - the bar take remained with the Rugby Club. The customary season-end letter to Ian Goudie, the Rugby Club contact, was sent noting improvements in the main square after the previous winter’s remedial works, the showers still needed some attention plus an issue with the outside safety light which had been vandalised leading to further incidents of vandalism in close proximity to the Clubhouse.

1994

1994 opened with a Newsletter also comprising an Order Form for Club (branded) Kit and a Social Calendar with eight events listed over the course of the year.

However, Deando’s future plans were quickly focused after a phone call from Ian Goudie to Dave Kaill at the end of February offering Deando the responsibility for running the ground during the cricket season. In making this offer the Rugby Club stated that it had been unable to make sufficient profit over the last two summers. Of course an additional imperative was that the  1994 season was now under two months away. Dave met with Neville and they went through questions that the Club needed to ask to ascertain the information to make a proper judgment of the viability of this project. If the Rugby Club had not been able to make sufficient profit, what would significantly change when Deando became responsible? On 1st March Dave wrote to Ian Goudie asking for details of the full expenses, including rent, Deando would be required to meet, current bar takings and profit, the dates of the summer rental period and details of the 1994 bookings made by other clubs. Finally, a question was asked about whether complications could arise from the bar licence during the rental period.

On 7th March Dave Kaill had already drafted an Income & Expenditure account for the 1994 based on several assumptions but still disclosing Deando would need to increase the bar take to break even. With little progress, Dave again wrote to Ian Goudie on 10th May, after having started playing in the 1994 season at Ruxley Lane, calling for a meeting: the second square had not been relaid as promised, repairs and maintenance had been lacking, showers continued to be a problem. In the meantime, Pete Stevenson had submitted costings for two outdoor cricket nets at just under £1,500 but the Club was unable to come up with the necessary funding without specific fundraising  additionally, with the future looking uncertain.

By now, The Fairfield Trophy was being run by Derek Annetts of Murray CC but only 6 teams had entered. Surrey Ovalites beat Murray in the Final. On Sunday 26th June, when Deando was playing an all day game v Albion CC the Club decided to hold a Reunion Day inviting Vice Presidents, former players and all other connections to Ruxley Lane with a barbecue and 100 Club Draw in the evening.

Interestingly, the Rugby Club failed to renew their Bar Licence in time in August so bar sales had to stop for the last month of the season.

It became clear that Deando was beginning to struggle both in terms of playing strength and available numbers. Many of the players who had joined and contributed to the meteoric rise through the League had moved away due to changes in the circumstances of their lives and business. The regular core team, many of whom had played since the 1970s, were also now getting older and not playing so much. And new players were no longer prepared to commit to Deando’s additional League games on Saturdays. At the time this had had a good effect throughout the Club with all X1s going out relatively strong and balanced and new, young Members quickly found their feet in 2nd X1s before moving upwards. At this time the General Secretary wrote to local secondary schools introducing the Club and its cricket facilities but there was no response.

A novel way of raising money to supplement Club funds were Football Cards which were filled at home games during the season and raised £10 per card.

Both League Teams struggled and were relegated. For the 1st X1 Ian Doyle (310) and Simon Parker (266) led the batting, supported by Pat Devaney, John Bainbridge & Simon Smith. Captain Dick Beeching led the bowling with 24 wickets but, although a variety of bowlers were used, no other bowler achieved double figures. The side won the First Division sportsmanship award, however, and the home pitch rating showed a marked improvement. Sadly, the 2nd X1 was another tale of woe with only Ashley Beckett and John Bainbridge into three figures with runs and only Chris Booth getting into the Division 4 averages with 13 wickets. Both Sportsmanship & Pitch Rating were good. Individual performances of note during the season were Pete Stevenson 86 (ret hurt) v Albion, Simon Parker 76 v South Wimbledon, Trevor Trout 75 v Hook & Southborough, Ian Doyle 67 v Wimbledon United and Pat Devaney 6-31 v Wimbledon Park.

1995

In addition to the Club’s usual activities, Deando added a Rainford Brothers Quiz Night to raise money for the outdoor nets fund and a professionally run Umpires’ Night where nominees of the SCA ran a full 3-hour umpires’ course. Other innovations were personalised cricket kit - long- and short-sleeved jumpers, with royal blue & gold trim, and cricket shirts all personalised, with the llama logo - and Club summer and tour shirts personalised and embroidered with the llama logo.

A bat raffle - the bat was signed by the Surrey CCC players - was run during the season.

Deando had also found out about the demise of Hawkers CC, and the possible availability of their north Kingston ground, due to the redevelopment of the old British Aerospace factory. The General Secretary contacted the Council, initially, to find out further information.

On 26th April, Deando finally had sight of the headline accounts for the summers of 1993 & 1994 from the Rugby Club Treasurer plus a demand for increased pitch hire charges. Correspondence with the Rugby Club continued regarding ground conditions and maintenance v the payments for pitch hire and Deando continued to push for a meeting.

After another change in management, in October the Committee moved their Committee Meetings from The Cambridge Arms to the Surrey County Staff Club at County Hall, Penrhyn Road, Kingston.

In the cricket the Club did have a good season, winning The Fairfield Trophy in the Final against Springfield for the first time in nearly 10 years. Notable individual performances were Simon Parker’s maiden century for Deando, 123* v Barry Wanderers, Simon Smith 121 v Spelthorne and 108 v Machen, Ian Doye 117 v Wallington Old Foresters and Pete Stevenson 105* v Morden. Dave Bliss scored 299 runs for the League 2nds and topped the Division 5 catches with 15, Dominic Gunning did the League Double for the 2nds: 201 runs and 21 wickets.