The annual Presentation evening of Timsbury Cricket Club which was held at Camerton Village Hall was tinged with sadness following the recent death of its longest serving member Roger Bird.

Tributes were led by Club chairman Ben Hosford who outlined the wonderful service that Roger and his wife Yvonne had given to the club both on and off the field stretching back as far back as the 1950s. A minute’s applause recognised the sense of loss and as a mark of respect Roger was awarded the prestigious Clubperson of the Year trophy.

Hosford, who was celebrating his third year at the helm said it had been a challenging year with last day disappointment for the first team but he praised the efforts of captain Jesse Bishop who had shown impressive leadership skills under difficult circumstances. Hosford said there was much to be positive about with the charity day in memory of Jer Thompson and Richard Ford that raised over £13,000 demonstrating all that was good about the club.

All Stars and Dynamos had again attracted a large gathering of children and a number of new players had joined the club.

Liam Hosford looked back on the under 15s campaign which had seen the side achieve creditable wins against Westbury and Beckington. The captain of the under 19s, Will Rawlings, was unable to attend but his father Chris read out his son’s report which captured the excitement of at last notching up two victories against Beckington and Hinton Charterhouse after three years of trying. He paid his own tribute to Roger who had umpired many of the under 19 matches and said it was a pleasure to play at Timsbury in an environment where everyone is welcomed.

Laurie Jones, captain of the third eleven, reviewed another very enjoyable year for the team. There had been a couple of occasions when a lack of available players had forced matches to be cancelled but of the ten matches played six had been won. Jones, who is standing down as skipper said that it was good to see so many young players coming through.

The Chairman then turned to his role as second team captain and said it was a season that never really got going and lacked momentum. Some 35 different players represented the team during the campaign in Bristol and District League Division 5 with the seconds winning six matches to finish in seventh place.

First team captain Bishop looked back on a tough season which had seen the side finish one off the bottom of the Senior Division of the Bristol and District League but he was confident that they could bounce back in 2024. He said the highlights had been the away win against Pak Bristolians and a Somerset Cup win over Midsomer Norton seconds. Mark Sage was again the leading run scorer while all-rounder Jon Strand was voted first team player of the year.

The annual awards were as follows:

Youth section:

Most improved Junior (Eddie Strong Trophy) Stanley Nowell

Best performance by a Junior (Graham Bryant Trophy) Liam Hosford

Outstanding teenager (S G Taylor Memorial Cup) Freddie Hosford

Biggest six by a junior (Steve Nowell Cup) Jayden Davies-Osmond

Best young all-rounder (Jer Thompson Memorial Trophy) Freddie Hosford

Senior section:

Club caps Tristan Versfeld, Oli Davies, Freddie Hosford, Charlie Hobbs, Seb Nix, Liam Hosford, Bradley Hancock

Fastest 50 (John Newth Cup) Charlie Hobbs

Best individual performance (S G Taylor Cup) Gary Pearcy

First team Player of the Year (Sage Family Trophy) Jon Strand

Second team Player of the Year (Malcolm Tucker Cup) Ben Hosford

Third team Player of the Year (Colin Weaver Cup) Chris Rawlings

Clubperson of the Year Roger Bird

Junior Clubperson of the Year (Roger and Eve Bird Cup) Will Rawlings.

M Tucker