Topcroft Cricket Club’s annual meeting looked back on a nerve-jangling end of season.

Chairman Rodney Baldwin said that after being on the verge of pulling the Saturday first XI at the start of April, it was quite a feat that both the first and A teams avoided relegation on the final Saturday of the season.

He paid tribute to the character within the whole club which saw members pull together at a critical time in the club’s history.

The committee praised the efforts of Chris Hancock, the first XI captain, who ensured that the spirit remained strong despite a number of setbacks – including the early departure of the club’s overseas player with over a third of the season still to play.

The club’s A team were most unfortunate in that newly-appointed captain Andy Adcock was unable to play in one single league game due to illness.

On a brighter note, the Sunday team won Division Two of the Mid-Norfolk Sunday League and were promoted.

As in previous seasons, a number of juniors were blooded in both the A and Sunday teams, and all came through with flying colours.

Junior co-ordinator David Reeder carried on the excellent work he started in 2009, and the numbers of juniors amazingly increased again.

Even more positive news is that a number of club members have either passed or are currently taking ECB coaching qualifications.

On the field, the U15s reached the knockout stages of the Alliance tournament, and the U10s won both the club’s tournaments for that age group.

Next season, on Saturdays, the first XI will play in the Alliance Division One, and the A-team in Alliance Division Six, whilst the Sunday side will play in MNSL Division One. All junior teams will run as last year, at U10, U11, U13 and U15 levels with an exciting addition of an U9 team.

A number of successful social events were held and it was nice to see the spirit so prevalent in years gone by returning to the club.

Baldwin finished off the meeting on a positive note, saying that the club was indeed on an upward curve.

Next season promises to be a challenging one, both on and off the field.

There are many jobs around the ground to complete before the season starts and working parties will run weekly from February.

New players are always welcome and the club has received an early boost with the return of two players who have committed to play again in 2011. All formal positions were filled with the exception of an A-team captain.

n Prospective new players should contact Chris Hancock on 07792 545884.