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"There is, however, no rival organisation although a number of people have met together to look at what might be offered...."
Keith Smith, General Secretary ACU&S.
Annual Report for the Year to 31 October 2005.

"A Company to carry on an undertaking of Great Advantage, but no one to know what it is."
From the Prospectus of The South Sea Company, 1711.

"I'm forever blowing bubbles."
Popular song.


Despite the 'Institute of Cricket Officials' website being updated on 26th February 2006, it makes no mention of the fact that the Companies Registrar has recently registered the following companies:-

Name: COMMUNITY CRICKET HOLDINGS LIMITED
Registered Office: Suite 1/43 Tolworth Tower
Ewell Road,
Surbiton,
Surrey KT6 7EL
Company No. 05696219
Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: Thursday, 2nd February 2006
Company Type: Private, limited by guarantee, no share capital
Nature of business: None supplied
Founding Directors: D Brandon (and as Secretary), J R Masterson, C N Rawson, Barrie Stuart-King.


Name: INSTITUTE OF CRICKET UMPIRES & SCORERS LIMITED
Registered Office: As Community Cricket Holdings Limited
Company No. 05738701
Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: Friday,10th March 2006
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of business: None supplied
Founding Directors: A L Bastable, S R Bennett, D Brandon, D Burns, A V B Farnfield, J Fielden, P J Freeman, K A Say, M E Warren.

Name: On-side Cricket Limited
Registered Office: As Community Cricket Holdings Limited
Company No. 05700051
Date of Incorporation: 7th February 2006
Directors: Denis Burns; John Richard Masterson; Alick Newman.
Secretary: Christopher Norman Rawson.

The first-named had been registered for three weeks by the time of the update, and it would be odd if they had not known about the imminent registration of the second one, given that there is usually a small delay between submission of documentation and its processing.

It is surprising that they did not want to get the good news out. Perhaps they felt that it could contradict things that they have been saying. Also, they may have thought that people might consider them to be wearing one hat too many to be giving their necessary full attention to the saving of ACU&S. As Mr Freeman says in the Annual Report, "The next 12-24 months will be a testing period" and it is possible that he would be better off devoting undivided effort to the matters in hand. The same could be said of all of those named as directors of these newly formed companies, of course.

Shrewdly, they may have thought that the publicity could lead to awkward questions at the forthcoming AGM. On reflection, this may be something they managed to get right, for once.

Good to see John Masterson, the former Royal Corps of Transport sergeant who was to have played a pivotal role in "Education Through Sport" back in 1998, popping up again. Another one you just cannot keep down is, of course, Barrie Stuart-King himself. He'll be in charge of sponsorships, presumably.