BRIAN Gittins reviews Kidderminster Victoria's season in the Birmingham and District League Premier.

YET another season comes to an end, but from my point of view first-team wise, it has been a good one for Kidderminster Victoria, writes Brian Gittins in his end-of-season review.

It could have been better, but we slipped up once or twice when things didn’t go right for us. However, I have enjoyed travelling with Matt Pardoe’s boys to some nice grounds and met some nice people along the way.

In the 50-over format we were almost unbeatable, and had the rain not ruined the game on Bank Holiday Monday against Wolverhampton, we might have had a better chance of getting into the runners-up spot.

Berkswell proved to be the usual tough opponents they usually are, but we gave them a scare when we hit back fighting at the end.

When Jonathan Wright came into bat at No.10, I said to one of their lady supporters that he might give the ball a good thrashing.

more in hope than anger, and didn’t he do well! He faced 11 balls with the following result: four, two, six, two, one, dot, six, dot, dot, six, dot, to finish unbeaten on 27 and 4, 2, 6, 2, 1, dot, 6, dot, dot, 6, dot. Not out 27 to improve his batting average.

Nathan Round has been a great addition to our club. He came with a good reputation which he lived up to.

Michael Hill is another good player, but has been dogged plagued by a slight injury problem. He has scored plenty of runs but missed out on his usual bowling stints. He has been appointed Head of cricket at King Edwards school Edgbaston.

We welcomed the return of Neil Pinner, who soon struck form with both bat and ball. Had he returned earlier to the club after his sojourn with Leicestershire we may have challenged Shrewsbury for the league title.

I was pleased to see Andrew Kimberlin show the form he was always capable of when he got more confident.

My biggest praise goes to captain Matt Pardoe. He had a hard act to follow when Wright stood down, but he has been an instant success.

His county cricket experience has helped in his handling of his players and they have all benefitted from it.

When we visit other grounds we appreciate the conditions at Chester Road. Some grounds are very good, with nice off-field facilities, but some do leave a bit to be desired.

KVCC feature very highly in the umpires' markings and this is all due to the superb job Chris Longmore is doing. We must be the envy of every team that visits us. On a lighter note, Les Vincent told me about a game he umpired recently that featured 84 extras conceded by one team.

We welcome Shrewsbury today as Championship winners, their third title in six years. In last Saturdays match against Walmley, the three Barnard brothers took all 10 wickets between them. Some good cricketing genes have passed down in the family. Always a pleasure from a social point when going to London Road, but we have not had much luck over the years.

I usually travel with Rob and Godfrey and our scorer Sandra Walton. Sandra has slaved over the scorebooks for many years, producing work that is a joy to see. Any page from one of her books could be framed and hung in your living-room.

Scorers are valuable, but they are hard to come by as not many people seem to want to take on what is a hard job. Thank you, Sandra from everyone at the club.