THE I’Anson Competition, like cricket leagues all over the country, has had its share of withdrawals in recent years. Struggling clubs usually blame rival attractions – social media, weekend jobs etc – for the lack of young players willing to commit to Saturday sport.

Yet the I’Anson was able to count an increase of three teams – 65 to 68 – for the 2018 season after its annual delegates’ meeting at Headley last week.

Farncombe Cricket Club’s two teams received a warm welcome and Tilford, with a growing membership, had a 3rd XI accepted.

Delegates were also relieved to hear that Lurgashall and Puttenham 2nd XI, who both failed to fulfil fixtures in the latter half of last season, were keen to continue, bolstered by a likely influx of new members and the prospect of shorter seasons.

A lively meeting was attended by 28 clubs, but there was little change to the new format adopted last season which combined traditional ‘time’ cricket with straight limited-overs.

Some clubs began the 2017 summer with some trepidation. In his report, I’Anson chairman Simon Whitley quoted one player as remarking:?“Better than I thought it would be,” and that seemed to be the general sentiment.

Having got their heads around one fairly complex set of rules for result points and bonus points, clubs were not in the mood to adopt the tweaking proposed by Chiddingfold and Frensham in several amendments.

However, the management committee’s own proposals were widely approved. The committee had taken on board requests from leading players to ‘crank it up a bit’ and so the fielding restrictions which gave the Stevens and Pope Cup knockout finals some extra zip will be adopted in Division One limited-overs matches next season.

Delegates also approved the committee’s proposal to limit the inflexible leg-side rule, which caused bowlers some grief, especially in Division?Three where there were some late finishes, to just the top two divisions.

The most radical change (another committee proposal) concerned the Stevens and Pope Cup evening competitions which next season will be regionalised into four groups and played on a round-robin basis.

The group winners will meet in the Stevens semi-finals, with the runners-up contesting the Pope semi-finals. Again, this is a laudable attempt by the management committee to revitalise the knockout cups which have lost their attraction for some clubs in recent years.

Less travelling time should appeal to players who struggle to make a 6pm start. It is also intended to change the groups regularly to keep the competition fresh.

Delegates also backed a committee move to allow the I’Anson president to stand for a further term immediately after serving three years. Keith Ellis, who has shown considerable commitment to the position, was re-elected unopposed.

Farncombe CC, like Brook before them, applied to join the I’Anson after struggling with the demands of the Surrey Championship which involves all-day cricket and long journeys. The club’s younger players apparently want more local cricket and Farncombe regard the move as permanent. “We see our future with the I’Anson,” said their delegate.

Fixtures secretary Ian Webster said the management committee had agreed to place Farncombe’s first team in Division Three. So that no teams will be disadvantaged by this, Division Three will comprise 12 teams in 2018. The reconfiguration means that Headley II and Frimley III are reprieved from relegation.

As agreed at last year’s ADM, Divisions One and Two will be reduced to ten teams for next season. Divisions Four and Five are already ten teams, while the make-up of Division Six has yet to be decided.

In their reports, Ian Webster and secretary Gill Rooney both expressed concern over the unprecedented number of conceded fixtures in 2017. Nineteen teams forfeited matches and Lurgashall’s failure to play any Division One games in the last seven weeks of the season certainly did not reflect well on the league.

Smaller divisions may help, but it is player recruitment that is causing the problem in leagues throughout the land.

• Ian Webster, although he will continue on the rules committee, is standing down as fixtures secretary after more than 30 years of juggling the logistics of an ever-expanding league. His brave successor is Kevin Goodship of Milford CC.

• Malcolm Caird is also stepping down after six years in the tricky role of disciplinary committee chairman. During his time, the committee introduced a ‘club to club’ protocol, enabling a speedy and amicable solution to several disciplinary matters. Colin Blunden of Puttenham CC was elected the new chairman.

• Akeel Ilyas (Puttenham) and Paul Ward (Chiddingfold) were elected on to the management committee. Paul Nash and Andy Lang have stood down.

• Suzanne Munday, the I’Anson’s hard-working treasurer, produced balance sheets that showed the competition to have broken even over the year.