ECB ACO Newsletter - Spring 2013

Seagull takes bailAfter receiving a host of entries forour Christmas Countdowncompetition, we are pleased toannounce that the winner drawn fromour ACO sunhat, and taking home aFearnley voucher, is…Robyn Murrayof ICC Europe. He correctly guessedMankading as the Conundrum word.During a Tuesday nightgame, in August last year,something extraordinaryhappened at SidmouthCricket Club in Devon.Following a batsman’sdismissal (having played-onwith the bail on the groundby the stumps) a seagullswooped, picked up the bail,and flew off. The bail hasn’tbeen sighted since!So that got us wonderingwhether such an incident hasoccurred before, andsurprisingly it has.Back in 2009, Australiawere in town to begin theirtour of England in search ofan Ashes Urn that they hadwon back in the 2006/07series down under. Duringtheir first game of the tour, against an England Lions XI, Brett Lee, having got through thedefence of England tail-ender Liam Plunkett, saw the bail hit the deck. Similarly to the storyabove, a seagull swooped, picking the bail up in its mouth before flying off.Much to the amusement of the crowd, the seagull then returned. Lee chased the bird aroundthe outfield, but eventually gave up. A new bail was then called for.What we want to know is if you’ve had anything similarly strange happen during your time inthe middle? Anecdotes on a postcard to the usual address.DIARYThis listing will appear here in everyissue – but we are entirely dependenton you sending us the information.(All meetings start 11.00 unless shownotherwise)National Meeting Dates – 2013Monday 8th April – Executive Team MeetingTuesday 9th April – Membership ServicesCommitteeWednesday 10th April – Scorers CommitteeThursday 11th April – Performance andAppointmentsFriday 12th April – Education CommitteeThursday 25th April – Board Meeting(PLEASE NOTE THAT ECB ACO BOARDDATES ARE SUBJECT TO FINALCONFIRMATION)REMINDER: PLEASESEND YOUR DATES TOeditor.aco@ecb.co.uk‘Valete et Salvete’At the end of January we said farewell to Martin Williams who hadbeen the ECB ACO Project Support intern for the last 15 months.We were sad to see him go, but it is another success story for theinternship as he has become the fourth out of five (the other wentinto full time education) to go into full time employment.Martin writes as follows:‘For a cricket fan, spending over a year working at the Home ofCricket was really as good as it can get. For giving me thatopportunity in which to experience the working environmentwithin ECB ACO and the ECB as a whole, I owe a massivethanks to Nick, Ben and the rest of the ACO team. They havebeen brilliant to me throughout.Working specifically on the newsletter and with young officialsprovided me with the chance to learn about numerous aspects ofthe Association and also to make some good friends in theprocess.I was extremely sad to leave having thoroughly enjoyed my timewith ECB ACO and it is something I will never forget. I wouldlike to wish everyone involved at ECB ACO and the ECB thebest of luck for the future.’As ACO new intern, we welcome John Overton from SouthYorkshire to replace him. John particularly impressed theMartin Williamsinterviewing panel with his preparation, enthusiasm, his clarity ofthought and his undoubted passion for and commitment to cricket.We hope that it will be a mutually beneficial experience with him onboard as part of the Executive team at Lord’s.Published by ECB © – Printed by Premier Print Group – G Photo courtesy of Getty Images