Dear Friends
I say with no personal hesitation that 2005 was our finest and most
successful Cricket Tournament ever, dare I say China's. An
unprecedented 16 teams, our biggest crowd, highest revenues, most media
coverage, local interest and low and behold - in seven years of trying
- stunning weather!! The play itself was a mixed bag of highly
entertaining results played in the usual great spirit. An interesting
footnote is that the Shanghai based teams cleaned up all four category
cups although in completely in the wrong order so no chance of that
being suspicious.
A major highlight for all involved was the passion and commitment shown by our illustrious lineup of Stars. Ian Healy proved not just to be a world class MC and a handy bowler (#1 of the tournament no less?!) but a funny, articulate and committed man that we shall see again. Dean Jones, was Dean Jones and everything you'd expect, a great fella who did this for all the right reasons, his mere presence inspired. Mr Derek Underwood, a true legend and gentleman of the game, was an absolute pleasure to have alone, his hosting of Chesterton team court sessions in the Ramada Presidential Suite shall never be forgotten nor will his accessibility or willingness to contribute. Omar Henry was a revelation and our hats off again to Ainsley Mann and Coke for making this possible. His insistence from first contact of coming over to coach the ladies and young chinese brought a new and improved balance to the event. I think with his help we really achieved something significant for growth of interest in cricket with local media and players alike, he brought a legacy which will be kept dear by those who benefited from his enthusiasm and knowledge, and one which we intend to continue.
The Legends Dinner at the Grand Hyatt was superb. A record 400 people in attendance were treated to a highly amusing Question of sport format quiz show for charity featuring our visiting greats and hosted by Ian Healy who was very bit as good as we had been told. I believe the dinner is a real focal point of the weekend, especially from a commercial perspective and needs to be of a high standard, I hope all those who attended would agree that was achieved.
The Jane Goodall Institute - Roots & Shoots Shanghai sent us an immensely grateful letter for the huge contributions made by all involved with the event, they were thrilled. An aggressive approach to make the colored wristbands compulsory for teams, plus each team having to sponsor a round of questioning, combined with further generosity from yourselves and many more kind souls resulted in great success.
Together we raised over RMB88,600 for this charity, more than doubling any estimates. This money allows the to purchase the enormous list of items auctioned over the weekend and during the Legends Dinner Question of Sport, for not just one as expected but EACH township in the Anhui province. The purchase of clothing, school supplies, books, medical supplies, vitamins, building renovations, desks chairs, toiletries, milk powder, tree saplings, stationary, backpacks and transportation costs will allow over 200 children to go to school for the 2005-2006 school year, is a very proud achievement.
It is never an easy ambition to develop an event which aims at being world class, for a sport in a country to which it is unknown, with limited resources and a team of amateur enthusiasts who do it all out of passion for sport. But take a bow one and all, we did it again and better than ever, this is truly an event to be proud of and shall continue to grow for all the right reasons. From the tournament this year the club raised approximately US10,000 which will now go into the safe hands of the SCC committee for improvement and growth of our club and the game in this country.
To all our sponsors and contributors, new and old, a personal thank you for your support, there is a great deal of satisfaction to be derived from the above achievements, which balance and justify what we do and why we do it. Please pass this on to all who made it possible.
A merry xmas to one and all, a safe and festive season
And a new tournament in 2006!
Sincere Regards
Scott Brown
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