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Daniel Yarnley captain of Chessington Cricket Club gives some insight into leading the 1st Team. 

1/ When did you become captain and why?

I was Club Captain originally in 2005 and we had a fantastic season and achieved promotion.  Then I went to Australia and when I returned 3 1/2 years later the club had taken huge strides forward (2 promotions in 3 years).  The season I came back we also achieved promotion so the club has been rapidly improving year on year.  Last season was a bit of a standard shock to some of the players and unfortunately we were relegated.  I have taken over the reins for the coming season and really looking forward to it again, I thoroughly enjoyed it last time and hopefully I can pass on some of my experience to our younger players and guide us to another promotion!

2/ Is the role what you expected it to be?

To take the role you certainly need to be committed as essentially you are the Club Captain and have to set a good example.  Primarily you are there to captain the side on a Saturday and pick the Xl, we are lucky to have a Head Coach who sorts out warm-ups on match day morning and training during the week.  Without his help the role would be even more time consuming and stressful!  Then there's all the other small admin tasks like making sure people know the Xl, meet times, letting people know they've been picked for the 1st Xl (easy) or been dropped (not so easy!), ringing in the result after the game, collecting match fees, preparing the ground (sightscreens, boundary ropes, tables and chairs, etc), arranging scorers (and buying them a beer afterwards as a thank you - cheers Dad!!!) and then enjoying a beer over selection meetings.  It's not all bad though as people do tend to help out and you do get the odd beer bought for you if you give them a long enough bowl!!!!! 

3/ What is the most enjoyable part of captaining your club?

The most enjoyable part for me is captaining the club I’ve played at since I was 10 (odd trips to Australia and Uni excluded)!!!!  It’s always been a pleasure to play for Chessington and all my mates are there so not only is the cricket/captaincy enjoyable, the social side afterwards is good fun too.

4/ What was your most memorable win at the club either as captain or before you took over?

My most memorable win was a few years before I took over the captaincy.  We always go on tour to Bournemouth in June every year and invariably we always lose on the Saturday when we come back from tour (can't quite put my finger on why as we barely touch a drop for the entire week and get plenty of sleep!).  This one year though not only did we have a run down 1st Xl we also had a few injuries and had to call a couple up from the 2's at the last minute (and these guys were also on tour!!).  The side we were playing were top of the league, we were mid-table. We duly won the toss and for some reason (to this day I'm not 100% sure why) he asked the oppo to bat first on a stinking hot day and a flat deck!!!  Seeing as though the 2 who pulled out late were our opening bowlers we had to open with what can only be described as very slow bowlers.  Oddly the batters didn’t like this and these 2 slow bowlers knocked over the top order quickly, they ended up getting 180-odd all out.  Normally not an issue but with the state of some of our lads it wasn’t going to be that easy.  To cut the story short everyone chipped in and we ended up knocking them off in the penultimate over.  We decided the only way to celebrate was to finish the weekend in style and completely demolish our bodies!! No-one was seen on the Sunday or the following week.

5/ What is your main goal as captain?

Main goals this year are easy (in order) - Gain Promotion, Develop the younger players and increase bar profits (if possible!).

6/ How do you find the format of cricket that you play in your league?

Since they've split the format to half the games being straight 50 over win/lose cricket and the other half being 100 over’s points cricket it has been a lot better as generally the best TEAM not the team with the best pro/overseas player go up.  The only thing I would like to see introduced is batting and bowling bonus points so that games don’t just dry up and always gives you something to play for regardless of the match situation.

7/ Who is the team badger and why?

Our team badger is Paul Willis; Wilco skippered the club during the most successful period in the clubs history and doesn’t mind reminding people of this.  He's also a big statistician on players, every week he'll come into the dressing room and tell you the stats of their best players or overseas instead of worrying about our team.  He does well to still be employed as with the number of emails and texts we get from him regarding player’s stats or games on Cricinfo he can’t be doing that much work!!!  He also loves his gear and it being different to everyone else’s, if someone has a 3lb bat he has to have a 4lb one, if someone has a short blade he has to have a super short blade and the list goes on.

8/ What plans are in place as a club to ensure that the success of your side is sustainable?

We are lucky that we have a great cricket committee and a strong club ethic for developing our own players.  We have Club Mark accreditation and we are also a 'Chance to Shine Club'.  Our junior section is thriving with over 200 juniors registered and most of the teams are always competing at the higher ends of their respective leagues which are great for the future.  We very much believe in not only playing as a club but socialising as a club and the club is always packed on a Saturday or Sunday night as ALL the teams, irrespective of where they are playing, always come back to the club and sample a few cold ales.  With all this in place and has been in place in the 20 years I’ve been a member (and by all accounts for many years before), the club will always remain a great club to play for and a great place for the family.

Follow the following link to find out more about the Lashings game Chessington CC have coming up this year. http://chessingtoncricketclub.co.uk/page47.htm 

Many thanks Yarners, the LCA wish you and everyone at Chessington the best for the 2011 season.