COLWALL Cricket Club held their annual dinner dance in the beautiful surroundings of the Worcestershire Golf Club and it was one that will be remembered by all 125 who attended.

The room was adorned in the club colours, menus/programme in the design of a cricket bat and the entertainment provided by Northern Lights and endless humour from Clive Rowland, the ex Welsh Rugby Union president and captain.

Clive's entrance was to the accompaniment of a resounding rendition of Swing Low Sweet Chariot, to which Clive responded with a thank-you in Welsh: at least the audience thought that was what he was saying.

Club president Adrian Berry welcomed their special guest and his wife Margaret, briefly outlining his very successful rugby career and his fight against cancer. Adrian also welcomed the guests and wished them an enjoyable evening.

The rsum of a very successful season was provided by 1st XI captain Tom Wolfendale, with the 1st XI missing promotion by a whisker, 2nd XI finishing a respectable sixth and the 3rd XI finishing as champions for the second year.

Tom thanked Gary King and his assistants for a highly successful season with the juniors at all levels. Junior indoor nets start in January. For more information contact Gary on 01684 565071.

Clive Rowland recounted some of the most memorable events during the Rugby World Cup.

In his usual humorous manner club chairman Alastair Smith, renowned raconteur, ably assisted by Clive Rowland, presented the annual awards.

The George Berry 1st XI batting trophy went to Dave Powell for the second year and the Noel Smith bowling award to Dave Sutton also for the second year running.

The 2nd XI Eddie Hill Bowl went to himself for his 'all round' performance.

The Peter Pan of the club, Derek Brimmell, was awarded the Geoff Lampard 3rd XI trophy, Young player of the year was Andy Sutton, who has firmly established himself in the 1st XI.

The Bannister Trophy, which is a much coveted award, went to Georgina Pedlingham, who has consistently raised funds for the club through her now-infamous squares.

A club cap was awarded to Keith Holland and ties to Nils Purser and Andy Bishop, who were also presented with a special award for their unbroken first-wicket record partnership of 279 in the match against Bewdley.

Alastair thanked the Clogs for building the new electronic score box which will be open in time for the new season. Also, on behalf of the club, he thanked all the dedicated workers, in particular Denis and Dorothy Smith for running the bar so proficiently, Derek Brimmell and Graham Carless for providing first-class wickets on both grounds and finally Peter Pedlingham for all the unseen but important work he does around the ground.

In his summary he thanked Jon Berry for all his support and hard work as vice-chairman over the past five years and welcomed Keith Holland as his trusty replacement.

With the success of so many young players last season, the future of the club looks very promising indeed.

Any new players wishing to join should contact either Tim Riley (secretary) 01684 560214 or Keith Holland 01684 892394.