Former England star attends annual Falkland CC dinner

Falkland CC held their annual pre-season dinner last week with a guest speaker

FORMER Surrey, Sussex and Worcestershire Cricket player David Smith was the guest speaker at the annual pre-season dinner at Falkland CC last week.

Smith, who also represented England on their tour of the West Indies in 1985, shared some of his career experiences before participating in a Q&A session.

More than 60 members attended the dinner at The Bowlers Arms, which also saw club president Patrick Neat address the audience.

Smith said: “I really enjoyed it – it’s my first time here and it was very welcoming.

“It’s a wonderful club. I found a little bit more about the history, obviously looking forward to the new pavilion being built which will be an awesome building.”

Smith was asked a number of questions throughout the evening and admitted it was challenging at times.

He said: “An evening like this is fantastic. The Q & A was a little bit testing at times as it made me think what I said, but I did the best I could.

“Everyone has been wonderful, the president was different class, and honestly I look forward to coming back.”

Club chairman John Bolan was pleased with the turnout and has thanked the members for all chipping in during a great night.

He said: “Places like this would not be sustainable without the support of its members.

“In the room tonight we had different members of the community who all make a difference.”

Steve Critchell, who organised the dinner, was pleased to see another successful evening at the club and praised the loyalty of the club and discussed the plans for the new pavilion.

He said: “We need this new pavilion because the club wants to go forward in all sorts of directions. A dinner like tonight, could easily accommodate 100 people and to do that, we need the facilities.”