PERSONAL MANAGER NEWS

Show last 12 months only

August 12, 2005  Richard Bedwell (manager of BED in UC1) has this great news:
On the 26th of July 2005, Hedley John Richard Bedwell was born, 9lb 2oz. Ofcourse he is named with a nod towards Hedley Verity.
 

May 4, 2005  News from Alexander Woo:
I'm hoping to finish my PhD this semester, though i might miss the deadline by a few days and end up officially graduating in December. I have a job starting in September at University of California at Davis as a postdoc. Over the summer i'll be travelling to a few conferences, including one in Sicily.
 

January 5, 2005  It has been a while since there was much news on Manager's exploits.
Luke Watson has just returned from a stint in Nepal where he was working with the Cricket Association of Nepal as a development officer.

Check out this bio on him and his work. And this coaching manual he wrote.
 

January 5, 2005  I also have just received news that Cyrille will be getting married in 2006 to Mourna. A honeymoon to somewhere that plays cricket is planned?!?
 

June 1, 2004  I got this from Matt Clark
I just wanted to let you know that my wife and I have a new baby daughter, Naomi Ada, as of the 21 May. She was born a healthy 3675g and 50cm long, with great lungs!

Matt Clark
FCI|ABM|SPH|PKT

May 13, 2004  Sad news I am afraid.
Kevin Hyett - manager of CSB in UC2 and SRK in UC1 passed away on March 16 following a short illness. Kevin had been a committed UC manager since season 8 (getting on for 10 years). SRK were spectacularly consistent in Division 2 in both Tests and ODIs while CSB tended to bounce back and forth between J1 and J2. Kevin was also one of the keen financial supporters of UC. He will be missed from UC circles.

May 13, 2004  I just uncovered this email from Tony Maude - ex sub-commissioner of UC3 and manager of PGA and IAM.
This was dated 28 Feb
Tomorrow I fly home to Scotland after spending almost 6 weeks in India, mainly in Calcutta, with the UK Baptist Missionary Society. I came to gain a better insight into the conditions under which our overseas missionaries are working, and it has been a real eye-opener.

The really good news is that on April 3rd I will be ordained and then inducted as pastor of Peebles Baptist church. It's 23 miles south of Edinburgh in the Scottish borders, and is a beautiful place to be. I am really excited about this.

We wish Tony the best in his new position.
 

March 24, 2004  Alex and Isabel Coe are proud and delighted to announce the birth of their daughter Jasmine Vita Paola, born at 6.38am on Monday 23rd February. Jasmine weighed in at a modest 6lbs 8oz, and stands 47 cm in stockinged feet. Mother and baby are both very well, after an uncomplicated 11 hour journey, mostly spent at home.

Jasmine has not yet expressed a preference for batting or bowling but does bear an uncanny resemblance to a minature Graham Gooch which could be a good omen (as long as it doesn't last too long).

Alex, Isabel, Indio and Jasmine
 

March 22, 2004  Adam Walo of MOU in UC1 will be pretty much inactive for the next few weeks. Not long ago he became the proud father of twin girls - Tamsyn Anna and Sienna Ellouise - but the girls will be spending the next 2 to 3 months in hospital so Adam will be keeping a very low profile in less important things like UC. We all wish the girls and Mum and Dad a speedy improvement in their health and hope Adam is back on board sooner rather than later.
 

March 10, 2004  The latest addition to the Caton family, Noah arrived today at 12:30pm - four weeks earlier than expected. [10 March] Weighing 3810g (8 pnds, 7oz) and 52 cm long, Noah's big and healthy for a prem! Mum and baby both doing fine, Eve won't stop talking about her new younger brother and Dad's as proud as can be. Tom, Shan, Eve and Noah Congratulations Tom!
 

March 10, 2004  Adam of MOU is "in the middle of having twin girls". We all hope it goes well and that is why MOU may be a bit tardy with orders etc. Tim
 

October 26, 2003  David Mosedale of BRE and BOZ sent me this:

I Would like to announce the birth of Sophie Charlotte, who surprised us all by coming along 10 weeks early by emergency Caesarean Section on Monday 13 October. Despite being only 3lb 2oz (1.42kg) both Sophie and Mum (Judy) are doing well, with few problems so far. I hope to get some orders in now and then, but things are a little hectic at the moment! Sorry if they are a bit erratic.
 

October 26, 2003  Graham Broughton of TCX and RTP is going on honeymoon for four weeks. Please forgive him for a lack of interest in UC in that time!
 

October 7, 2003  Stuart Campling of RET, TRC and ABD has just returned from his honeymoon. Congratulation to Stuart and his new wife.
 

October 7, 2003  Neeran Karnik of SO, DGB and MS has this to announce: Prachi and I are now proud parents of a baby boy! Dhruv was born on the 30th of September, and weighed in at 7 lbs. Mother and baby are both doing fine.
 

July 2, 2003  Charl du Toit has been out of circulation for a few weeks welcoming to the world his new son Etienne who was born on June 10.
 

April 16, 2003  At least two managers are having a special Easter. Chris Borlase (CJB in UC4) and Paul Gubecka (GM in UC1, LFC in UC2 and EFC in UC4) are getting married over Easter and will be away for a while afterwards on honeymoon. Both are being very wise and taking a short break from UC but promise to back in the swing of things soon. ALl the best guys and here is hoping the big day(s) go well.
 

March 7, 2003  Paul Blacklow(ALP) is getting married on Saturday in Hobart to his long term sweetheart Annette. I am sure the Labor party send there best wishes - along with all his UC competitors.
 

January 21, 2003  Graham Saunders of OXF is taking some time away from his computer and has put his team on ice. He is taking a sabbatical in Auckland, the USA and England. So - if you see him a wandering - say hi!
 

December 29, 2002  Got this from David Bray - well done that man.

I am very excited to announce the (slightly early) arrival of Isaac Dennis Bray on Friday 27th December 2pm Sydney time.

Isaac weighs 8lb 1oz (not sure what that is in new language), has a head circumference of 38cm and is 53cm long for those interested in the technicalities.

His elder sisters Stella and Ruby have already welcomed him to the family and both Isaac and his amazing mother Justine are now resting to prepare for their homecoming. Mean while dad has already started to discuss with Isaac the finer points of leg spin bowling in preparation for his future career with the ACB in the year 2020.

David Bray
 

November 29, 2002  From Richard Bedwell of BED in UC4
Just a quickie to say that Kitty Ruth [Your Name Here] Bedwell was born at 23:58 on the 25th of November 2002 in Grimsby Hospital. She weighes 9 lb 1 oz, mother and baby doing fine.
 

October 2, 2002  Kevin Hyett of SRK and CSB has been taken into hospital - no news on why and how serious it is. Please keep him in your thoughts.
 

September 27, 2002  Those of you trying to track down Tony Humphries - he has left Sussex University and can now been found at McGill University in Montreal Canada.
 

September 24, 2002  Gordon Oakes has some good news - at 10:21 on Sep 10 Ashley Rose Oakes, 3.15kgs(6lbs 15oz) and perfect was born - all are doing well and Gordon has gone on holiday too.
 

September 4, 2002  Am proudly announcing the birth on Thursday 22nd August at 1.41am, after a fairly extensive labour (20 hours) and only nine days behind schedule, of the first of the next generation of the Coe family, Indio Jay Coe, weighing in at a princely 7lbs 3oz and extending a full 51cm from top to toe. Mother and baby are doing very well indeed and Indio can be expected to make an appearence soon in one of my teams, probably XGF where he'll be looked after by his mummy, Isabel, so only gentle off breaks until he gets his eye in please.

Alex Coe (XGF WYW OHT GDG)
 

August 25, 2002  Just wanted to let my fellow UC managers know the good news (well lets face it, I want to tell everyone!): my wife Elaine gave birth to our first baby, Andrew William "Tiger" Grainger on Thursday night at 10:01pm. It was not a pleasant experience lasting 23 hours and ending with an emergency rotational forceps, but it all turned out alright in the end. We have a lovely baby boy weighing 6lb 14ozs (thats 3120g) and mother and baby are doing fine. Maybe you will all go easy on me for a bit (SXS could do with a bit of help to retain SL status through the playoffs) as I may not be able to devote quite as much time to UC as usual!!

David
 

August 1, 2002  Got this from Warrick - well done that man!

At 6.28am on Sunday 28 July, my wife Amanda gave birth to Felicity Grace, weighing 7 lb 13 oz (or 3545g in the new money). Mother and daughter both doing great, father exhausted.
 

July 12, 2002  Got this today from Simon - manager of NR in UC1.

July 12, 2002  Got this today from Simon - manager of NR in UC1.

Today, at 0122 BST, Daniel Jonathan Juden was born (a week early) at our home weighing 6 lbs 14 oz, measuring 51" top-to-tail and already making sarcastic comments about his father's rank inability to comprehend metric measurements. We celebrated at Pizza Express some twelve hours after his birth, making him one of their youngest ever customers (this didn't get us free pizza, however, despite desperate and at times tearful pleas). The labour, lasting just over seven hours (cf Rachel's 60 hours) was relatively straightforward, though apparently it did smart a bit: Jackie used a little Entonox (NO2 + O2) and a TENS machine, the second stage lasted seven minutes (beating Hannah's 10 minutes and Rachel's 147 minutes). At one point there was a worry that Jackie would sneeze and I would have to catch Daniel as he flew out of the door. Jackie didn't need any stitches and she and Daniel are both fine and guzzling.

I was, frankly, somewhat nervous about the whole homebirth scenario beforehand but now would not hesitate to recommend it thoroughly. It's a lot more relaxed than being in a hospital and because it's a familiar and comforting environment the mother typically needs a lot less pain relief and a far lower level of medical intervention. It's also nice afterwards just to fall into your own bed with your newborn slumbering quietly on your chest rather than in one of those plastic wheelybin cots you get on the wards.
 

May 22, 2002  We are a jet setting bunch - first Sarge is heading back to Australia from Indonesia for a while - Steven Taylor is in Japan for the World Cup, Patrick Cairns is heading off to Mali for a week or so and Morné Bester is going to be staying in Turkey for a while due to work commitments.
 

May 7, 2002  Got this email from David Low of MB fame - one of the Season 1 managers.

Chika Kodama and David Low announce the arrival of their son, Conor, at 7:49am on Friday 3rd May 2002, after a 24-hour labour (Chika said I had to include that detail...). Weighed in at 3.6kg, length 53cm, head circumference 34.5cm. And a rather well-developed set of lungs from the word go :-) Mother and child resting, father busy uploading digicam pictures:

Pic1
Pic2
Pic3

Once we work out a Japanese name that the baby is happy with, we'll let you know! While most suggestions to date are getting either a screwed-up face, a good hearty cry, or a non-commital fist-suck (and that's just from the parents), we remain convinced that we'll find something suitable sooner or later :-)

Regards,
Chika & David.
 

April 15, 2002  Henry Steffens emailed me today to let me know he has just got out of hospital after a major op to remove cancer from this lung (the result of 40 years of smoking. He says he is on the mend and part of his recuperation is rejoing the UC world. So - we all wish you well Henry - a speedy recovery and welcome back to UC.
 

March 9, 2002  I got this today from Abhishek of NGB.

"Congratulations to Nachiket, for that fine 100 off 154 balls". I stopped scrolling, I could'nt believe it! Nachiket actually scored a 100 for NGP in UC3 newbie 1. almost 5 years ago in India, I remember the closest he got.... 71. Nachiket is not just someone who exists on the web page of UC called Team info. He is one of the 16 members of NGP which walk in flesh and blood on this planet.... well almost 16. Sitting here in Canada, 2 days ago I opened my e-mail from my Mother. I came to know that my neighbour and childhood friend Nachiket, succumbed to life's torments. He ended his personal life's failures, his frustration by escaping forever. He took the extreme step in his house, just a couple of months shy from his 28`th birthday.

Thousands of miles here, I dont know what to feel first? The shock or the pain.

NGP (Nagpur Blues) was a real cricket team in India. It was a part of us. UC helped me keep this memory alive even in Canada. Using actual names and skills these friends of mine played with me every week from people all over the world.

Nachiket in real life was a fantastic All rounder. A quickie and hard hitting opening bat. He averaged almost 40, with a strike rate safely in his 90's, but his agression never let him make it to 100.

So when UC results arrived one day and Nachi scored a 100, I forwarded that mail to him. Nachi was notorious for his really short e-mails, you would be privelleged if he wrote 5 lines to you. " I knew I could reach 3 figures!" was all he wrote. But when i did not send him the result for 2 sets running he wrote " What happened? AM I not in the playing 11 now?" ANother ton and he came to know about it.

UC has much more meaning to me than just a management game. Thousands of miles away from my family and friends, even my favourite game, UC helps me go back to those wonderfull childhood memories every week. Watching nachiket bowl, bat , drop catches, and get out LBW! From now on NGP results will have a more impact on me, for sure.

SO nachi may not be with us in flesh and blood, but he is well and alive in our hearts. My 20 year old friendship with him cannot be broken so easily. He will continue to live in my memories and in UC. Where he will do what he loved most, hitting the ball and the deck hard.

He has himself walked out of life's "Playing eleven", but I will never let him go from our very own team.

Nachi, may god give you peace where ever you are. And may he let you know that we all loved you. With you is gone a friend who believed more in doing and less in saying. some one who always smiled, and played life's game in a fair way.Your final innings was very unlike you, ...... but if it has helped you find peace within yourself.... so be it. you will be sorely missed. And for every member of NGP, you will always be NOT OUT.
 

February 19, 2002  Not often one of our ranks makes the paper for their cricketing prowess - but recently Kieren Blake made it. Well done Kieren!
 

February 8, 2002  Stuart Campling recently went to Pisa with his girlfriend and whilst on the top of the tower (which if that is not unbalanced enough!) asked her to marry him - and she agreed. Congratualtions to Stuart and Sarah and all the best as they prepare for the big day in 2003.
 

December 15, 2001  I got this from Sean Mitchell today

Sylvia and I are proud to annouce the arrival of our little girl, Isabel Elise Mitchell, on Dec 11, 2001. She arrived at 3:25pm and weighed in at 8lbs 14oz. Both Mum and daughter are doing fine.
 

December 1, 2001  Daniel Cocks, manager of DT, will be going back into hospital for another big operation. He should be in hospital for two weeks. Our best wishes for a complete and speedy recovery Daniel.
 

November 28, 2001  One of our managers - David Moyson - is involved in organising the European Indoor Cricket Tournament in Belgium. There are 12 teams from all corners of Europe playing with the defending champions being Portugal!
 

November 17, 2001  Trevor Parker(DL/CPW/BLM) has informed me that on the 21st of September Rhonda and Trevor had the joy of our darling baby boy, Jackson Riley Parker, being born.

"He weighed in at 6 pound 3 oz, and is a complete delight to both us and his sister Kelsey. Apart from sleep deprivation all is going well with both baby and mum. Things have been pretty hectic with a house move just before the birth, but we are now settling into the routine of 3 hourly feeds and changing nappies. (Genuine offer - my kingdom for 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep!!!)"

Congratulation to the Parker family and we look forward to a new manager joining us soon!
 

October 9, 2001  Got an email from Matt Gregg who was in the Qantas Club in Cairns on his way to Dunk Island apologising for a lack of orders this week - his excuse - he was on his way to Dunk Island for his honeymoon after getting married in Sydney on the Saturday! Fair enough! Congratulations Matt!
 

September 20, 2001  Andrew Lipscomb of MJC is one of the longest running UC managers and the original 'Cup Pairer' way back. Andrew lives in the USA and reports that he will get to see his first game of cricket in person this weekend an an Australian Festival in Nashville. Part of my raison d'etre for UC is to get people who would otherwise have no interest in cricket interested - so if nothing else that is happening!
 

September 9, 2001  News from Gordon Oakes

I have both good and bad news...We had a beautiful baby boy on Tues Sept 04 at 1300hrs. He was a fighter, but his poor little body could not keep up with his will to live.

Aaron Josef Oakes, was with us for a short 23 1/2 hours. As much as the time was painful, it was a time that Teresa, Kyle, Ryan and myself will remember for ever. As he looked like both his brothers, his spirit will live on in both of them.

I would like to thank all of you for your kind words in our darkest hours. Aaron has left a little light that will grow with time. And will in the end become as bright as our other 2 wonderful boys. We will miss him greatly.

Gord and Teresa Oakes
 

September 4, 2001  Today is a huge day in Gordon and Teresa Oakes' life - and probably Kyle and Ryan's too. Their third child will be delivered today if it has not already come. This child however will have a real battle to survive due to a number of very serious complications - and will have a heart operation within days of being born I believe. Gordon is really stressed out and needs our prayers and consideration.
 

July 30, 2001  Congratulations to David Sanders who is moving across the Atlantic (back?) to North America. David has been working at St Andrew's in Scotland and has taken an Assistant Professorship in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Well done to David - no mean feat and that comes from someone who knows!
 

June 26, 2001  I got this email from Andrew Russo today

Dear Tim,
My wife Sharlene gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on 24 June at 22:13. She Weighed 3.695kg (8lb 2 oz) and is 51 cm long. Her name is Madeleine Eileen Russo. She arrived 9 days late and is considerably smaller than Aidan who was 8 lb 13oz at birth. Mother and baby are doing very well. Aidan is rapt to be a big brother and told us that she looks beautiful. Aidan is 3 , and was born just before my first season in UC.

Regards
Andrew Russo
 

June 6, 2001  It is always with a tinge of regret when I receive an email from a long standing manager saying they are leaving UC for any reason. It is also with a great deal of joy I hear of a returning manager. Recently Richard Peiper of BNB has rejoined UC after being away for a few years and today one of the founding members - Sonu Nayyar of BU (one cup final and one semi-final) emailed me saying he is planning a comeback.
 

May 8, 2001  Got an email today from Brendon Melville who ran BCD. He hopes to bring them back into competition soon - just as soon as he finishes his travels around Africa.

Just got an email from Brett Loper who used to run LOT in UC1 and was a leading contributor in the earlier days of UC. Anyway - he sent me this photo of him on the top of Mt. Ruapeho in New Zealand - be warned it is 126kb in size.
 

April 3, 2001  More news from Nick Smith who is back in hospital having corrective surgery and will be out of action for at least a few weeks. A speedy recovery Nick!
 

March 14, 2001  Shaun Goodbrand - manager of NBS has just told me the reason for his recent absence was he was on honeymoon with Ruth MacKinnon. They were married on March 2nd in Johannesburg and spent their honeymoon in Mauritius. Congratulations Shaun!
 

March 9, 2001  New Type (UC1) is proud to announce that its Manager - Vincent Ko, is getting married to the club's former Captain and champion player Oli, on Sunday 25 March 2001. Oli, who recently became only the 10th UC player to amass more than 10,000 ODI runs, will retire from UC at the end of the current season. Vincent, however, with continue to manage the club. The wedding ceremony and banquet will be held in Hong Kong.
 

February 27, 2001  William Cairns has some good news - his third child was born a fortnight ago. Gawain was born on the 12th at 7:57. He weighed 3.08kg which is heavier than either of the others and was 49cm - shorter than the others. Mom and Gawain are at home and doing well.
 

February 15, 2001  Ian Wallace of QCC is back in the land of the living and will be back in charge of QCC's fortunes now. Welcome back Ian.
 

February 1, 2001  Some mixed news on the Manager's health front.

Dominic Huntman who runs teams in each conference is finally back on deck after spending a few months in hospital. He is feeling much better and is slowly going to get back into UC.

Kathy Wallace has just informed me that her son Ian is in hospital. He has been there for two months already. I met Ian once briefly at a Get Together in the UK a few years back and seem to recall he had some physical disability so I am presuming it is something related to that. I am sure we all wish Ian a speedy recovery and his team will remain on Autopilot for now as he keenly looks forward to getting the results.
 

November 13, 2000  Nick Smith - manager of ADD and owner of Webactive the SuperCup sponsors - is in Hospital following surgery on a ruptured bowel. Please join with me in praying for a speedy and total recovery.
 

November 2, 2000  Simon Juden sent me this:

Hannah Katherine Juden was born at 10.15 on 30 October 2000, her due date. She weighed 7lbs 6oz; the labour lasted five and a half hours and the second stage only 10 minutes - a little quicker than Rachel! I had to navigate round fallen trees and floods (water came up to the bottom of the car door once) as naturally Hannah decided to come on the night of all those storms. The waters broke some 36 hours before labour started so we had to keep shuttling back and forth to the hospital for interim tests to make sure Hannah was OK (she was). Her hair is auburn like Jackie's rather than bright ginger like Rachel's but I still have hopes of fathering an all ginger netball team. Jackie coped with the labour superbly, only using TENS and Entonox (NO2 + oxygen) for pain relief. She says the actual delivery did sting a little.

Hannah and Jackie are both home and well. Rachel's a little confused by everything but she does go up to Hannah and cuddle her from time to time, which I think is probably a good thing. Rachel's almost 16 months so although she's a little jealous sometimes at the minute that will soon pass as she will forget that there ever was a "before Hannah". She's been a little ill lately but hopefully the tantrums will pass once she's better and used to her new role as Big Sister.

Hannah spends all day and night feeding just now and is as cute as the proverbial button.

We're all a little tired at the moment so please do any communicating with us via email for the time being - we're not getting a lot of sleep. The local delivery curry companies have taken on extra staff to cope with the demand.
 

October 11, 2000  In South Africa there is a commune - and in that commune are a group of keen UC managers. One them, Manie Oosthuizen, has been diagnosed as having brain cancer. At this stage, after an operation where they removed a part of his brain, there is still a bit of the tumor remaining which they cannot reach. They will be trying chemo therapy and radiation for the next 26 days. If that doesnt work, things do not look very good. I hope you will join in me, praying for Manie and his friends (Fanus Theron and co). Some teams will be dropping out of UC as a result of this since they all shared Manie's PC to submit orders.
 

October 9, 2000  Darren Reck has not been paying as much attention to his UC sides recently due to the arrival recently of young Elliot. There were a few complications I am led to believe but I think all is well now. Congratulation to the Reck family.
 

September 11, 2000  My name is Geoffrey Main, and I'm the manager of FTC (UC2), GEM (UC3), and SXP (UC4).

The reason for this "letter" is to ask for help. I'm wanting to play cricket in England next year starting March/April 2001, and I was wondering if any of the Ultra Cricket managers out there could help me out.

I'm a 23 year old single guy from Hamilton, New Zealand. I'm an opening right hand batsman, excellent out fielder, and quite good inside the 30m circle. I play the level below first class cricket here in New Zealand and in 14 games I have an average of 34. I'm also a NZ accredited Level 2 coach with 8 years experience. I'm looking for a place with a club that will test my abilities, offer me the opportunity to coach a team over there, and offer some part time work in the Marketing, Sports Management, or IT Industries.

My background: Member of all Under-Age Cricket Teams in Hamilton, part of the Hamilton Mens Team for last 3 years, currently working in large FMCG (Marketing) firm in NZ. I have a Management Degree (1st Class Honours) with majors in Marketing and Leisure from the University of Waikato. I have tutored people in software applications for past 6 years, and am proficient with all Microsoft Office applications, along with a variety of accounting packages.

Why I want to come to England is to further my game, play cricket day in and day out, score a truck load of runs, and gain further coaching experience in another country.

If you feel you may be able to help me out, then please contact me at gmain@tiptop.co.nz with details that I'll find useful, and if you want to ask me some questions.

Thanks,
Geoff Main.
 

August 23, 2000  A long running manager - Kroshelan(FOR) is getting married this weekend. Congratulations.
 

August 21, 2000  A while back I got this from Bobby - sorry about the delay.

After weeks of wait and a few false alarms, our baby has finally arrived. Our baby boy Rohan Tuli came into this world at 2:12 PM on August 1. The baby weighed at 7.7 pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long. Both Shucha and Rohan are are doing well. Though the dad can sure use some rest.
 

August 2, 2000  Another Baby - Aditya Bhuwania(XCB) has become a father in early hours of August 1st. Congratulations to the Bhuwania family.
 

July 25, 2000  Brian (SUE) has recently got engaged to his long term girlfriend Alison, moved house and has put his team up for adoption.
 

July 11, 2000  Sahal Laher has just told me has got engaged to Karolyn - congratulations!
 

July 4, 2000  Paul Nowland has become a uncle and is pretty proud of this - Flynn Mathew Wood was born on June 24th. Congratulations to the family.
 

June 30, 2000  I have had a few managers let me know of recent visits to hospital which has got in the way of submitting orders for UC amongst other things. These include Jegan(SLW/WIN/HEH) and John Clifford. John elaborated on his misfortune saying that he was fishing and while trying to reel in a 'big one' fell out of the boat and hit a submerged rock, braking his shin.
 

June 19, 2000  Sad news I am afraid. Robin Bonner's brother Tim (manager of HCB in UC4) was killed in motobike accident recently. Robin is obviously quite upset. Neil Davey, Robin and Tim all joined UC a few seasons back and often compared progress so it is quite a sad time all round. Tim was only 28. Our condelensces to Robin, Neil and the Bonner family.
 

June 2, 2000  Tom Caton has beaten me to it. His wife Shannon gave birth to Eve on Wednesday morning - 6 week early no less. Tom is over the moon and all are doing well. Tom will not be concentrating on UC2 Sub Commissioner duties much for a few weeks obviously. Congratulations to the Caton's!
 

May 29, 2000  Another UC baby - Xanthe Heloise Petherick was born last Tuesday - a daughter for Bruce of SB. Congratulations to the family.
 

April 15, 2000  John Wilkie of CU/BM is getting married today - somewhere in the UK I guess. A 'friend' told me....congratulations John!
 

April 3, 2000  Those people who were fortunate enough to make it along to a UK UC Get Together may remember Richard Jackson(UL). He just emailed me to say he is getting married in August and is moving into his very own house. So - that is what he is up to!
 

March 24, 2000  I got this from Trevor Ringrose (ARA and BMG fame) - very interesting seeing a fellow UCer get fame if not fortune from Cricket and Statistics!

I presented a talk at the British Association for the Advancement of Science festival at Sheffield on Friday 17th September. The talk was titled 'Real Statistics in Cricket' in the session Statistics in Sport, organised by the Royal Statistical Society.

As long ago as 1986 I started to look at LBW rates in test cricket, that is the proportion of batsmen who are out LBW, since it has been proposed that if home batsmen are out LBW less often than the away ones then this indicates possible umpiring bias. A few papers (including one in New Scientist) looked at this in the early 1980s, but in a very crude way (statistically speaking). I collected some data and did some analyses, talking about them at the statistics research students meeting in 1988, then left it for about 8 years. I went back to it because of the advent of `neutral umpires' in test matches in the last few years, since this seemed a good opportunity to see if they had made any difference. I've given a talk on this at two or three departments recently and at the 1998 RSS conference, and gave a very non-technical version at the BAAS.

However, as the stuff we got from the BAAS said, the 'real' audience for the conference are journalists rather than the actual conferencegoers. Our session got picked up by the journos as being of interest, so we had a press conference in the morning. It became very clear that it is the press conference where the journos write their stories, rather than the actual talks. Of the 3 speakers in the session only 2 of us were at the press conference, since the 3rd lives in Sheffield and so hadn't bothered to come in early. Hence our stuff appeared in the papers whereas his was totally ignored, despite being about football! The press people were mostly science correspondents from broadsheets or various bits of the BBC, so the questions were fairly intelligent and they seemed to be making a genuine attempt to understand what we were saying.

Anyway, the analysis resulted in two main conclusions, one negative and one positive:

1) There is absolutely no evidence of any effect due to neutral umpires. Of all the explanatory factors in the model (who was playing and where it was being the others) this was clearly the least important.

2) In Australia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka there is evidence of differential LBW rates between home and away team, with the home team having the lower rate. This is *after* allowing for overall team and location effects, in other words it is an interaction term in the model. There is no evidence of such an effect for England, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa.

It turned out that I spent virtually all of the day being interviewed in various forms, and indeed only just had time to actually give the talk. I was interviewed live on Radio 5 at about 12.15, and also gave non-live interviews for BBC World Service and Radio 4. The Radio 4 one must have been broadcast since it resulted in me receiving a crank letter saying that England will continue to lose at cricket while sport pollutes the sacred airwaves of radio 4! Later on I had to stick around to give interviews to LBC (London commercial station I think) (~5.30) and Wiltshire Sound(?) (~5.45). It was very noticeable that virtually all the journos had gone home by Friday lunchtime.

The running round being interviewed was less painful than I had expected, largely because the radio people and the festival media liaison people were all friendly and knew their jobs. By the end I was almost an old hand at sitting with the headphones on waiting to be introduced.

Back at work on monday I gave another interview on some other local radio station where they had a bloke live from Australia. They obviously wanted us to have an argument on air, but in fact the Aussie just wanted to know what I thought about Shane Warne signing for Hamsphire.

The story was carried in all four broadsheets on the Saturday, even making the Torygraph editorial. I've no idea if it was in any of the tabloids or local papers, though i doubt it. Fortunately, I escaped any attention from TV.

The interesting thing here is that without exception all of the newspaper articles said "Neutral Umpires have no effect, England have no excuse for losing" while all of the radio interviewers took the tack of " Differential LBW rates mean that umpires in Australia and the subcontinent are biased". So, from the very same results the papers conclude that umpires are not biased and the radio stations conclude that they are!

This meant that I had to be very careful in the radio interviews to explain what the results did and did not show. I was repeatedly explaining that we have no way of knowing the reason for differential LBW rates unless we spend the rest of our lives looking at video recordings of test matches, but that the most likely explanation for it is differences in playing style. For example if a country's batsmen play forward and their bowlers pitch the ball up then the LBW rate will tend to be in their favour. This might explain both the overall differences in LBW rates and the interactions.

Hence as far as I know I haven't caused Australia to secede from the Commonwealth.
 

March 22, 2000  I got this from Shane Hill today:

Tim,
Just thought I'd make a note of events past recently. On Saturday and Sunday - the 18th and 19th of March - the cricket team which I play for, Heatherhill C.C. won the C2 division Grand Final.

In what was a fairly tight affair at the end, the 75 over-a-side game concluded with Langwarrin C.C. (the old foe) succumbing to be all out for 231 in the 71st over. This was in response to Heatherhill's substantial (for this grade of cricket) 6/243.

So now I have something to celebrate, in addition to the man-of-the-match award I received, having won 1 premiership from 1 season in seniors.

All I need now, is for INV and HWG to win their respective premierships, and I'll be happy (here's hoping!)

Shane Hill
 

March 13, 2000  Neeran (of DGB and SO) is getting married on March 25th to Prachi Telang. He will be incommunicado for a while. We all wish them the best for the future.
 

March 8, 2000  Last September Eric Williams (SYS in UC1 and CRC in UC3) was elected onto the Parramatta City Council (part of Sydney, Australia). He has thus been rather busy.
 

March 8, 2000  Brad Edelman has just changed job and is now working for Fujitsu as a project manager.
 

February 22, 2000  Duncan Sparrow (DWD/SOA) is also taking some time off. To move back from England to Australia and to get married. I think he is heading for a high powered job in Sydney!
 

February 22, 2000  Christoper Connolly of CLR will be taking another season out from UC because he is getting married in March. Congratulations Chris and all the best!
 

February 17, 2000  This comes from Mark Elliott - UC1 Sub-commissioner

My life is abit of a mess at the moment. My family is living in two houses a few minutes walk apart in order that my 14 year old daughter who has just come to live with us has a chance to settle down in a relatively simple household set up (she has been living in a community with her mother and has arrived in a bit of state). So at the moment it's me, my daughter and my son in a flat and Lynne (my wife) her daughter (Katie) and the pets in our house. This is definately for the best - at the moment - but as I am sure you can imagine it's horribly complicated.
 

February 16, 2000  Many years back Adrian Hendry managed NZL - but his wife got very ill so he had to resign. Well, a while back Adrian came back to UC and is running NZL again and he has some good news on his wife. She is due for an operation in early March which will hopefully help he finally fully recover. With much prayer Jackie has improved over the years and it is hoped all goes well next month.
 

February 10, 2000  The Great Sarge has got married and we have proof. Check out these quite amazing photos of Sarge and his new wife. Be warned they are quite large files and could take a while to download but they are worth it! 1 2.
 

January 26, 2000  Stuart Campling of RET sent me this - if any other teams are on the lookout for players then please feel free to advertise here.

"RETTENDON CC NEEDS YOU.This friendly village cricket club in Essex is seeking new players of any standard for this coming season.We have two sides playing in the Mid Essex League (Div 6 & 8) playing friendlies on Sunday's as well as an excellent Summer Tour down in Somerset ( I have to say that as I organise it !). We have Winter Nets starting on Jan 29th (Fitzwimarc School,Rayleigh 9am) all are welcome to attend. Check out our website at www.dreamwater.com/rettendoncc for more info and pictures and help us regain our former glories at Church Meadow. Email me and we look forward to seeing you.Thanks"
 

January 19, 2000  George Heard (VE) is still out there Woohooing away - this time in North Carolina with a drunken Chancellor. Check out his latest fashion statement - the UC Tshirt!
 

January 13, 2000  Sarge (LT) is getting married to Yanti on the 31st of Jan at Muara Teweh (Kalimantan Tengah). I am sure anyone in the vicinity is welcome to drop in! All the best to them both.
 

January 10, 2000  Been quiet recently but then Bobby Tuli informs me he will be a Dad in July - congratulations and here's hoping the pregnancy goes well. Anyone else got any news?
 

December 1, 1999  A message to all those in Queensland from Bricks

Between 29 December 1999 and 04 January 2000, I will be up in Brisbane! At the moment Jason Stephensen (manager of SBY and WND) and myself (manager of SRC, ZXS and XRA) are trying to gauge interest in a UC dinner in Brisbane between these dates. These occasions have been great fun down in Melbourne, now it's Brisbane's turn...

If anyone up north is interested, could they please e-mail both Jason at J.Stephensen@mailbox.gu.edu.au or myself at bricks@smartchat.net.au as soon as possible so we can make arrangements.
 

November 9, 1999  Mark Elliot is going back into hospital for a minor operation. A few years back he was involved in a nasty traffic accident and has a badly broken leg. The operation is to aid in the ongoing recovery. I am sure we all wish him the best.
 

October 31, 1999  UC has spread far and wide and soon we will have our first Azerbaijani manager! Graeme Eastwood is being reloacted from Malaysia to the central Asian nation of Azerbaijan where I honestly doubt the cricket has been heard often before never mind played!
 

October 4, 1999  Congratulations to Paul Nowland B.Eng (Electronic)(Hons)
 

September 14, 1999  Tis the season to have babies - obviously. This time we welcome Elizabeth Anne Yule was born at 9:36pm on Friday 27th August. She weighed 5lb 13oz (which is not bad considering she was exactly 1 month premature). Mother and daughter are both doing well. Congratulations to Andy and the new family. People who attended the UK Get Togethers will remember Andy and may well recall the excellent job his wife did with the scoring of the game at Oxford!
 

September 9, 1999  And another baby - this time we need to welcome Alex Mitchell to the world - a son for Sean. Congratulations to the family.
 

September 8, 1999  Steve Hanks sent me this:

My wife Jane gave birth to a healthy baby girl on the 26th August. Lucy Elizabeth weighed 3.66 kg (8lbs 1oz for imperialists) at birth, and has so far refused the 18th spot in the party to tour South Africa. When asked why, she cried for her mother (a bit like Mark Ramprakash). LSF and AD have denied any interest (at least until she gets through StarFleet Academy or downs her first Guinness).

Congratulations all round!
 

August 24, 1999  All of you I am sure know all too much about the horrendous earthquake in Turkey last week. Well, UC has a link with it in that one of our managers, Henri Farhi was on holiday in that part of the world. He was staying near the epicentre and was on the 7th floor of an apartment building! Being from California this makes it 5 Richter 7+ earthquakes he has lived through but it apparently made it noe the less frightening. I am sure we are all relieved to know he made it home safely and our thoughts are with all the grieving families in Turkey and around the globe.
 

August 16, 1999  Steve Wales of DVD in UC1 has just informed me he has just become a father.
 

August 5, 1999  Charl du Toit - manager of CW in UC1 and KK in UC2 has just informed he of the birth of his first son, Divan Charl du Toit on the 27th July. Father and son are already disussing UC tactics - so expect CW to improve then I guess :)
 

July 27, 1999  Good news about Thomas Robison. After nearly 2 months he is gradually recovering. Speech therapists discovered recently that he was showing signs of conciousness and since then he has helped his dad remember the name of the English fast bowler who scored 99* against New Zealand - Alex Tudor. His Dad is hopeful he will fully recover.
 

July 19, 1999  Congratulations to Bricks Winzer who has recently finished his Uni degree and now can 'put funny combinations of letters after his name'.
 

July 12, 1999  Rachel Rebecca Juden was born at 0522 on Friday July 9th after a rather long (48 hours) labour. A new manager for NR! Congratulations to Simon and his wife. Rachel is a fast learner since she sent me this email.

G'day Tim,
Daddy is far too tired to do this so he let me come and type for a bit - he wanted you to know that I was born at 0522 on Friday July 9th after what Daddy called "a 48-hour marathon" and Mummy called some words I'm not allowed to know yet. Mummy and I are both doing very well though Mummy is very tired and Daddy is being forced to eat a lot of curries to keep his strength up.

Daddy said the worst bit was "The Visit Of The Inlaws" but Mummy doesn't like the food in hospital very much and is looking forward to coming home early next week. I weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and Daddy says I have "beautiful auburn hair", though I'm not sure what "hair" means just yet. I think he means the ginger stuff on top of my head.

Daddy isn't sure whether I'm going to be a concert pianist, a quantum physicist or the best female spin bowler in history but I'm sure we'll work all that out after the carpet finally arrives for my nursery.

Anyway I'd better go back now before Mummy notices I'm gone; I hope to see many of you sometime soon.

Rachel Rebecca Juden, New Co-Manager of NR/UC1
 

June 30, 1999  One of our managers has more on his plate than most of us - he has an Autistic son. Check out their website which gives some information on what they are doing to help their son.
 

May 19, 1999  Some sad news I am afraid. For those people who attended the UC Get Togethers in the UK in 1997 you may well remember Tom Robison. Well he has recently been involved in a nasty car crash in the USA where he was on his 'gap year' after doing his A level exams.

This was sent to me from the father of his close friend Matthew Robinson.

Thomas was in America with a friend, and as far as I understand was a pedestrian when he got knocked down, and is now in hospital in Albany NY.

Thomas suffered a broken pelvis, and was on a ventilator for a while. He is now off the ventilator and has shown some positive responses, but is being kept sedated to avoid further damage to his pelvis. His parents are now with him.

I have a contact postal address should anyone want to send him a Get Well soon card. I am sure we all wish him a speedy and full recovery and will remember him in our thoughts/prayers.
 

March 7, 1999  Gordon's new addition to the family has finally arrived. Ryan William Oakes was born at 5.15am in Calgary on March 5th - all the family seem fine and out congratulations go to Gordon, Teresa and Kyle.
 

January 13, 1999  David de Beer(RAD) and his wife Mariska had a healthy 4.4kg son born on the 5th January. We all wish young Luke all the best along with his parents and look forward to a new manager in a few years time!
 

December 11, 1998  More marriage news - this time coming from Adeliade. Tom Caton (of Bali CC) is getting married this coming January? Shannon and Tom tie the knot on Jan 2, 1999. He added:

BTW, Another Adelaide UC stalwart, David Low (MB), got married last month. This marriage business is obviously catching!

So - congratulations to Tom and David and lets not forget the big day for Bobby is looming ever nearer.
 

October 26, 1998  Good news. Andrew Jerrim who runs a number of teams including XL and current UC3 Cup holders VMS and also looks after the Rules Web Version has become the proud father of little Larissa Adele. She was born Friday night and all are doing well - Congratulations to the Jerrim family.
 

October 20, 1998  Simon Nesbit of KC and SLN has had a nasty car accident which hospitalised him for a few days. As a reult he has had to drop out of UC and his teams will be put up for adoption until the end of the season.
 

September 29, 1998  Bobby of BTB/AA fame has taken the plunge and got himself engaged to Shucha (who just happens to be a rising star in the UC world). The big day is December 26th this year. Congratulations Bobby.
 

September 17, 1998  Thomas Edward Skalicky was born at 5:37am on Tuesday 15th September 1998. He weighed in at 8 pounds 7 ounces (3.5kg) and is 20 inches (51 cms) long!! This is not a small baby!! All are well and big sister seems rather besotted. Congratulations to Matt of Central(UC1).
 

August 18, 1998  A few more people getting married soon - Avi Pfeffer(WT) got married on the weekend - and Darren(CCR) is getting married soon and moving to the UK. All the best to both couples.
 

August 13, 1998  News from William Cairns in South Africa - manager of BLB and LKC.

Baby Kaylin Morgan Cairns was born at 12:52 and weighed 2.86 kgs. He is 51 cm long (not tall he can't stand yet). Same length as Loreley was but she weighed 2.94.

Congratulations from all UC managers I am sure!
 

June 23, 1998  I have received the sad news today of the death of one of our managers. David Innes, manager of Old Apollonians (OAP) in UC3, died after receiving fatal injuries in a car crash last month. His good friend Scott Wemyss, manager of APM, has resigned as manager of his side as a result, saying that

"David's love for the game of cricket really kept my team going as well as his".

I shall keep both teams running for a few rounds before putting APM up for adoption. OAP will close down at the end of the season.

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