First, my thanks need to go to outgoing Chair, Steve Nelson, who after 4 years as Chair and many more years before that on the committee, has dedicated a huge amount of time and the club would not be what it is today without him.

It is an honour to be Chair of Taunton Deane CC and I look forward to building on the work that has been done previously and the new committee are already hard at work planning for the new season and beyond. In my opening statements to the new committee, I want our efforts to revolve around ensuring that what we offer is the best it can possibly be, whether that is pitches, facilities, training or the social offer. With this ensuring that Taunton Deane is the place people want to play cricket, bring their kids to play cricket or watch cricket.

We will be looking to run these newsletters on a regular basis to ensure that all club members and supporters are updated with what is happening in the club and the plans moving forward. We will also be looking to improve our social media presence so please give our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages a follow!

A personal thanks from me to all our volunteers that are on committees, coach / manage junior teams, captain teams, score, umpire and much, much more. Without you the club wouldn’t be able to function. We are always on the lookout for new people to help the club so if you think you could be able to help the club in any way, small or large, please get in contact with me.

I will look forward to seeing you all over the course of the season and if anyone would like to contact me and discuss anything Taunton Deane then please email me on ben.osborne@hotmail.co.uk or message me on 07527 520764.

New Faces (or not!)
We are delighted to have filled three key positions in the club.

Karla Rose takes on a new committee role as Women’s Club Captain. Karla combines energy, wisdom and commitment in equal measure and will make a huge contribution.

Russell Jones, who will need no introduction to Deane people, is our new Men’s Club Captain. Russ is an exceptional coach, has great insights into the game and its players and makes things happen. It will be a delight to see him and hear him in full cry on the training field.

Our third major decision is to introduce the new role of Club Coach. We want to improve the way we prepare for the weekend league games and believe that investing in the midweek training sessions will translate into more success in the various leagues. Our first choice was Dan Trick and we were delighted that he accepted the offer. Dan has always been a Deane stalwart and has demonstrated his talents as a coach over many years despite his tender age.

Karla, Russ and Dan will be at the forefront of our player and team development, and we look forward to supporting them in whatever way we can.

Indoor Training Dates
A great deal of preparation for the players the new season is already underway.

Please click here for more information about indoor training seasons for all squads across the club.

Ground Force Days
We are planning to use Saturday March 23 and Sunday March 24 as our Ground Force days.

Please put at least one of these days in your diary and come along to the Deane or Castle to spruce up our facilities and get the ground ready for the new season. It would be even better if you bring along a friend who hasn’t been involved with club before.

Convent Field Flooding
You will have seen that we suffered again before Christmas with the whole ground under water. We now have three Somerset Councillors – Caroline Ellis, John Hunt and Habib Farbahi - working with us to secure some action that will reduce our vulnerability to winter and even spring flooding.

The Deane Newsletter
You will hear from us from time to time in newsletters like this and we hope it helps you to feel more in touch with what the committee is doing.

In our next newsletter we will have news on cup competitions, team captains, new volunteers taking on vital roles within the club and an innovation we are currently calling Match Day Managers.

In the meantime we would like to hear from you whether it is with observations, ideas or offers of help.

If you want to make contact, please do so either to Ben whose contact details are above or to Dave Smith dcsmithtdcc@btinternet.com or 07584 908727.