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Front Page - up to October 9, 2018

Mark Grenville and Andrya - lost no time in meeting Valley players.

THE COACH HAS LANDED

Moonee Valley Cricket Club's new coach Mark Grenville touched down in Australia from Guyana on September 12, and wasted no time in meeting, greeting and assessing players.
Mark and partner Andrya spent their first evening back in Australia in meetings at club sponsor the Moonee Ponds Club, receiving and digesting information on the players that we expect will take us to the top rungs this season - both in the Firsts and the other grades.
At right: Mark Grenville and Andrya at the Moonee Ponds Club.
Mark will also play an important role in the development of our juniors and our younger up-and-coming seniors.
Mark has played at high levels in the West Indies, England and Australia, and has also played in the United States and Canada along his cricket journey, which has netted him more than 12,000 runs and 1300 wickets.
Growing up in the West Indies, he played in the Under 19s and also played 14 first class matches for Guyana in the Red Stripe Cup/Shell Shield - the equivalent of Australia's Sheffield Shield.
Mark has Level 1 and Level 2 Australian coaching certificates, which will help him share his skill and experience across all our grades.
He is excited about being able to further improve the players in their late teens and early 20s in our higher grades, and also assist in developing our junior grade skills.
Mark is now an Australian citizen. He has been in Guyana for the past year doing voluntary youth coaching - a promise he made to return and help out when he was at the height of his own career. Meet and greet: L-R Raj Aiyappan, Allan Cumming, Firsts captain Jack Newman, coach Mark Grenville and vice president Mark Gauci.

Meet and greet: L-R Raj Aiyappan, Allan Cumming, Firsts captain Jack Newman, coach Mark Grenville and vice president Mark Gauci.

He believes players need to enjoy training, and promises a varied and interesting program to ensure we get the best out of our sessions - with our outdoor training starting at Ormond Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays commencing September 18.
He was Guyana Cricketer of the Year in 1986. Playing for Guyana, he counted Test stars Roger Harper, Colin Croft, Carl Hooper and Roy Fredericks among his teammates.
His opponents were no less daunting, lining up against a plethora of stars including Sir Viv Richards, Phil Simmonds, Richie Richardson, Ian Bishop, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Winston Benjamin and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
The standard didn't get much easier when Mark played Minor Counties cricket in England in the 1980s and 1990s, with teammates and opponents including Australian captain Mark Taylor, Chris Matthews, Darren Berry, Chris Old and Madan Lal.
Mark moved to Australia in the mid 90s and coached and captain-coached teams in the southern suburbs of Melbourne, including Chelsea in the old VTCA.
His best bowling performance is 9/28 against Honley Cricket Club in England and his best batting is 175 against Guyana Police Force in Guyana.
Above: Meet and greet: L-R Raj Aiyappan, Allan Cumming, Firsts captain Jack Newman, coach Mark Grenville and vice president Mark Gauci.

Our Winter Comp awards

night

The awards night for our 2018 Mid Year Cricket Association season was held on September 9, and we got a chance to celebrate a season that showed plenty of promise but came up just short.
We offer our thanks to our long-term winter comp player Kern Kapoor and his family for their hospitality yet again for our presentation night at their North Fitzroy restaurant L'Osteria.
Matthew Esmore won the Most Valuable Player award for a stellar season, netting 14 wickets @ 15.5 and 210 runs.
At right: Our winter warriors: L-R Kern Kapoor with his bowling award, Matt Esmore with his MVP medallion, Richard Zammit with his fielding award and skipper Michael Ozbun with Akshat Sehgal's batting trophy.
Kern Kapoor won the bowling award on averages, with nine wickets @ 12.
Akshat Sehgal took out the batting trophy with 194 runs @ 48.8.
And we poached Richard Zammit from St Bernards's to play winter comp with us and he won the fielding award, both for efforts in the field and behind the stumps when required.
For more pictures from the night, click HERE

LATEST NEWS: JACK NEWMAN IS FIRSTS CAPTAIN

Jack Newman - Firsts captain

The Moonee Valley Cricket Club has appointed young gun Jack Newman as First Eleven captain.
Jack was part of the young group which got us through to the VTCA North A Grand Final last season, and is keen to take the team to the next level.
Aged 19, Jack has the exuberance of youth plus a wise head, having played senior cricket for the past six years and taken every opportunity to learn from experienced players.
One of the quickest bowlers at the Club and a steady middle order bat, Jack leads from the front. He has experience as captain ad vice-captain of North West Metropolitan Cricket Association representative teams.
Jack's appointment was confirmed by the Committee on September 11, taking over from Daniel Comande, who had to step down due to a change in circumstances.
Jack's first outing as Valley Firsts skipper is a pre-season game against Barooga on September 15.
He has played at Moonee Valley since the Under 10s.

And Wardy gets up for the Seconds

Moonee Valley's 2012/13 Second Eleven captain, Stephen Ward, has been reappointed to the role for 2018/19, following intensive interviews and rigorous selection discussions.
We welcome Wardy back into the job, after he returned to Moonee Valley for 2017/18 after a number of years living in the United States - where he still played cricket in one of the expat teams.
We acknowledge the sterling job performed by Michael Ozbun in the role as Seconds captain for the past two seasons.
Applications for captains of our other grades close on September 8.
Our preliminary entries for other grades are: Thirds – Mercantile One Day C Grade Sunday home games; Fourths – Mercantile One Day D Grade Sundays; Fifths NWMCA One Day fourth division Saturdays; Sixths NWMCA One Day fifth division Saturdays; Sevenths NWMCA One Day Sunday grade.
Applications should be sent to MVCC Vice President Mark Gauci at markgmvcc@gmail.com

Moonee Valley Annual General Meeting - August 20
The Moonee Valley Cricket Club held its Annual General Meeting at the Moonee Ponds Club - one of our biggest and longest-running sponsors - on Monday, August 20.
Members heard a report on progress on our new $2.5 million clubrooms - they're coming on well and really taking shape - and elected our officebearers for the 2018/19 year.
The 2018/19 committee is:
Charlie Walker - president for his 11th year; Nigel Cowan Snr - secretary; Mark Gauci - vice president; Peter Golding - treasurer; Peter Pickering - junior co-ordinator; Michael Ozbun - sponsorship manager; Channa DeSilva - membership co-ordinator; and general members Matt Thomas, Allan Cumming, Daniel Phillips, Kevin Gardiner and Brendan Rhodes.
To see a website version of the Annual Report, click HERE. This version has the detailed financials removed. Any member wishing to see a copy with the full financial report can email Charlie Walker at charlie.walker@optusnet.com.au

Senior pre-season training - it's on NOW - and moving to outdoors from September 18

The season is fast approaching!

Our outdoor training at Ormond Park runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5pm, so players waiting to get back to our home ground can start getting ready now. 
We also have a September 22 preseason match v Werribee Centrals, and two more Sunday sessions at Spartan in Hoppers Crossing.
For more information, phone Michael Ozbun on 0448548860.
We have seven senior sides - four on turf and three on hard wicket, and a range of Saturday and Sunday games to suit all options.
Our four turf sides and our Sevenths - in the Sunday hard-wicket competition - start their season on the weekend of October 6/7. Our two Saturday hard-wicket teams start their season the following weekend - as do our juniors.
Anyone interested in joining our successful and progressive club for next season can phone Club President Charlie Walker on 0411 705 381.
Interested juniors can phone Junior Co-ordinator Peter Pickering on 0414 800 145, email him at pjp@vicbar.com.au or phone Kevin Gardiner on 0417536 896.

Juniors - ready for

the season

Moonee Valley is gearing up for another good year in the junior cricket program.

The subscriptions this year will be $275, or $425 for two players. Discounts are also available for concession card holders.

As for last year, any subscriptions paid on or before registration day are entitled to a discount of $25, ie. $250 or $400.

The registration form to be completed is attached HERE. You can email it back to Junior Co-ordinator Peter Pickering and then pay the subs to the club’s bank account - BSB: 633-108 Account no: 13844 9160

Please include the shirt size for your child so we can get the orders in for delivery in time for the new season.

We are looking forward to season 2018/19 with our new senior club coach, Mark Grenville.

The reaction from last year’s players and parents shows that with his international experience and background, he has already generated a lot of interest and enthusiasm.

Main Club contact details:

* Charlie Walker - President 0411 705 381; 9370 1802
* Peter Golding - Treasurer 0419 009 721
* Mark Gauci - Vice President 0457 778 335
* Nigel Cowan Snr - Secretary 0412 410 942
* Peter Pickering - Junior Co-ordinator 0414 800 145 pjp@vicbar.com.au
* Channa DeSilva - Membership Co-ordinator 0402 833 592

Email: mooneev@club.cricketvictoria.com.au

For more contacts, see " Office bearers & Officials " under "Club News & Info" at the top of the page

Last updated: September 13, 2018.
For more of our history, including our Premierships, click HERE