Simply ...... A great day for CCC!

 Chessington CC V's Lashings World XI

Friday 5th August 2011

Friday 5th August will be a day that will be remembered for a long time at CCC. A day that saw the world famous LASHINGS WORLD XI with their squad littered with both ex and current international cricketers take the field against our very own CCC 1st XI in a 35 overs per side limited overs contest.

With over 600 people enjoying the day, by far the most spectators that the club has ever seen, the quality of; organisation, hospitality, cricket and our Lashings guests can not be disputed as the club enjoyed one of the most successful days it has seen in its long 141 year history.

This was a first for the club …. the brain child of Dan Yarnley initially that then soon gained the interest and imagination from other senior members of the club committee that then inturn gathered enough momentum for a decision to made that this could actually become a reality! Skip forward 4+ months of planning and organisation from the Lashings "Sub Committee" of Nick Bailey, Alan Walter, Simon Burge, Dan Yarnley & Irene Cook and the end result was a spectacular day that has now since received universal praise from all, including; the general public whom attended, our hospitality guests, club members and their guests added to the Lashings team themselves (who have done a few of these in their time!).

The day was positioned quite openly from the outset as a great opportunity to host a big event that would enable the local community and surrounding areas to benefit, enjoy and spectate some of the worlds best cricketers, past and present, while at the same time helping to raise both the profile and some much needed revenue for the club.

The start of the days hospitality proved to be incredibly successful with a packed marquee of 250+ all enjoying some excellent food and drink added to the fantastic entertainment provided by the Lashings team and various sporting memorabilia auctions they coordinated on the day. Things then moved onto the main event …. the cricket was then strong and the CCC XI did very well to make a very decent game against a side of world class cricketers. In restricting our guests to 231 for 5 from 35 and then inturn posting 197 for 7 in 35 overs it made sure the crowd enjoyed a full days play with the advantage of some very special moments of cricket on display from both teams and a plethora of sixes! A Lashings win by 37 runs in the context of some of their other games was a very very credible performance. A full and detailed match report from the day can be found following this link www.chessingtoncricketclub.co.uk/page5.htm.

The day could not have gone ahead without the help of dozens of club helpers both before during and after the day to ensure it's smooth running and although there are too many to mention individually it is absolutely appropriate to thank all the of these volunteers be they in the bars, in the catering, helping with ground 'set up and put down', ground admission and car parking or in donating much needed materials or their professional service. To everyone involved in making it a special day for the club … thank you.

For more information about future Lashings events at Chessington Cricket & Sports Club please watch this space we will be updating as appropriate over the next few weeks.